Chef Larkspur plans upscale, relaxed organic restaurant, Marin Provisions – Marin Independent Journal

Larkspur resident and private chef Lorenzo Rios may be known in the city for his pandemic-born empanadas delivery business, but his goal is to take root deeper with a brick-and-mortar restaurant at the Larkspur city center. Rios launched a Kickstarter fundraising campaign last week and hopes to make his vision of an upscale, fast-paced, laid-back organic restaurant that he calls Marin Provisions a reality.

“Our goal is to increase the dining options in Marin with healthy, homemade items,” he wrote in a recent email. The financing it will raise will be used to obtain a lease; slight remodeling; hiring and training; and the purchase of a point of sale system, inventory, insurance and equipment (rotisserie, range hood, fryers and stove).

“Timing is the key to success,” writes Rios on his project page. “So with the right space and the right conditions, we think the time is right. “

Rios focuses on the storefront space of 250B Magnolia Ave. currently home to Posie Ice Cream, which owner and chef Kyle Caporicci plans to vacate at the end of July.

The menu will include organic roast chicken cured for at least 12 hours, sandwiches, paninis, and a few vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options. Rios will include a few of his customers’ favorites like a Caesar salad that follows a 25-year-old secret recipe and the aforementioned empanadas with toppings such as Mexican birria; Jamaican beef or chicken; and spicy apple or pumpkin. It also plans to host meat and vegetarian paella evenings, as well as private multi-course seasonal dinners for up to 12 diners.

Rios has been a caterer and private chef since the early 2000s, when, shortly before the coronavirus shutdown, he decided to step down from his position as Team Leader of the Prepared Foods Department at Whole Foods in Mill Valley to create a small catering business and later empanadas and dinner delivery service.

The chef brings extensive experience to the initiative, from his training at L’Academie de Cuisine in Maryland and under the tutelage of renowned chefs such as Gérard Pangaud, José Andrés and Thomas Keller of Napa Valley’s flagship restaurant French Laundry. He owned and operated a bed and breakfast and cafe, and worked on the East Coast at a fledgling wholesale fish business in Bethesda, MD, which he helped turn into a gourmet market, among other places. .

“We are delighted to bring this new concept to Larkspur and the neighboring communities of Marin, as well as to introduce ourselves to visitors to our great city,” he wrote. The restaurant will offer indoor and courtyard dining, take-out and deliveries.

Learn more about Chef Rios, his background, and his all-or-nothing Kickstarter project which expires June 3 at 6:37 p.m. at kickstarter.com/projects/thetattooedchef/healthy-organic-food-in-marin/community. Questions and comments are encouraged.

Rios continues to offer its private catering and empanadas delivery services. Place your orders on thetattooedchef.com or by contacting Rios by email at thetatooedchef@protonmail.com or by phone at 415-699-4569.

Posie update

What’s new with the owner and pastry chef of Posie Caporicci and his inventive homemade pasteurized ice cream and his finely crafted bakery products?

Stop by the store at 250B Magnolia Ave. for ice cream in cups and bars, cookies, pies and cakes from noon to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, from noon to 9:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and from noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays until July. After that, he plans to continue his wholesale and pop-up business. For now, you can also find a selection of Posie ice cream and baked goods at Bay Area locations like Palmetto in Oakland and periodically at The Lodge in Fairfax.

Follow updates on Instagram @posieicecream.

Aloha to ALOH-O

Strawberry Village in Mill Valley has a new addition to its dining assortment with the opening last week of ALOH-O in the space vacated by Nekter Juice Bar which remains open in Novato. This is number 5 for sushi chef Jerry Zhang and his wife and co-owner Jasmina Luo as they constantly develop the course he established three years ago to deliver quick and nutritious take-out. .

He calls it Japanese-American fast food, and draws on his more than 20 years of experience in authentic Japanese cuisine for the poke bowls, bento boxes and sushi at the fast casual restaurant.

Like the classic Hawaiian dish, ALOH-O poke bowls are made with a base layer of white, brown, or sushi rice, mixed greens, potato chips, or a combination, followed by two scoops or more protein (salmon, regular or spicy tuna, yellowtail flounder, crab meat, butterfly shrimp or gluten-free meatless chicken) and topped with sauce (spicy or non-spicy original, Hawaii, sesame, ponzu, spicy mayo or spicy shoyu) and unlimited additions such as green, red or crispy onions, cucumber, edamame, corn, avocado, mango, jalapeño, masago, tamago, tofu, seaweed salad, pineapple, ginger and wasabi.

The fish is also available in nigiri or sushi rolls. Bento boxes are served with white rice, greens, and two hot or cold dishes including beef, chicken and teriyaki salmon, tonkatsu, nigiri, sushi rolls, or tempura. Japanese snacks and drinks are also available.

Zhang and Luo, the former owners of Sushi Tri in Novato and Woking in San Rafael, opened their original location in Northgate One Mall in San Rafael in the summer of 2018, followed by Novato, Petaluma and Santa Rosa. Food service is not available at this time, but Mill Valley and Petaluma both offer limited outdoor seating.

Place take out orders at aloh-o.com or meet at 800 Redwood Highway in Mill Valley from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Artisanal pasta

Learn how to make handmade pasta with Italian Chef and Cooking Instructor Deborah Dal Fovo, who will be giving an online cooking class called “Handmade Flour Workshop + Water Pasta” to help raise funds for 10,000 Degrees, an organization based in San Rafael. The interactive live event takes place at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Chef Dal Fovo will teach participants how to measure, mix and knead pasta dough into a variety of interesting shapes. No rolling machine or special equipment is needed. She will be joined by alumni and 10,000 degree staff who will share details about the organization’s college success programs. He supports Bay Area students from low-income backgrounds to and through college with financial aid counseling, nearpeer coaching, scholarships, financial aid management, and career counseling.

Tickets cost $ 50 and include a live lesson, ingredient list and recipe, plus a link to the course video for later viewing. Go to bit.ly/33RS4s9.

To learn more about 10,000 degrees or to donate, visit 10000degrees.org. Chef Dal Fovo’s recipes, photos and writings on Italian life and cuisine can be found on his blog La Bella Vita (Italian for “the good life”) at theartofitalianliving.com.

Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Please email her at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with local food and restaurant news and follow Instagram.com/therealdealmarin for updates on the Real Deal Marin restaurant guide reveal. .