Catherine Gildiner's fascinating memoir "Too Close to the Falls recounts an exceptionally unconventional childhood, including a mother who did not cook. Eating out every night was a normal part of Gildiner's upbringing--quite different from most of us growing up in the '50s, whose rare dinners out were very special occasions.Today, many people do eat out quite regularly, although probably not every night like Gildiner's family. And on a typical weeknight--say a warm, summer Thursday evening--the tired and hungry masses are looking for a satisfying meal, cooked and served by someone else, and easy on the wallet. Thus, the allure of the neighborhood restaurant and bar. By the looks of Gaspare's Pizzeria, Ristorante & Bar's parking lot on this particular night, a lot of Marinites have found such a spot. Arriving at the tail end of happy hour (4-6pm), complete with free appetizers, the place was packed.
The vibrant Moorish tiles and arched doorways from Kasbah, a previous restaurant, remain, although the carpets are gone from the floors and walls. The concrete floors, plastic grape leaves and straw-wrapped Chianti bottles hanging from the ceiling give Gaspare's the look and feel of a joint that's been around for years, even though it opened just a few months ago. The brick-lined pizza oven--set back from, but open to the dining room--sets Gaspare's apart from the previous incarnations. It's pretty casual here. So casual, in fact, that when we walked in it wasn't clear whether we should seat ourselves or wait to be seated. Looking confused didn't seem to help. Finally, we asked the bartender, who seated us. Right after that a waiter appeared, and we weren't left alone again.
Gaspare Indelicato and family opened the original Gaspare's in the city more than 20 years ago, and it has maintained its popularity through the years. The longtime San Rafael residents couldn't resist bringing their tried-and-true formula to their hometown when this space became available.
Son Daniel, the manager here, cooks, waits tables, answers the phone--he was even tossing pizza dough while we were there. He says a number of Avance regulars made the transition and are now Gaspare's regulars. And why not? The space is small enough to be comfortable and inviting; Italian, imported and domestic beers are available on tap and by the bottle; plenty of decent California and Italian wines to choose from; and enough menu selections to appeal to every appetite, from half-orders of pasta to seared scallops with polenta and lobster bisque sauce. Daniel says it's been great working up here, welcoming his former coaches from Terra Linda High, having old friends come by, serving lots of familiar faces.
This is not a place for intimate conversations, though. It is noisy. We were halfway through our meal when I realized there was "background" music (oldies, maybe) playing.
The food is pretty much what you'd expect at a local gathering spot, with some notable exceptions.
The Caesar salad ($6.50) was very generous; even shared, it was deemed more than adequate, portion-wise. It was "dusted" with fresh Parmesan and the dressing was pronounced "just right"--a hint of anchovy, but not overpowering. The Insalata Mista ($5, or $9 to serve three people), fresh mixed greens, black olives, pepperoncini, tomatoes and chopped raw onions (white, not red), served with a choice of dressing, was good, if unexciting.
To accompany our salads, we ordered garlic bread, even though a basket of bread is served, along with glasses of ice water, upon being seated. Good choice on our part: This is not like the stuff you pick up at the grocery store to take home and heat up, the loaf with a thin paste of garlic. This bread was blanketed with chopped garlic and herbs. It was aromatic, chewy and satisfying.
Choosing which pizzas to order is no easy task. There are 17 listed on the menu; and that doesn't count the option of creating your own with any of about 35 toppings. Choices range from the basic mozzarella and tomato sauce to onions, rosemary, mozzarella, no tomato sauce to eggplant, feta, mozzarella, tomato sauce to chicken, chilies, onions, spicy tomato salsa, mozzarella and tomato sauce and almost anything else you can think of. Three sizes are offered: 12-inch, six slices; 14-inch, 8 slices and 17-inch, 10 slices--with prices ranging from $9.50 up to $25.
We tried Gaspare's Special ($12 for the 12-inch), with fresh sliced tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, feta, mozzarella and tomato sauce; Terra Linda Trojan ($14 for the small), pepperoni, sausage, tomatoes, spinach, feta, garlic, mozzarella and tomato sauce; and the Combo Fantastico ($15 for the 12-inch)--not for the heart-healthy set--which included pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage, linguica, ground salami, bell peppers, onions, olives, garlic, mozzarella and tomato sauce. This last pie was completely covered by the toppings, yet, the thin, crispy crust--which we really liked--held up just fine. It didn't last long enough for us to determine if the crust would eventually become soggy from the toppings. This was a winner.
We also liked Gaspare's Special--the thin coat of tomato sauce allowed the vegetables and cheeses to come to the forefront, a very tasty combination. In comparison with the other two, the third pizza didn't fare as well--too much spinach, according to the person who ordered it. That's not to say it wasn't good; it just wasn't as good as the other two.
We sampled a couple of other dishes as well, including gnocchi with pesto ($11.50); the plate of plump little potato dumplings swimming in sauce was pleasing, though not particularly impressive, and far too much for one meal. We also tried the Grilled Eggplant, Bell Pepper and Fresh Mozzarella ($9.50) panino (not a typo, panini is the plural) served on herbed focaccia, accompanied by a side salad. If you're looking to eat a lot inexpensively, this is the way to go. The vegetables and cheese were good, but the sandwich seemed a little bland, like something was missing. Because of its size, I brought half home for the next day's lunch. Interestingly enough, after sitting all night, it was so much better the next day. Was it because I had no pizza to compare it to? Or had the ingredients soaked into the focaccia and brought out something that wasn't there the night before? I don't know, but I had to change my opinion on second taste.
Stuffed though we were, we figured we had to try Robin's Homemade Cheesecake ($4.95), and the Italian Tiramisu ($4.95). Creamy and smooth, with a very thin cookie-type crust, the cheesecake was quite good, but it didn't knock our socks off. The tiramisu sure did. Rich mascarpone cheese, espresso and chocolate, soaked up by sponge cake was ambrosial. Even if you can't eat one more bite, get it to go.
Other than our confusion about being seated when we first walked in, the waitstaff was attentive and accommodating. Every neighborhood needs at least a couple of restaurants like Gaspare's: fresh, hearty food, reasonably priced. And while they may not know your name--yet--it is congenial all the same.
