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The restaurant at California’s Lodge at Marconi on Tomales Bay embraces sustainability like the state park that surrounds it.
In rural West Marin County, about an hour and a half north of San Francisco, Lodge at Marconi is tucked within the 62 acres of rolling hills, hiking trails, and forest of Marconi Conference Center State Historic Park and overlooks Tomales Bay. The small rustic-chic hotel and its 63-seat restaurant, Mable’s, which follows a sustainable waste-not ethos, are rare examples of an upscale lodging and eatery inside a California state park.
Mable’s, which stands for “Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer” (what keeps the Marin coast cool-ish), serves mostly Eastern Mediterranean–inspired food, plus a smattering of other global flavors, sourced from a long list of local and organic farmers, ranchers, and seafood suppliers. Unusual hummus-like spreads abound, one composed of carrot, vanilla, and fennel pollen, another a charred leek-potato garlicky aioli dip. So do Middle Eastern and North African flavors: A whole roasted cauliflower is transformed with pistachio dukkah (coarsely ground nuts, seeds, and spices), chermoula (a green sauce composed of cilantro, parsley, garlic, and spices), and preserved lemon, while crispy chickpeas are accented with za’atar (a blend of thyme, oregano, and sesame seeds) and sumac (a red, tangy, smoky, earthy spice made from dried and ground sumac bush berries).
When its executive chef, Les Goodman, launched a Jewish-style deli at Sonoma County farmers markets back in 2013, he says, “I focused particularly on the Sephardic and Mizrahi styles of cooking, which naturally led to those flavors. I wanted to do more than the traditional Ashkenazi [Eastern European Jewish] food people are familiar with.” (Sephardic Jews originally came from Spain and Portugal; Mizrahi Jews have ties to the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia.)
He adds, “So I served shakshuka [eggs poached in tomato, peppers, onion, garlic, and olive oil] and sabich [pita bread stuffed with fried eggplants, hard-boiled eggs, chopped salad, parsley, and tahini sauce, a sandwich Iraqi Jews created in Israel],” as well as rye waffles topped with smoked salmon, sunny-side-up eggs, and sunflower sprouts, drizzled with probiotic dressing.
But Mable’s isn’t just “locked into the Mediterranean,” adds Les, who is also associate chef instructor at Santa Rosa Junior College. “Our current fish stew has a Vietnamese fisherman’s–style base, and we’re working on a Japanese-inspired pork belly dish. We like to have fun and play with our food, which is how we get some of our flavor combinations and profiles.”
But he doesn’t stop at concocting delicious and inspired food. His ambitious goal: “To get as close to zero-waste as possible.” For his asparagus soup, topped with Dungeness crab and espelette pepper (here’s the recipe), he purées the thicker stalks left over when the delicate tips are used in a salad. “We change our dips almost weekly to ensure we use up product we already have. We don’t peel carrots, just wash them really well before cooking or keep them raw for the crudité. We keep kale ribs intact in our kale Caesar salad. Whenever we have trimmings, we stop and think if there’s another use, and constantly repurpose, dehydrate, pickle, or preserve them.”
In classic French kitchens, such trimmings ended up in the trash, notes Les, who trained in two Michelin-starred fine-dining restaurants in Las Vegas owned by his mentor, French chef Andre Rochat.
My crudité platter with the Charred Leek-Potato Dip contained a taste I couldn’t quite identify, like a cross between apple and potato slices. It turned out to be yacon, a root vegetable native to Peru. “I never heard of yacon until I saw it on my produce vendor’s local farms list,” Les notes. “So I said let’s bring it in, check it out. It was delicious — it’s also in our mixed greens salad.”
On his menu, which constantly changes with the seasons, the mussels in his fish stew come from Tomales Bay, the sea salt in his housemade sourdough focaccia with butter cultured in buttermilk is harvested from the bay by Hog Island Oyster Company in Marshall, and the grass-fed beef is from Stemple Creek Ranch in Tomales. The leeks are from Laguna Farm in Sebastopol in Sonoma County, the asparagus from Full Belly Farm in Yolo County, and cheese plates often feature Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese and Nicasio Valley Cheese (both in Marin County), plus Valley Ford Cheese in Sonoma. Tinned fish from Patagonia Provisions and Tiny Fish Co. ranges from white anchovies, sardines, or octopus with lemon/dill to Jamaican jerk rockfish.
While dining, I spotted a couple with a dog and cat on a leash, sitting on the restaurant’s 1,300-square-foot wrap-around deck, which overlooks trees and the bay — at one with its surroundings. Mable’s is in a separate wood-framed building, near the modernist, slant-sided wood structures that house 45 guest rooms and the lobby lounge. The natural woods and earth-toned textiles and tiles in the decor were designed in Third Bay Tradition style, inspired by Northern California’s rugged environment, by Home Studios in Brooklyn.
If you want to dine at a restaurant whose aesthetic and sustainable farm-to-table and sea-to-table ethos blend seamlessly into the natural environment of beautiful West Marin, Mable’s is perfect.
Lodge at Marconi is open year-round, located at 18500 Highway 1, two miles south of Marshall. Mable’s serves dinner Tuesday through Saturday, 4–9 p.m., brunch Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m.–2 p.m., and Happy Hour Friday through Sunday, 2–4 p.m.
Tuning Into Nature
The Lodge at Marconi site has an unusual back story that features fascinating radio history. Over a century ago, the state park was the coastal headquarters of Guglielmo Marconi’s long-distance radio receiving station. The Italian inventor, known as the “father of radio,” bought the land and built a wireless station so ships on the Pacific Ocean could communicate with other receiving stations from 1913 to 1914.
That’s why vintage radios, plus a topographical map of Marin County circa 1920, adorn the cozy lobby of the 45-room hotel, where big picture windows let nature be part of the decor. And why a handful of radio devotees still send Morse code messages from Point Reyes National Seashore, the national park just 10 miles away, known for 1,500 plant and animal species from tule elk to elephant seals.
Though Morse code ended in 1999, its fans keep it alive at the last working Morse code station in North America, a 1929 building in the 100-square-mile national park called KPH Maritime Radio Station.
The site became the headquarters of Synanon, the drug rehab group, from 1960 to 1980. After the California State Parks Foundation bought the site in 1984, the state parks department turned it into a conference center. Following a major renovation by Oliver Hospitality, a boutique hotel chain specializing in reviving rundown historic properties, Lodge at Marconi opened in late 2023 in multiple wood-framed modernist buildings. For meetings and weddings, Tower Hill (the park’s highest point, where two wood chaise longues offer fabulous views of Tomales Bay) and a space within a Monterey pine grove are just two of eight spaces ideal for events.
RECIPE: Chilled Asparagus Soup and Dungeness Crab Salad
- Yield: Serves 3–4 1x
Description
Asparagus salad is on our menu, so we turned the bottom parts of the stalks into a soup for our zero-waste policy.
Ingredients
The soup
- 3 bunches asparagus
- 2 cups whole milk, Straus organic
The crab salad
- 4 oz Dungeness crab meat
- 1/2 lemon, zested
- 1/2 bunch chives, chopped
- Pepper and sea salt
The garnish
Instructions
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Season with salt.
- Trim the bottom 2 to 3 inches of the asparagus stalks. Keep the rest for future use.
- Fill a bowl of water with an ice bath. Place a second bowl that fits inside on top.
- Once the water is boiling, cook the asparagus stems thoroughly, to a point where they fall apart when you squeeze them.
- Pull the stalks out with a slotted spoon, add to a high-speed blender like a Vitamix, and turn on high. Add some of the hot blanching water gradually, so the purée gets blended, and blend to a nice smooth consistency. Put the purée into the empty bowl above the ice bath.
- Once the purée has cooled, add milk and mix together. If too thick, add milk until you reach the desired consistency. Chill soup in the refrigerator.
- For the crab salad, mix the crab meat, lemon zest, and chives in a bowl, season with pepper and salt to taste.
- Pour soup into serving bowls, and place one ounce of crab salad in the center. Drizzle preserved lemon olive oil and sprinkle with Espelette pepper.
Notes
- Espelette pepper: We buy fresh Espelette chile peppers from a local farmer, dry and grind them. Terre Exotique is a good brand to buy too.
- Preserved lemon oil: We preserve Meyer lemons in salt, then rinse, dry, and store them in oil. Meyer lemons are less bright and crisp than standard lemons. But the O crushed Meyer lemon olive oil is a brand I recommend.
RECIPE: Charred Leek-Potato Dip
- Yield: Makes approximately 6 cups 1x
Description
This tasty hummus-like spread with an aioli base is garlicky, mustardy, and crunchy, just perfect for raw vegetables. Chef Les says seasonality and minimizing waste inspire him, so he uses as much of his fresh produce as possible.
Ingredients
The dip
- 4-6 small to medium Yukon gold potatoes, about 8 oz
- 5-6 leeks, about 1 lb
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- Sea salt
- Aioli (see below)
- 1-2 Tbsps freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 Tbsps garlic powder
- Freshly ground black pepper
The aioli
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 1/2 tsps Dijon mustard
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1-2 Tbsps freshly squeezed lemon juice (if needed)
- Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt
The garnish
- Equal parts sunflower seeds, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), and black and white sesame seeds, toasted separately
- Olive oil
- Edible flowers
- Sunflower sprouts
Instructions
- Place potatoes in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Simmer until a paring knife goes in and out easily. Drain and cool to room temperature.
- Trim leeks just above the pale green part, lightly trim the root end (about 1/4 inch), and remove dark green tops. Cut leeks in half lengthwise. Lightly coat them with oil, salt, and pepper.
- Place them on a very hot grill, flat side down. Once you have a good char, flip them over and char the other side. Check to confirm leeks are cooked through, remove, and cool to room temperature. Chop cooled leeks into large 1- to 2-inch pieces.
- Lightly heat a medium sauté pan with olive oil. Add the diced onion and a good pinch of salt. Cook on low to medium heat until golden brown and cooked through. Put onion with oil in a bowl and cool to room temperature.
- To make the aioli, place egg yolk, mustard, and garlic in a food processor and make a paste so the garlic grinds up a bit. Gradually add the cup of oil. If it looks too thick, add some lemon juice. Season with pepper and salt to your liking.
- Add charred leeks, potatoes, onions, lemon juice, and garlic powder into the food processor, and blend until it reaches a desired consistency. Season with pepper and salt to your liking.
- To plate, put dip in a wide bowl or plate, sprinkle with the toasted seeds, and drizzle with olive oil. Add sunflower sprouts and flowers for garnish.
Notes
- We use olive oil from Gold Ridge Organic Farms in Sebastopol, but Jose Andres’ brand is excellent.
- Sunflower sprouts are nutritious, packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
