Murray Circle in Sausalito

I was back in the lovely precincts of Cavallo Point, a resort hotel overlooking the Golden Gate and the San Francisco Bay from Sausalito.  Since this was a business trip, I did not have the time to relax in their super-cosy rooms with their real fire-places.  Unlike the last time, a constant drizzle and cold winds kept us indoors the entire time.
Murray Circle, the restaurant of Cavallo Point Lodge has changed.  It is more bistro now than fine dining. However, the food continues to please.



We began with a Cauliflower Soup with olive oil, chives and ground espelette (a variety of chili peppers found in the French province of Espelette).  The hot soup was very refreshing in the cold weather.



Next came Mixed Lettuces with ruby red Grapefruit, toasted Hazelnuts, and Cabecou Crouton with citrus Vinaigrette.



I had selected the Niman Ranch New York Steak that came with broccolini, potato rosti and béarnaise sauce.  Incidentally, the brocollini is a man-made creation - a cross between a broccoli and kai-lan, also known as Chinese brocolli.  The steak was alright but not particularly flavorful or even as tender as I expected it to be.



For dessert, I chose the Roasted White Chocolate Coffee Cake with cocoa nib butter and 'mudslide' ice cream.



Overall, the food was good.  What was better was the time we spent over food and drink in the warm confines of this restaurant, de-stressing from the intense meetings that preceded our dinner.  Murray Circle had been awarded a Michelin star in 2008 which it lost in 2011.  BTW, like I had predicted, Benu did well in the Michelin Guide 2012 getting itself two stars; here’s a complete listing if you are interested.