| Yankee Pier 286 Magnolia Ave. Larkspur 415-924-7676 www.yankeepier.com/larkspur Cape Cod 101 |
The moment my friends Stacy, Meghan and I walked through the door at Yankee Pier, Meghan (who is from New Hampshire) decided it looked like “Cape Cod 101.” Thus my new culinary term that isn’t really a culinary term was born.
The restaurant is located in a house built in the late 1800s. It has a covered patio with wooden picnic tables in front, an interior with simple wooden furniture, paper-covered white tablecloths, pale yellow walls, an open kitchen and sea-oriented illustrations and lamp fixtures hanging about. We sat at a picnic table on the rear deck. Each table had a bucket with Tabasco and vinegar bottles inside.
We opted to start with the oyster platter, which included three of the day’s oyster selections. Surprisingly, our favorites of the bunch were from Diamond Point, Va. Never would have guessed. Following the oysters, we ordered a bottle of Papa Pietro 2004 Pinot Noir (toasty nose, nice layers, smooth, dark cherries and a long finish).
Next we shared an order of fried clam strips. The lightly battered strips came with tartar and cocktail sauces although I liked them just fine on their own.
The roasted beet salad had thin-sliced beets, red plums and pungent tatsoi greens (spoon-shaped leaves that had a mustard/lemon pepper flavor to them) dressed with a Champagne vinaigrette. The wedge of iceberg lettuce salad was crisp and fresh and came with homemade shaft blue cheese dressing.
The soups came to the table in large-sized mugs. The clam chowder (New England style, of course!) had celery and bacon along with the clams and was topped with a biscuit. The corn chowder was sweet and had celery, corn, bacon and onions.
One of my favorite fish choices was on the menu, so I had to go for the Hawaiian Escolar. It was served charbroiled and topped with a cilantro vinaigrette. The fish was thick, white, lovely and moist. It was buttery and almost creamy in texture—an absolute joy. It came with lightly seasoned, roasted red potatoes, sautéed green beans and cherry tomatoes.
Stacy went old school and opted for the beer battered fish ‘n’ chips. And the restaurant’s simple style did the dish justice. The fish was crispy outside (not soggy, thank goodness!) and moist inside, and we had the vinegar right on the table for the fries.
Meghan chose the Maine lobster dinner, which came with drawn butter, roasted potatoes and vegetables. It was served whole but was disassembled (Meghan said that was very “Marin”). Regardless, it was cooked perfectly and tasted fresh and moist—just what a Maine lobster dinner should be. I think she had a smile on her face the entire time she was eating.
For dessert we chose the chocolate cream pie. Made with semi-sweet chocolate, it came with fresh whipped cream and a thin, delicate crust. We also tried the three berry tart, which had strawberries, blueberries and blackberries. It had a cobbler-type crust with a strong vanilla flavor and was served warm with vanilla bean ice cream. Last came the lemon meringue pie, which was piled high with meringue.
There’s an art to keeping things simple and letting the natural flavors take the starring role—and Yankee Pier is where it happens.
