Lighthouse Bar & Grill....all the way up there for Scandinavian

So, yeah, here I am. How does one pick up the pieces of a shattered life? By rummaging through the vestiges of the old to remember and refresh anew. At least that is how I am going to look at it as I didn’t want to just give up on something the SO encouraged me to do and something I’d put (so far) eight years of my life into. I wanted to get back to writing and, of course, eating and thought what better way after such a long break than to stroll down food memory lane at some of the last few places me and SO chowed down at.

Yes, that means it has been a year or so since I was there, but for me, the memories are still fresh and the I’ve checked up on the places, which all still seem to be around. Something increasingly rare in the Bay Area. I’m still sorting through the photos and am not exactly sure how many places it will end up being but, I am going to do them in order of when we dined. To kick start this whole food blog thing over again, I’ve reached back to one of those random weekdays when they were out of work and I had midweek days off so we jumped in the truck and headed up the Marin headlands for some photos without all the weekend tourist crowds.

The whole area up there was pretty deserted so we got some good shots sans people. But after a few hours or hiking around and photoing one does get hungry and since we rarely got across the bridge I saw it as an opportunity to hit up some totally obscure and off the beaten track place I had vaguely heard/read about. Of course, this lead to an eye roll from the SO of here we again trying to figure out where it is, but fortunately I remembered the name and could Google up some directions to Lighthouse Bar & Grill.

Turns out the place is through the tunnel and off the 101 North Mill Valley way in a neighborhood that maps seem to label as Strawberry, CA—who knew? To say it is obscure to anyone who doesn’t live nearby is an understatement. It is attached to a swim and tennis club and makes it seem like you need to be a member to get in, which for the restaurant, isn’t true. Anyone can eat there as long as you can get there.

The place has the feel of a clubhouse that is part of some gated community from the 80’s and 90’s. It wasn’t exactly crowded at 1pm on a Wednesday and we just one of a handful of folks there. One table seemed to a small group of retirees playing cards. Okay, maybe more of a retirement village vibe then. I think was initially drew me to checking the place out was the menu, which seems to have a bit of Scandinavian/Denmark bent to it. You know, like the IKEA cafeteria, just more expensive. Pickled herring two ways, Danish snitzel (there’s a difference?), smoked salmon, Danish meatballs, it was all there with an array of burger, salad and pasta dishes.

One quick perusal and and I could tell right away I was gonna get the Danish meatball plate that came with warm red cabbage, pickled cucumber and mashed potatoes and gravy for $16.

As you can see from the pic, I decided to eschew the mashed potatoes and gravy and was offered up the beets instead. Plus, it all came with some rare roast beef rolled and wrapped with horseradish, something not mentioned on the menu, but okay, sure, why not!

I thought I’d get more meatballs but the ones you get are actually bigger than the picture makes them look as it was a large plate of food. The meatballs are a mixture of veal and pork with onion, parsley, garlic, green onion, breadcrumbs and probably a few more things.

They are supposed to be pan fried and it is possible that is how they were cooked here (I forgot to ask) but it is also highly possible they were deep fried, either way, I kind of liked them. Super juicy and dense without being too bready and you could really taste the mix of pork and onion. You get a dipping sauce with it that is a cross between mustard, tartar sauce and horseradish which can be tangy and strong and be all you taste. It was interesting, but I think the meatballs stood well enough on their own.

While I can’t say the cold roast beef and horseradish (not sauce mind you, but straight up horseradish) was an ideal side to pair with this (might have like two more meatballs instead), I was a big fan of the red cabbage. Served warm and only slightly sweet with a real nice vinegar kick on the backside much like the pickled cucumber. Hmmm, people in Scandinavia really like pickling stuff. They both compliment the richness of the meatballs, especially when eaten together, sans sauce. The beets were decent too, though pretty sure they were not homemade, but at least they didn’t taste like a tin can or anything. As an added bonus, you also get bread.

Not just any bread, but that hearty nut and seed stuff which is light on breadiness and heavy on the fiberness. We’ve all seen it in the stores, but I always remember it as being just a bit too much, particularly when not served toasted. I don’t know if that would have helped me eat both pieces but I was able to utilize all three butter packets on one piece because, butter and that was more than enough for my palette.

The SO wasn’t feeling the Scando food vibe and decide to be more health conscious with the cilantro chicken salad $15.

While not anything to write home, or necessarily blog about, it was another hearty portion size with romaine lettuce, avocado, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, green onions, grilled chicken and tortilla chip strips. I’ll guess their version of a Mexican salad. Not a terribly exciting menu choice but the ingredients were fresh tasting, the chicken wasn’t dry and definitely enough to get two meals out of if you are not a big eater. (So not us!)

I’m not gonna sit here and say you should totes seek this place out, but if you are into off-the-wall, off-the-beaten-path places, it is a pretty tasty destination if you stick to their more distinctive choices like the Danish meatballs. Though, a re-review of the menu also showed things like a Copenhagen burger, the Danish meatballs in a sandwich and the aforementioned pickled herring two ways and Danish snitzel. Which by the time I got to the end here I looked up and means it is made of pork as opposed to veal.

I don’t know, I think they should really lean into the whole Scandinavian thing and do a Danish meatball pizza, omelette, scramble, salad and hey, spaghetti and Danish meatball with a horseradish cream sauce! The options are unlimited to go along with all their other offerings, which I know they have to continue to offer when people like me go there with people like the SO who may not want porky delights. You gotta have a gimmick and if it tastes this good, people might actually make the drive over the bridge and through the tunnel to give it try. Maybe.

And this is where I begin again, so be on the look out here and check out my Instagram accounts @placesiveeaten, @placesiveseen and Facebook at Places I’ve Eaten SF and all that social media stuff in the upper right hand corner.