02/10/2021
Get grounded at Tiburon’s lush and tranquil Ground
Doesn’t the lush and tranquil ambiance of a plant-filled nursery seem perfectly primed for unwinding with a meticulously crafted cup of coffee?
Ground, a home and garden shop in Tiburon, is an aesthetically pleasing space that offers an opportunity to get out of the house in a retail-meets-nature outdoor environment to meet a friend, in masks of course, or hang out alone. It’s a place for browsing a curated collection of wares sourced from independent local makers and international artisans, and also a spot for sipping coffee prepared pour-over-style.
The brewing technique was chosen because it provides control over the variables involved in the process of extraction.
“To make the perfect cup, we choose the coffee’s ideal grind size and water temperature, and then adjust the speed of the water saturating the grounds by pacing the frequency of the pours,” writes co-founder and landscape designer Beth LaDove, who owns the shop with longtime friend and textile expert Caitlin McVarish.
“We believe in single-origin coffee that comes from one distinct ‘terroir.’ Our beans are grown in Guji Uraga in southwestern Ethiopia — the birthplace of coffea arabica. Ethiopian coffees are among the most varied and distinctive in the world.”
Take your cup (black coffee or with cream, almond or oat milk; chai latte; or hot tea) into the garden with a locally made biscotti — either dried cherry and almond, or chocolate, cherry and almond. The expansive exterior offers a number of settings for lounging on furnishings set amidst greenery, fountains and fire pits, all of which are for sale. This includes the luxurious and enveloping smooth, cast-stone, heated chairs from San Francisco-based Galanter & Jones. If you haven’t tried these, it’s worth a stop for the warming comfort alone.
The 10,000-square-foot store opened during the summer of COVID, an era of sheltering that has placed greater emphasis on outdoor living. You’ll find a wide selection of edible plants, including herbs, vegetables and fruit trees, as well as seeds. For the kitchen, there are cooking-related items such as classic French Opinel knives, antimicrobial wood cutting boards from Australia, handmade aprons by local crafters, and a variety of unique handcrafted tableware and linens from around the globe.
Stop in between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays at 1520 Tiburon Blvd. Find more information about the shop, see the upcoming workshop schedule, and inquire about the founders’ landscape design and styling business at groundgoods.com or call 415-797-6057.
• Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. is offering free Valentine’s Day shipping on its gift packs. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. Tuesday but the offer extends to future orders placed by Friday. Go to pointreyescheese.com for the full collection and also information about the winter dinner date cooking class at 4 p.m. Feb. 19 and Zoom cheese tasting with signature Griffo Distillery cocktails at 4 p.m. March 5.
• Take home a four-course dinner for two from Piazza D’Angelo in Mill Valley — baby kale and butternut squash salad, ravioli stuffed with mushrooms, marinated New Zealand lamb chops, chocolate mousse sponge cake and a bottle of Prosecco Rosé ($150). Order online for takeout Friday though Sunday. Or skip the special menu and reserve a table for lunch or dinner on the recently reopened parklet and patios at 22 Miller Ave. Make arrangements at piazzadangelo.com.
• Left Bank in Larkspur has Valentine’s menus available for dining in or taking out from Friday through Sunday. Alternatively, check out one of the virtual restaurants operating out of the Left Bank kitchen. Place orders directly with Mac’n Cheese Shop (macncheeseshop.com), the Skewery by Meso (skewerybymeso.com) and Lito’s Cocina Hispana (leftbank.com/covid-19-response-menu) for pickup at 507 Magnolia Ave. Find further details at leftbank.com or call 415-927-3331.
• Creekside Pizza in San Anselmo is featuring special dinners for two (sweet heart salad, Heart of Marin pizza and choice of wine and/or craft beer) and family meal packages for four that include add-ons for the kids. A Valentine’s Day breakfast/bunch pizza is topped with home fries and four eggs sunny-side-up. All pizzas on Valentine’s day can be heart-shaped upon request.
Preordering begins Saturday at creeksidesa.com for pickup between 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday at 638 San Anselmo Ave.
• Family-owned Hanson of Sonoma Tasting Room at Hanson Gallery Fine Art in Sausalito is open daily for outdoor vodka tastings and add-on experiences that incorporate hand-shucked Hog Island oysters with house-made mignonette sauce; Regiis Ova Caviar from chef Thomas Keller; or Kollar Chocolates from Yountville. Or order small-batch, infused vodkas and cocktail kits and pickup curbside from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily at 669 Bridgeway. Visit hansonofsonoma.com for more information, to place an order or make reservations.
• At Nick’s Cove in Tomales, the take-home Valentine’s Day kit includes a bottle of Point Reyes Heidrun Meadery sparkling mead; a dozen raw Tomales Bay oysters with two homemade mignonettes; and a Nick’s Cove oyster shucker, a bottle of hot sauce and a s’mores kit for two ($100).
Go to nickscove.com to place an order for pickup this weekend at 23240 Highway 1. The deadline is 5 p.m. Tuesday. Hand-picked bouquets of flowers from the restaurant’s garden will also be available for purchase.
Food news
Beginning this week, the Thursday Marin Farmers Market at the Civic Center in San Rafael is temporarily relocating to the Sunday farmers market site on Peter Behr Drive. This is to make room for a vaccination POD (points of dispensing) near the Marin Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium. AIM’s weekly curbside Bounty Boxes ($30), a seasonal assortment of produce from local farmers, are available for online preorder at agriculturalinstitute.org.
Naturally, the Corte Madera Lions Club had to cancel its public fundraising and social events this past year, including the Fourth of July beer tent and Oktoberfest. But the club found a way to continue its 30-year community crab feed by putting together a take-home feast that features a fresh Dungeness crab, Caesar salad and garlic bread ($35).
Purchase tickets at cortemaderalions.com or call John Howard at 415-891-8186 and receive emailed instructions, along with a 15-minute window for pickup between 4 to 6 p.m. Feb. 27.
Ticket numbers go into a “crab bag” drawing for door prizes like gift certificates to local eateries like Zinz Wine Bar, Marin Joe’s, Café Verde, the Cheesecake Factory, Marin Brewing Co., Nugget Markets and Safeway. The town of Corte Madera donated $650 in restaurant gift certificates as part of its COVID relief program for local businesses.
Taco Tuesdays
San Francisco-based Tacolicious is coming to Mill Valley for Taco Tuesdays and bringing not only ready-to-heat tacos filled with butternut squash and Brussels sprouts, guajillo-braised beef, chicken tinga and traditional carnitas, but also chicken lime soup, chopped salads, chili con queso, guacamole, bottled tequila cocktails, hibiscus lemonade, fresh tangerine juice and wine.
Or get a DIY kit with ingredients for six tacos — a choice of two fillings, corn tortillas, Rancho Gordo midnight black beans, rice-o-licious, chips and roasted tomato-mint salsa.
Place orders at tacolicious.com/pickup-and-delivery and get the goods at 401 Miller Ave. behind Mill Valley Swirl. Choose a 15-minute time slot between 4:30 and 6 p.m. The first available date is Feb. 23.
