Sam's Anchor Cafe

Sam's Anchor Cafe, Drinks and a Snack, Tiburon
May 28, 2016

P&J:
Chips & Onion Dip - Old bay potato chips, creme fraiche with caramelized shallots
Pink Lemonade - citrus vodka, lemon juice, sweet and sour, 7up and cranberry


Notes:
On our way back home from a lovely day in Mill Valley, we decided it was time for a Pink Lemonade.  Years ago, before I moved to California, a friend of mine told me about the must-have beverage at a place in Tiburon.  "But, don't drive there," he warned, suggesting that it was easy to have one too many - the drinks were potent, but didn't taste that way.  "Take the ferry," he said.  Tiburon is north of San Francisco, across the bay; the ferry terminal neighbors Sam's.

We walked into Sam's and through their empty bar to grab a seat on the sunny patio behind the restaurant.  Perhaps a little too sunny (and hot), there was only about 1 umbrella for every 10 tables, but I talked Patrick into it; it seemed a shame to drink Pink Lemonades anywhere but on a sunny patio on this gorgeous day. "We'll just have one," I promised.  So, we sat.  And sat.  And sat.  No less than 5 servers looked at us, sitting at a bare table but for a couple of menus, and never approached us.  About 10 minutes into this nonsense, a group of four was seated two tables away.  "If they are greeted before us, we're leaving," I thought.  And sure enough, they were.  So we left.  I was pretty disappointed, that I waited over 10 years to finally try a Pink Lemonade, and I wasn't going to have one.  But, as we walked back through the bar, Patrick persuaded me to take a seat there instead so we could have a drink.

Boy, am I glad he did.  Those Pink Lemonades were delicious!  The lemonade flavor was so strong that the booze went practically unnoticed; you really could get carried away with these, I'm sure.  We ordered some chips and onion dip to snack on while we enjoyed our lemonades - also very good.


Is it worth a trip to Tiburon for a Pink Lemonade?  Well, if you've never had one, sure.  But is it worth another trip?  I'd say unlikely, but you never know.