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On Wednesday, July 21 Saylor's hosted the "Secret Show"

Besides the usual "Secret Show" banter between Sarah, Vinnie and the rest of the Secret Show family in our restaurant, Angel Taylor performed live.

Salyor’s Restaurant and Bar in Sausalito was gracious or “silly” enough to lend us their restaurant, and we are hoping that you can join us Wednesday for free appetizers and non-alcoholic beverages!

Angel Taylor is a pop singer-songwriter, born March 20, 1988, based out of the Los Angeles area. Angel Taylor’s debut album, entitled Love Travels was released on iTunes on March 31, 2009 through Aware/Columbia Records. An EP titled “Love Travels EP” was released on iTunes in February 2009 prior to the release of Taylor’s full debut album featuring several songs from the LP. Her song “Make Me Believe” was offered as the iTunes single of the week during the week of March 30, 2009.

Saylor's is a comfy dining harbor in Sausalito.
By Leslie Harlib
MarinScope
Thursday, August 27, 2009

Having a name like Saylor must be fun as well as useful. With that moniker, for instance, owning a restaurant in Sausalito within view of the harbor makes sense.

Sean Saylor and his wife, Sonja, have created a neighborhood restaurant that takes you sailing through different cuisines, and that seems natural too. Because Saylor is a chef who has a terrific ability to combine solid food with imaginative yet comfortable dishes. If I were to assess his passions just from reading his surprisingly complex, detailed menu, his culinary hots are for Mexican and California cuisine. But there are Italian dishes as well, even an Asian styling or two.

The Saylors have owned and run Saylor’s Restaurant and Bar on Bridgeway (it was formerly Guernica for 25 years) since September 2006. Their former restaurant, Saylor’s Landing on Harbor Drive, was a local dining, drinking and music mecca for eight years before that. So it’s no surprise that their new place is frequented mostly by regulars and locals. It’s also got a steady following for Saylor’s collection of more than 120 tequilas, from silvery blancos to musky anejos.

Several of these show up in some of the best margaritas in Marin ($6.50-$12). They’re made from scratch, with fresh-squeezed lime juice, can have their sweetness level adjusted to your taste, and are served in swirly blue glasses that make each drink look like a sippable party.

In keeping with the economy, Sean Saylor features several happy-hour deals: a daily blue plate lunch for $6.50, an early-bird dinner for $13.95, a full-moon margarita special night each month, a monthly “flight night.” There are daily drink deals every Monday to Friday, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. If you sit at the bar during this time, you can also get $1 tacos (up to four per person.)

The prices on the regular menu are reasonable enough, however, that you don’t have to stick to happy hour to enjoy the place.

While the menu is eclectic, Saylor’s deccor emphasizes Mexico, from the terra cotta Saltillo floor tiles to the flan-toned walls, vibrant ceramic or glass Mexican artwork and stoneware-blue tablecloths and trim. For comfort junkies, there are booths along the window wall. Make a reservation if you want one of these. If you’re sensitive to noise, you might want to come early. When it’s packed (and it frequently is, especially on weekend nights) Saylor’s resounds with the buzz.

Back to that menu. I love some of the smaller-portion starters, such as popcorn shrimp ($5.95 small, $10.95 large). A seasoned coating was as light as a silk serape yet crunched with a texture that contrasted perfectly with the sweet little shrimp underneath.

Another great snack to pair with margaritas: a combo of snapper ceviche and guacamole ($8.95). The snapper, bathed in a tomato and lime-tinged pool afloat with chunks of tomato, was spiced just enough to flare on the tongue while still rich in briny essence. The guacamole was a smooth one, rife with lime and garlic. With chips and that shrimp, we could have had a complete meal right there.

Main dishes require some reading time, because they range from comfort fare such as fish and chips ($14.95) or pork chop with apple brandy sauce, mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables ($18.95) to Italian combinations, including arborio risotto with assorted vegetables ($15.95) and linguine with clams in lemon cream sauce ($16.95). It’s impressive to see the variety.

But I always go for the Mexican items. They’re in keeping with the decor and they pair up so well with those irresistible margaritas.

Fajitas ($14.95) are available as a choice of steak, chicken or shrimp. We asked for a little bit of all three and were accommodated, for the same price. The few strips of steak were coated in a sauce hot enough to trigger an involuntary gasp, the grilled chicken breast was juicy, with an appealing seared flavor, and the two plump shrimp were moist and sweet. This dish came with tomato-accented rice, meaty whole black beans, more of that good guacamole, sour cream and a bit of lettuce and tomato salad to fold into soft little corn tortillas. This isn’t served sizzling platter-style, but it was plenty filling. One portion was more than enough for two.

From a list of daily specials, we picked slow-cooked pork shoulder in chile verde with rice and refried beans. Here was a winning dish; the chunks of fork-tender pork so rich with a green sauce that it made the meat taste more complex than it typically is. There was only the faintest punch of chile; this dish is all about flavor. With the rice and beans, it felt like grandmother-style Mexican home cooking.

Desserts are all made in-house. The flan ($5.95) was a velvety one, with a delicate balance between eggy custard and syrupy caramel.