Come To Sausalito.com

Outback Steakhouse

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Outback Steakhouse

Our Rating.................. 5 Sea Lions

192 Donahue St., Sausalito

"We're On Our Way" or Takeout Number: 415-331-6193.  They don't take reservations here, but you can call ahead as you're driving in and "get your name on the clipboard."

Website is here.     Menu for online takeout orders is here.

Free parking in the shopping center lot.

Open for Late Lunch (weekends only) and Dinner. Most recent editor review: November, 2008.  Entree price range (for Dinner) at time of most recent review: $8.50-$26 ($29 for King Crab).

Fast Forward Summary^TM:  It's an Outback Steakhouse, one that has King Crab Legs.  It can be a convenient place to stop for a decent meal if you stick to the less expensive items on the menu.  If you're going to spend $15 on an entree there are much better places in Sausalito to do so.  That said, drop this place somewhere else in America and it might be the best restaurant in town.

 

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Outback Steakhouse: The Details

This Outback is largely the same as all the others I've visited.  As chain restaurants go they're better than many, but they obviously don't approach the quality of the top places in a sophisticated dining area like Sausalito.  Some of their prices are reasonable, some should inspire you to go into Sausalito proper and pay the same dollars for a real quality meal.

On a recent visit we were on a shopping trip and didn't have time to go back down into downtown Sausalito.  One editor had the Outback burger and fries, the other had the new Alice Springs Chicken Quesadillas appetizer.  Neither dish cost more than $9, and both were really moist and flavorful.  We got tasty complimentary brown bread and butter.  Our sodas cost $3 each, but at least they included free refills any time they got even half empty, and there are plenty of $3 Diet Cokes in Sausalito with no refills.  The service was fast and pleasant. 

As we left we had to admit that we could get more at lunch for the same money in Sausalito, but that Outback scores highly when the question is "Where in Sausalito ia a good place to go for dinner if your budget is $24 plus tax and tip for two people?"  The only reason we did not place Outback on our "best Value" rsetaurant list is that other parts of their menu feel overpriced.

The location is convenient, across from Best Buy right next to the northernmost Sausalito exit from 101.  This is a good place to drop into if you've been running around, are on your way home and don't have the energy to cook.  But you have to be selective on the menu or you'll pay more money than the food deserves.

Unlike many Outbacks, they have the King Crab Legs on the menu.  The price is reasonable compared to other places where you can get them at all.  This is the first Outback I ever visited.  Imagine my surprise when traveling to upstate New York and discovering that their Outback did not offer the crab!

Service is typical chain quality, but I've had two or three really excellent servers, people you remember appreciatively after the meal.  On our most recent visit we had excellent service.

There's a small lagoon nature preserve for migratory birds out front, sandwiched between the parking lot and the highway.  Hey, some of our best friends are migratory!

On a rainy night the fact that they'll bring the takeout food out to your car at the curb is a nice service.

I never get tired of saying, "Free parking!"

They do not open for lunch, although on weekends they open at the unlikely hour of 1:00 PM, right after lunch.  This has always struck me as bizarre given the fact that they're a business lunch style place.  Perhaps these hours of the day are spent, a la Pinky and the Brain, by employees planning to take over the world.

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How ComeToSausalito.com Reviews are Different

We use a One to Ten "Sea Lion" system to rate restaurants, where ten Sea Lions is the highest possible score.  The Benjamin Bufano statue of a Sea Lion that graces the edge of the Bay in Sausalito is an enduring symbol of the city.

Follow this link for a full explanation of our unique review system.

Something else that people should know about Outback Steakhouse?  Is the staff really planning world conquest prior to 1:00 PM on weekdays?  Disagree with any of our suggestions?  Please leave a comment below so our readers get the full story.

Paradise Bay

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Paradise Bay

 

Our Rating.................. 5 Sea Lions

 

1200 Bridgeway, Sausalito CA 94965           Phone: 415-331-3226

Website is here.  Use these links to see menus for lunch and dinner, as well as small plates and salads.   Wine list is here.  Chef bio is here.  Open for lunch and dinner.  Free parking in lot.

Fast Forward Summary^TM:  Located just a few blocks north of downtown Sausalito, Paradise Bay serves American food with an emphasis on organic meats and fish.  Nice setting, but expensive for what you get and you can get great meals, lower prices with even better views elsewhere in Sausalito.  This is a place where the pleasant people make you want things to go well, but "something always seems to go wrong" on many visits.  Their patio in back is one of the nicest sunny-day lunch spots in town, although they don't have the killer San Francisco skyline view that you only see farther south in downtown Sausalito.  If you eat outside at night they don't always have the propane heaters running, although they did when we were there most recently in early January, 2009.  Lots of free parking. 

 

Paradise Bay: The Details

Here are some of the things we think this restaurant does well:  They choose and train their people to be pleasant and welcoming.  The deck in back is large and a great spot to enjoy a nice Bay view.  Half the dining room can be opened up with sliding glass windows/doors, so on a warm summer day you're really eating in fresh air, either inside or outside.  Fresh high-quality organic ingredients.  Good sandwiches and burgers, albeit very pricy ones.  Best garlic fries in Sausalito (and better than the fabled Gordon Biersch garlic fries in San Francisco).  Lots of free parking.

Here, in our opinion, are some of the problems:  The prices will run a shiver down your spine, and despite the quality of the fresh ingredients the final product leaves us wishing "if I were going to spend that much, I could have spent it a lot better elsewhere in Sausalito."  Some nights server visits are less frequent than with most restaurants in Sausalito, let alone expensive ones.  You have to ask to get drinks refilled or to get bread brought to your table.  Something goes wrong here at times: the wrong dish to the wrong table, long delays, undercooked meal and so on.  Maybe Gordon Ramsey can stop by and help them straighten it all out, because the place and the people have a lot going for them.

Our recipe for Paradise Bay goes like this...  On a great sunny day when you're not in a hurry, sit on the deck or the open-walled dining room and enjoy the breeze and the nice view.  Eat from the sandwiches part of the menu to keep the check down (though be prepared for $13 and $14 sandwiches), order the garlic fries to go with whatever you get.  Lean back, relax and enjoy.

This location is an historic site.  In the 1970's it was called Zack's by the Bay, and in addition to being a restaurant it was arguably the most active club scene north of San Francisco.  A lot of the locals from all over the North Bay have stories about this place and how certain youthful rituals were lived out here.  In the late 1980's and 1990's it was Margaritaville, a nice but unremarkable California cuisine-ized Mexican food place.  It was reshaped into Paradise Bay in a Tommy-Bahama-style makeover a few years ago, and the architect did a fabulous job on the exterior and retained the great openness to the Bay.

We keep coming back here every so often on a nice day.  Hopefully the kinks will get worked out and we can start adding some more Sea Lions to this rating.  Anyone have Gordon Ramsey's phone number?

 

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How ComeToSausalito.com Reviews are Different

We use a One to Ten "Sea Lion" system to rate restaurants, where ten Sea Lions is the highest possible score.  The Al Sybrian statue of a Sea Lion that graces the edge of the Bay in Sausalito is an enduring symbol of the city.

Follow this link for a full explanation of our unique review system.

Something else that people should know about Paradise Bay?  Do you think that Dr. Phil should be called in to help us because we're crazy, instead of Gordon Ramsey being called in to help Paradise Bay because they're inconsistent?  Disagree with any of our suggestions?  Please leave a comment below so our readers get the full story.

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Rustico

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Rustico

Our Rating................... 5 Sea Lions

 

NOW CLOSED

As of About Jan. 1, 2009 Rustico had a sign on their window that says they will be closed for a few days, with no return date set.  3 weeks later the building was empty and there was a For Lease sign on the window.  Sadly, the list of closed Sausalito restaurants has gained another member.

 

39 Caledonia St., Sausalito, CA 94965      415-332-4500

Website is here.     Menu is here.

Free street parking in the neighborhood, but during busy times you may have to walk a few blocks.

Open for Lunch (Wednesday-Sunday during Winter) and Dinner (seven days a week).  Most recent editor review: November, 2008.  Price range (for Dinner) at time of most recent review: $9.50-$21.50.

Fast Forward Summary^TM:  A small Italian restaurant aimed more at the locals than at visitors, the big draw here is occasional jazz on the weekends -- video samples are below.  (Their next-door-neighbor Caffe DiVino has music on weeknights and weekends).   Quality of the musicians in both venues can be very high.  If you're coming on a weekend call ahead to confirm that they'll have live music on the night you plan to visit if this is an important part of your choice of restaurant.  Food is typical Italian neighborhood fare, but on the pricey side for what you get.  The Rustico sign was recently taken down, but the restaurant continues to operate normally pending a rumored name change -- we'll keep you posted.  

 

Google Map Instructions:  Use the "+" and "-" buttons to zoom in and out, the arrow keys to scroll the map, and the SAT button to see the satellite view.

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Rustico: The Details

Rustico's big draw, in the eyes of our editors, is the jazz they sometimes have on the weekends.  It's usually good, and sometimes it is very very good.  We have videos below of some performances this last year at Rustico.

'As of this writing their music schedule is not online.  We encourage you to call ahead to find out the exact days and times when they have music.  Caffe DiVino next door also has high quality music (we've heard both jazz and classical recently), and in the Autumn of 2008 has done so more regularly on days when we have visited or walked by.

Rustico is a neighborhood Italian restaurant frequented by local residents.  This building has gone through a series of owners and menus over the last fifteen years.  The bar area is classy and inviting.

On our last visit the food here was pretty good, but not by any means special.  I had the pizza, which was better than many "pizza joints" but not on a par with the leading Italian restaurants in town.  The crust is thin, the cheese unremarkable, but the toppings are fresh.  Like Poggio, they keep the prices on the pizza down compared to the rest of the menu. 

The handful of tables next to the wood stove are a really nice place to sit on a cool night.  If you call in your reservation in advance you can ask for one of these spots.

Here are videos of The Jazz Lab Band performing at Rustico:

 

 

 

- - -

How ComeToSausalito.com Reviews are Different

We use a One to Ten "Sea Lion" system to rate restaurants, where ten Sea Lions is the highest possible score.  The Benjamin Bufano statue of a Sea Lion that graces the edge of the Bay in Sausalito is an enduring symbol of the city.

Follow this link for a full explanation of our unique review system.

Something else that people should know about Rustico?   Disagree with any of our suggestions?  Please leave a comment below so our readers get the full story.

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