It's summer, glorious summer on the bay our breathtaking, eve-changing, so-easy-to-take-for-granted expanse of salty waves and sea breezes. Many of us see it every day, yet sometimes forget to notice the large and small dramas as life unfolds on the water. Fog tumbles in over the bridge bringing cool relief from searing temperatures; sails shimmer in the sunshine; patient fisherfolk pull crab and fish up and in from the chilly chop of the rocks. It doesn't get much better than this. At the east end of the Tiburon walking path, just beyond Elephant Rock, The Caprice has been dishing up dinners and vistas of the bay for 43 years. The décor is simple and timeless, as it should be. White tablecloths and shining wine glasses; silvery candle holders and wooden chairs simply set the stage for the main event of the view. Which is as it should be.
Sitting cantilevered over Raccoon Strait with Angel Island, a slice of the city, Tiburon harbor, Belvedere and a peek at the bridge rising in the distance who gives a fig for new trends in interior decoration?
Gregg Sessler, the young chef who took the helm in the kitchen last October, has reworked the menu, weaving in his previous experience at Marche aux Fleurs to create a cuisine he describes as contemporary American with a French flair. His menu, a simple list of salads, appetizers and entrées, incorporates a complex variety of produce and unusual ingredients into his creations.
We started with an iced platter of six Pacific Northwest Cold Water Oysters ($14), served on the half shell. Each had been dabbed with a few eggs of Osetra caviar, whose salty, seaworthy tang provided perfect contrast for the bivalves against a squeeze of lemon and a tiny spoonful of sweet Londer GewŸrztraminer sorbet. I thought the price reasonable for a half dozen, but wished the oysters hadn't varied from tiny to large in size, which made them confusing to share around a table of four.
We also liked Sessler's take on a Caesar salad, incorporating frisée and Endigia endive ($9) with Parmesan polenta croutons and a creamy, lemony Caesar vinaigrette. Another refreshing salad, also a noteworthy departure from the norm, is of Orchard Farms mache ($10), strewn with chewy farro berries, sugar plum tomatoes, red torpedo onion and fromage blanc in an herbal verbena thyme dressing.
Brentwood white corn and summer tomato gazpacho ($9) paired two different soup purées, one palest yellow and the other tomato red, poured simultaneously into a wide, white bowl, so that they formed a yin-yang spectrum of sour and salty against sweet flavors. But the soups were served in scanty portion for the price, barely covering the bottom of the bowl.
As an amuse bouche after the salads, our server brought us tiny white demitasse cups of chilled cantaloupe soup kissed with Riesling. Small complimentary tastes are always a thoughtful touch, especially since the prices at Caprice are steep for Marin.
From the brief selection of appetizers, one of our party chose black pepper-encrusted ahi ($12), seared rare and sliced against a cool backdrop of marinated cucumbers and pea sprouts with citrus sushi rice and avocado dressing. Another assayed a Sausalito watercress and duck confit salad ($14), a second plate that seemed skimpy for the price. A circle of artichoke slices and shredded duck bound with a bland Meyer lemon and roasted shallot dressing was crowned by a froth of green watercress leaves. It needed more punch. Both were acceptable portions for appetizers; however, being listed on the menu as second courses set us up to expect the portions to be more in the small-plate range.
On the other hand, entrées are quite generous and equally creative. I shared a third of my delicately pan-seared Atkins Ranch lamb loin ($28) with a companion and still had plenty for myself. The accompaniments of a potato gratin kissed with truffles and cream, tiny French green beans and dark, chewy mushroom morsels that popped with pungent flavor were all spot-on. The plate was napped in a slightly sweet jus reduction, and scattered with powdered pistachios.
Pan-roasted Alaskan halibut ($29), gloriously golden crisp above and snowy and tender below, swam atop a bed of sautéed purple amaranth leaves draped over halved purple potatoes. This pretty composition was napped in a Champagne vinaigrette flavored by bits of shellfish and flecked with green herbs. Tastes were shared all around.
The wine list at Caprice includes eight wines by the glass ranging between $8.50 for a 2005 Renard rosé from California and $12 for 2001 Mount Eden Vineyards Pinot Noir from the Santa Cruz Mountains. Caprice offers the option of a $15 flight of any three. Bottles from the regular list begin at $32 for the rosé or $36 for a 2003 MacLean Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc or a 2004 McManus Petite Sirah, and top out at $120 for a 2002 Twomey Napa Valley Merlot. There's a separate Cellar Select list, with bottles from $125 to $300, and prices for magnums and double magnums soaring even higher.
Desserts do not really measure up to the standard set by the savory courses. Cinnamon cream torte ($9) tasted like homemade cinnamon graham crackers layered with whipped cream. Three tiny scoops of coffee ice cream and a spoonful of blackberry compote didn't add enough pizazz to elevate this above the mundane. Chocolate galette ($9), discs of chocolate layered with something sweet that looked curdled, like cream that had been whipped too long, tasted OK with its sprinkle of toasted almonds and cherries, but still seemed amateurish in execution. There are also artisan cheeses, which may prove to be the better choices, paired with glasses of dessert wine and port.
I've always liked Caprice, in part because of the smashing views, and also because it's relatively quiet, which is becoming more and more unusual in dinner houses. Throughout this visit, service was friendly, attentive and professional. Gregg Sessler is off to a running start. With a little fine tuning, and more attention to the after dinner sweets, his reinvented Caprice should be set for success.
