Cox: Terrapin Creek still the star in Bodega Bay

If you had to dream up your perfect restaurant, what would it be like? It might be near the ocean, close to a lovely bay with salt-scented breezes. Beautiful art would decorate the walls, and large windows flood the room with light. The owners would be friendly and welcoming. The food would be exceptional, the wine list well chosen.

It’s a good description for Terrapin Creek in Bodega Bay, one of just three Sonoma County restaurants, along with Madrona Manor in Healdsburg and the Farmhouse Inn in Forestville, to win a Michelin star for 2015. That’s saying something for a restaurant so unpretentious, welcoming and comfortable that you want to come back as soon as you’re closing the door to leave.

Even if the food weren’t so good, it would still qualify as a favorite restaurant for that hospitable atmosphere. Most of that is thanks to the owners, Andrew Truong and Liya Lin. This married couple left San Francisco, where they worked in high-end restaurants like Jardiniere and Michael Mina, about seven years ago to find a quiet place in the country to start a family.

Now, three kids later, that goal is achieved.

The caliber of the cooking was set early on, when Liya Lin was at the stoves. After three years of operation, they earned their Michelin star.

Now the cooking is done by chefs they’ve hired and the couple run the room.

Though the place is unassuming, it’s well known. The New York Times travel section a couple of years ago featured a story about the joys of visiting Sonoma County and the first suggestion was for visitors to head straight for Bodega Bay and Terrapin Creek.

The other reason it’s so hospitable is the service - professional, swift, very relaxed and friendly.

The menu offers eight wines by the glass for between $9 and $13. A full wine list is worldly, eclectic and each wine is given an intelligent description. A 2012 “Akiko’s Cuvee” pinot noir from Freeman Winery is described as “purple, fresh roses, wet earth, elderberries, bacon, and lavender.”

The 2010 Lancaster Estate cabernet sauvignon carries notes of “asphalt, smoke, tobacco, licorice, tar, and mocha.”

Prices are relatively modest, too, with a 2013 Chablis “Champs Royaux” from William Fevre for $44. Corkage is $20.

Our table started dinner with Artisan Bread and California Olive Oil ($1.50 ?? ). The oil was mild, lacking much of the bitterness, pungency, and olive-fruitiness that characterize great oil. But it was a cut above the utterly bland and often rancid oil you get at many restaurants. This was followed by the perfectly balanced flavors of Prosciutto and Roasted Asparagus Salad ($13 ??? ½). It was dressed with “sauce gribiche” - hard-boiled egg yolks and mustard mashed with a mild-flavored oil like canola or grapeseed to make a mayonnaise-like sauce. The dressing allowed the flavors of the main ingredients to shine through.

The hit of the evening was another appetizer, Goat Cheese and Semolina Gnocchi ($13 ???? ). The gnocchi were so light they were vaporous, and given a soubise sauce - similar to béchamel with pureed onion added. Thin slices of radish added a hint of a bite.

Hamachi Crudo ($14 ??? ½) contrasted the smooth flavor of sashimi-grade hamachi with the bite of a parsley and radish salsa, horseradish, lemon juice, olive oil, and the cotyledons of sprouted watercress. Now that’s good cooking, even if the fish is raw.

Among the entrées, Braised Veal Osso Buco ($28 ??? ½) was noteworthy for its intense meatiness. The meat clinging to the chunk of shank bone had yielded its gelatin to the silky veal jus, and was falling off the bone. Most prized was the rich marrow in the center of the bone, to be dug out and spread on bread. Creamed kale, cipollini onions, and slender pioppini mushrooms finished the plate.

Although the local run of salmon is nothing like it was many years ago, the kings are still caught and sold right there in Bodega Bay. A plate of Blackened Local King Salmon ($30 ??? ) arrived medium rare, as ordered, and couldn’t have been more fresh. It came with artichokes, mushrooms, and snap peas.

Apricot Tart ($8 ??? ½) was puffy, crunchy, fruity, sweet, and near perfect.

To sum up: Terrapin Creek deserves its Michelin star - and then some.

Jeff Cox writes a weekly restaurant review for the Sonoma Living section. He can be reached at jeffcox@sonic.net.