Critics’ choice: New and classic expressions of farm-to-table

Sir and Star; The Kingdom of Roosevelt; Primo

Sir and Star Olema, Calif.

Once upon a time, there was a restaurant that “fulfilled just about every fantasy one could have of dining in the country,” said Michael Bauer in the San Francisco Chronicle. A 2006 fire would destroy the main hall at Manka’s Inverness Lodge on Tomales Bay, but the owners recently found a new landmark down the road, and in its current incarnation, the place is already “a fantasy in the making.” Once again, Margaret Gradé and Daniel DeLong have achieved “a fine balance of hominess and sophistication” in both food and setting. Walk into the 1876 Olema Inn today and the whitewashed walls and bare wood floors draw your eye to a taxidermied bird over a fireplace and the floor-to-ceiling windows looking out on a garden. “The star,” however, remains DeLong’s cooking, which is hyperlocal, playfully described on the changing menu, and exceptionally well executed. “I couldn’t ask for anything more” of quail than the tender bird DeLong served with an apricot sauce, and yet his kale stuffing might have been even better. “This is country dining at its best.” 10000 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., (415) 663-1034

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up