As our name Comforts implies, our goal is to evoke a sense of comfort through elevated homestyle meals. Being able to provide comfort food has been particularly rewarding and meaningful to us during these uncertain and challenging times.
As we navigate through these torrential waters, we have focused our efforts on family-style meals, easy grab-and-go salads, homemade desserts and breakfast pastries. We also are thrilled to reopen for our fabulous full-service weekend brunch (outdoor dining), featuring our famous stuffed, pecan-crusted French toast, bacon fried rice, flavorful scrambles, salads, burgers and more! And, we are making it easier for you to get your Chinese chicken salad fix by opening a “Chinese chicken salad only express lane!”
As the bitter winter subsides, we can see signs of spring’s bounty popping up in the markets. Artichokes, asparagus, English peas, radishes and much more will grace our Easter and Passover menu. Check our website for more information as the holidays approach!
So, come visit us to get your daily dose of comforts, with satisfying breakfast, lunch and dinner options as well as homemade pastries and holiday favorites! We are so grateful to have such loyal and supportive customers who have allowed us to keep our doors open and continue to serve our community. We look forward to welcoming you soon!
Here in California, we are fortunate to have access to a number of wonderful farms and amazing produce. Below is a list of some of our local vendors whom we’ve worked with over the years.
- Allstar Organics, Nicasio
- Draper Farms, San Anselmo
- Little Organic Farms, Petaluma
- Vine Ray Farms, Santa Rosa
- Marin Roots Farm
- San Anselmo Farm Stand, San Anselmo
- Prather Ranch, near Mt. Shasta
- Three Twins Ice Cream, Petaluma
- Equator Coffees, San Rafael
- Peerless Coffee & Tea, Oakland
SHAVED ASPARAGUS SALAD
4 servings
This is a wonderful and versatile salad, utilizing Spring’s most popular vegetable. We use it in its raw form, giving this salad great texture. Have fun with this salad by adding your favorite goat cheese or crumbled feta. You can also replace the pine nuts for toasted pecans, candied walnuts or even mini croutons.
Salad:
- 12 large asparagus, with the tough ends snapped off, sliced very thinly on a bias
- 2 large eggs, hard-boiled
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted lightly in a dry sauté pan
- 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)
- 6 cups spring mix lettuce
- Vinaigrette:
- 5 tablespoons olive oil (mild)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons champagne vinegar (or lemon juice)
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ½ teaspoon each salt and fresh ground pepper
For the vinaigrette, place all ingredients in a small jar with a lid. Cover and shake vigorously until combined.
Put the sliced asparagus in a small bowl. Coat the asparagus with a little of the dressing and set aside. This will allow the asparagus to ‘marinate’ a little in the dressing while you prep the rest of the salad.
Place the greens in a large bowl and dress lightly with some of the dressing. Divide the lettuce among four plates. Top each plate equally with the nuts, sun dried tomatoes and bacon. Using a box grater with the largest size, grate the hard-boiled eggs equally over the salads.
Top the salads with the marinated asparagus. Drizzle each plate with a touch more vinaigrette and serve.
Erin’s Roast Chicken With Gravy Recipe
I lived overseas for about five years and every time I’d come home, my dad would make my favorite meal — roast chicken with gravy. Being Japanese, we would eat this with Japanese rice, which I’d soak in gravy. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner and it’s my ultimate comfort meal!
I like crispy skin, so I roast my chicken at a high heat. Preheat your oven to 395 degrees (my oven runs hot, so you can go as high as 425). With kitchen shears, cut out the backbone of a whole roasting chicken so the chicken lays down flat (breast side up, also known as “spatchcocking”). Put the backbone in a pot of water with a little salt, whole peppercorns, a couple of bay leaves and vegetable scraps* (see note), and leave it to simmer at the back of the stove.
*Note: Whenever I peel and trim carrots or cut the bottoms off a celery stick or remove the tough outer layers of an onion, I throw all those bits and scraps in a plastic baggie and keep them in the freezer. I add this straight out of the bag to my chicken stock.
Take a paper towel and pat the chicken dry. Place on a baking rack that fits into a sheet pan. Rub room temperature butter all over the skin, then drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Sprinkle the whole chicken with garlic salt and pepper (use more than you think — be very generous). Roast in oven for about 35 minutes. If chicken skin starts to get too dark, place some foil over it until the chicken is done. When a thermometer tested in the thigh reads 165 degrees, pull the chicken from the oven. Cover with a loose tent of foil and let rest. Meanwhile, put about 3 tablespoons of butter in a small pot over medium-high heat.When melted, add 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Stir for a minute, until the flour is incorporated and it becomes a paste. Add in your simmering chicken stock one ladle at a time. Keep adding and stirring (approximately 4 or 5 cups of stock) until a nice thickness develops. Remove chicken from rack. Any drippings from sheet pan should go right into the gravy. Season with salt and pepper. Serve and enjoy!
