photo: Sir and Star at the Olema
Better late than never, dinner at Sir and Star At The Olema topped my wish-list for a taste of the region's most lauded locavore cuisine, just as temperatures in coastal West Marin and Southern Sonoma County reached a record, freezing low.
Despite the early Sunday evening hour of six, I shared the road with no more than two or three other vehicles, in either direction, for the duration of the half-hour, 18-or-so mile, winding drive from West Petaluma, into the dark and quiet embrace of quirky, compact Olema.
Holiday lights twinkled from a neighboring inn, a contrast to the subtly lit, subdued Sir and Star, formerly known as the Olema Inn, which was purchased in 2012 amongst considerable buzz in the foodie world, by the region's first farm-to-table chefs, Manka's Margaret Grade and Daniel DeLong.
Parking in a dirt lot behind the former bed and breakfast-turned-Shaker-style/paired down roadhouse was, despite the lonely drive, not an option, it being completely full.
Built at the crossroads of curvy, coastal Star Route One and Sir Francis Drake Highway (which follows the route of an original Pioneer packtrail from just west of the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge, to Point Reyes National Seashore), Sir and Star is aptly named for its location, an historic anchor in an iconic spot. Elizabethan explorer Sir Francis Drake claimed the Point Reyes seashore on which he landed his ship The Golden Hinde as 'Nova Albian' - for England, in 1579.
A dark, cold, December evening made for a haunting backdrop to this particular dining destination. I especially noticed the avenue of enormous Eucalyptus trees looming overhead, in a brief but chilly hike up to this newly reinvented Victorian-era roadhouse, from one of its competitor's parking lots.
I'd read that Sir and Star tips its hat to Hitchcock's 'The Birds', with an abundance of ornithological (primarily black bird) taxidermy, indoors, but for me, its rather mysterious walk-up approach had a mild-mannered making of the scene at the start of the Rocky Horror Picture Show in which Janet and Brad wander into the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-N-Furter after breaking down in an isolated area. I wasn't quite sure which door to walk into and once inside, whether to turn left or right. Inviting French music appeared to be playing from behind each of several closed doors, all of which looked equally intriguing.
After finding my way to the roaring fire-lit foyer, replete with high backed, black windsor chairs (my favorite) and a reception desk painted (according to a Remodelista.com report Benjamin Moore's Black Panther) to match exterior and all interior trim, I would have liked to have sat a while to let it all sink in. A huge and spectacular vase sat a top the desk with enormous branches bearing persimmons and the last of the fall foliage softening the surprising welcome party of a solo Victorian china doll - one of the sort that, if you sat there long enough, you'd swear was looking straight at you.
The main dining room, sparse, white and with the most beautiful hardwood floors and ceiling to match was set with simple, stunning table top arrangements of brown strips of butcher paper, black glazed Heath ceramic plates under a series of period sash windows (wear a jacket in winter).
Bolinas/West Marin locals and luminaries were gathered in convivial groupings, no doubt toasting a spot of winter respite, bubbly being clearly de rigueur for Sunday supper amongst the organic farming set.
I did have the good fortune to have eaten at Manka's Inverness Lodge once, if only once, and it was for my fortieth birthday dinner, months before the restaurant in the lauded 1917 hunting lodge above the water in Inverness, burned down, back in 2006. Margaret Grade and Daniel DeLong were able to keep this one-of-a-kind retreat of rustic luxe in operation without its legendary restaurant, but a gaping hole in the forager's feast was evident in the area as the owner/manager/chefs took time to start a family and regroup.
According to an initial report in Food and Wine, this internationally-renowned and celebrated pair of culinary eclectics (who you are unlikely to meet in the dining room, just so-you-know) had their eye on the Olema Inn for some time before making the move to buy it and to take it to an entirely new dimension from 'wedding cake white', cute B&B to the world-class wonder of all things fished, farmed, foraged, hunted and harvested at its back door.
The Food and Wine article quoted Daniel as describing he and his partner as being: "Like the fog, the dark, brooding coast."
Works for me. Though wait staff was professional and impeccably turned out, I thought a tad abrupt, perhaps a little overloaded with such a bustling crowd. But then again, given the exclusivity of Sir and Star hours - Wednesday through Sunday from 5pm to 9pm, maybe come eight on a Sunday evening, it's simply time to get the show on the road, lock up and see what next week brings in terms of both the bounty from neighboring farms and a lively, undoubtedly colorful reservation list (Thomas Keller ate his birthday dinner at Mankas, Prince Charles and Camilla supped while staying out there, too).
Sir and Star proprietors are the sixth owners of the The Olema Inn, which opened in July 4, 1876, as a gathering place for loggers, ranchers and farmers. According to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle: "The property was part of a 9,000-acre land grant from Mexico to Raphael Garcia. His son, Felix, lost the inn as a gambling debt to John Nelson, who ran the stagecoach line to San Rafael. It stayed in the Nelson family for three generations."
Former owner, Jennifer Sulprizio was quoted in the article with regards to the property's reputation as being haunted. "It is a Nelson, in fact, who is the ghost," she said. The United States Army had taken over the historic inn for a barracks during World War II, and according to the Chronicle article, a deeply despondent Edgar Nelson, shot himself to death in the yard.
Jennifer and her husband Dana Sulprizio moved to her native Nova Scotia after selling the Inn to Margaret and Daniel. Though Jennifer was quoted as saying that she met the ghost once and he honored her plea not to scare her, the ghost of Edgar Nelson has reportedly made himself known to more than a few staff and guests at the property over the years.
By all accounts, benevolent and non-threatening, I don't doubt a spirited presence within its four walls had some influence on the tone of the interior and exterior transformation of the Inn as a roadhouse.
Best and the whole point of the place is its hyper-local, lyrical menu, one reminiscent of two decades of Manka's signature flair and extraordinary vision and taste, yet perfectly suited to its new surrounds.
My date and I restrained from overdoing it with our order, though here was a menu that made for considerable debate in which of so many outstanding dishes would make the cut in a dinner for two. I guess that's the appeal of the restaurant's Saturday night special Chef Menu, in which diners are encouraged to linger long over several small courses.
We weren't disappointed with our choices. A Duet of Salads for starters featured "One of Peter's Pickled Fennel, Crimson Beets and Herbs and Another of Coastal Artichoke, Rocket and Radish."
A second starter, we snuck in for good measure: "Sir and Star's Bubble and Squeak Salad of Coastal Cabbage, Peter's Potatoes and Bacon, Crowned with a Coastal Duck Egg."
Mains that made our mouths water almost as much in reading the menu as was proof in the pudding were: "Last Seen Grazing On the Grasses of Roger Ranch, Goat, Times Two, Rack and Stew" and: "With a Deep Bow to Dave, Short Ribs of His Beef, With Cream Braised Coastal Cabbage."
Not being very handy with whipping out a suitable flash-driven camera without disturbing fellow dining serenity, I refrained from any attempt to take photos of such unrivaled fare (without doubt my best meal out of the year), but I did partake in a couple of must-mention sides: "Finger Fries of Peter's Potatoes With a Dip of Stinging Nettle" and "Bolinas Broccoli at Its Very Best (oh yes)".
Dessert is not what its about at Sir and Star, although for those who simply must have a little something sweet: "The Softly Served Bean of Local Dairy Cream Doused with a Housemade Concoction of Farmers' Market Bitter Almonds" would, I'd say, hit the spot.
Sir and Star is located at 10000 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, at Highway One. Hours are 5 pm to 9 pm Wednesdays to Sundays. Reservations highly recommended. Local wines and beers, corkage $20, starters $10 to $12 and main courses most reasonably priced at $20. Call 415 663-1034.
