Nothing is more risky than venturing out on your own while others may mock or ridicule you as you are putting your self, your reputation, your fortunes at "risk ". One of the most risky financial ventures is to open a restaurant. Being either a visionary like Ferran Adrià with his ground-breaking elBulli or Carl Karcher's first hot dog stand, which later became Carl's Jr (Hardee's if you are on the East Coast) you will undertake risk.
High rate of failure, low profit margins, increasing food and labor cost, insurance premiums, fickle diners... sure, I want to go into a business like that. Every once in a while a gem may shine in the culinary world. Maybe for a short magical time. The memory of a romantic dinner with a loved one, meeting out of town friends, a quiet dinner with a family member burns in my memory like midnight oil sometimes. Having the setting, tone, food and service all come together is magic.
Vin Antico was one of those magical places to dine. Chef Ed Vigil could turn ordinary farm to table bill into a Mediterranean landscape. Using recipes from Spain, Italy and France made Vin Antico the best restaurant starchy, uptight Marin County ever had. Had? Had did you say? Yes, sadly, had.
This momentary gem, for undisclosed reasons, is no more. I had my first fiddle head fern, dancing with orange zest and madeira wine with fine seasonally available vegetables, cooked to perfection there. Marin County never knows a good thing until it is gone.
Marin County will continue consuming fondue dipped cheese burgers as it ever has done in the past. Continually wishing for something new but afraid to change. Marin County is hanging on to memories of acid indulged past, burning out on the Grateful Dead while the rest of the world has moved on once again.
http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2013/01/28/san-rafaels-vin-antico-is-no-more/
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