the truth about Roxanne's is now public

[Guest guest]

Some of us knew, an abrupt closure like that was kind of odd. We didn't like their "odd" excuses they gave us. Thank you, Anne for email me the info. sign Sunny

View Marin Independent Journal

 

Leslie Harlib's Cuisine Scene: Roxanne's deli closes

 

 

Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - In a sad finale to the story that broke in this column last month, Roxanne's To Go in Larkspur shut down last week. The closure of the raw food deli signals the end of the unique 212-year reign of haute raw cuisine that restaurateurs Michael and Roxanne Klein brought to Marin. "Michael and I are getting a divorce," said Roxanne Klein. "Because of this, I cannot go on with my business. I can't get investors to do anything further with my name because of the nature of my business partnership with Michael. He decided it was going to be all over. It's not a good situation. But hopefully, once things get settled, one way or other I want to go on with my passion for raw food cooking, and for things I hope to do with my community." Klein told me she's planning to stay in the Bay Area, even though, because of legal issues, she's not able to open any raw food establishment at this time. She says she's working on another book, following the success of the stunning "Raw," (Ten Speed Press, 2003) a glossy cookbook she co-authored with celebrity chef and Chicago restaurateur Charlie Trotter. "I trust things will get worked out soon," Klein said, "In which case I would love to get back to doing some raw food things in Marin. I'm talking about creating some products, that would hopefully be available in Whole Foods and Safeway. All will have to take a little time." As of this writing, Michael Klein could not be reached for comment. lll A reader raved to me about the home-style Italian dishes with Sicilian flare at Carrera's restaurant, which replaced Cafe Liaison, 114 Main St. in Tiburon, four months ago. Ricardo Carrera, with Sicilian roots, is the chef and owner; his business partner Antonio Morra, from Naples, runs the front of the house. "A lot of people have told me they're happy the French restaurant left and they were hoping for another rustic restaurant," said Carrera. "They also told me they missed what the old Servino's was doing, so that's what we brought back." According to Carrera, the new restaurant was remodeled to look like a home. It's cozy, with some antique pieces and, as he puts it, "The type of tablecloths you'd have in your house, not regular rental linen." Dishes sound hearty, such as osso buco, gnocchi with tomatogorgonzola sauce and meatball and sausage ragu. There's a breadless Sicilian-style meatloaf made with a combination of ground pork and beef, vegetables and cheese, that Carrera says is popular with the no-carb crowd. If you request it, Carrera might make you traditional Sicilian dishes such as pasta con le sarda - thick spaghetti with a sauce of sardines, tomatoes and pine nuts. Carerra's is open Monday to Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturday and Sunday for dinner only. For reservations and information, call 435-5572. lll Down in Sausalito, Guernica's owner Gary Jones told me he's delighted to welcome Gino Margarino, the former owner of Ristorante Astigiano in San Rafael, as his head chef. (Astigiano closed more than a year ago to become Taqueria La Herradura). Margarino worked as a sous chef for Jones for nine months before moving into the top toque position. "The challenge is, he wants to make the menu totally Italian, and I want to keep a couple of Basque specialties, such as the paella and lamb shanks, which is what we're known for," explained Jones. "But he's baking his own bread for us, doing recipes from the town of Asti, where he's from. 'No one's got my recipes,' he told me. That's true. And they're great. So I'm going ahead with it." Guernica, 2009 Bridgeway, is now offering a northern Italian menu. Another change is a four-course early bird dinner between 5 and 7 p.m., for $12.95. "I figure, if I can get people in the door, sell them a bottle of wine and they spread the world, it will be nothing but good for our business," said Jones. lll A couple of weeks ago I got a phone call from Patty Posner, who owns and runs the specialty chocolate shop Chocolat, 540 San Anselmo Ave. in San Anselmo. Since Chocolat opened last December, Patty has been on a mission to find and sell product from some of America's top artisan chocolatiers. She invited me to meet Charles Siegel, founder of a new line of chocolates called Charles Chocolates. They debuted this past weekend at Chocolat, where Posner has the exclusive rights to sell them. Posner says they're "flying out the door. People love them." I understand why. Charles Chocolates, hand-crafted in San Francisco, are all natural, made almost entirely with organic ingredients. You can taste the quality; each bite has a snap, a bloom and a finish, like fine wine. "Flavors need to be pronounced enough so that they blend with the chocolate and not overpower it," Siegel said. He talked while I ate my way through nearly a pound of the stuff: little dark hearts stuffed with ginger, raspberry and passion fruit ganache; crisp chocolate butterflies covering lightly crunchy peanut cream; truffles tangy with hints of blood orange marmalade; molded shapes hiding chewy caramels flavored with Poire William or Fleur de Sel. "Candymaking is no different from fine cooking," said Siegel, who has a background in photography and believes that being an artist is the perfect training for being a chocolatier. He first gained recognition in the food world in the late 1980s and early '90s for a line of high-end confections called Attivo. After a 10-year break, he decided to go back into the chocolate business. "As a photographer, it's all about seeing things. An art background gives you a care for detail. With these chocolates, it's all about the quality of the ingredients that go into them," Siegel explained. Charles Chocolates retail from $1.25 to $1.50 a piece, depending on the size. For more information, call Chocolat at 454-4525. If you have news about the food scene in Marin, the North Bay, or San Francisco, mail Leslie Harlib, Marin IJ, 150 Alameda del Prado, Novato, CA 94948; phone 382-7340; fax 884-1478; e-mail lharlib. Copyright and permissions signature: http://www.bayareaveg.org /http://www.vegdining.comhttp://www.sfvs.orgLiving Foods: SFLivingFoods/due to my high amount of emails, I am unable to answer everyone's emails on vegetarian questions.