Del Ganado Shopping Plaza Takes You Back

Evan Fitzgerald wolfed down one of Weezy's little organic burgers – made from grass-fed Prather Ranch beef —  and fries cooked in light rice bran oil. It was his first meal at Weezy's, the little "grass fed shed'' on Del Ganado Road and the latest addition to the down-home Terra Linda shopping center where Scotty's Market, Terra Linda's first business, opened its doors in 1957.

"Tasty," pronounced Fitzgerald, who couldn't tell if the ground cow he'd eaten had been fed grass,  but noted that the beef was "juicier than most burgers and had a more natural taste to it."

A personal trainer who grew up in the north San Rafael 'hood, Fitzgerald was pleased to find another good eatery in the unpretentious little mall where he and his family and friends have hung out for 20 years. Like other locals, he raves about Lo Coco's Pizzeria, one of the great Marin pizza joints (killer crust). It's a few storefronts down from Scotty's – a family-run operation at the far end of Freitas Parkway light years from the corporate Safeway — where the deli, meat and produce sections get high marks from loyal shoppers.

For Mexican food, there's Panchito's, which has been around for 31 years, and the Sonora Market and Taqueria, opened two years ago by Octavio Bilches, who spices and marinates his food in the style of his native Sonora. Across the parking lot from Scotty's, near the U.S. Post Office outpost, sits King of the Roll, a corner nook that serves up both Japanese and Chinese food. You can order sushi or fried won ton, tempura and chow fun.

Businesses have come and gone here over the decades. The tenants now include four beauty parlors, two tailoring and dry cleaning shops, a dental practice, Practical Martial Arts, the old-timey Shear of Joy barbershop presided over by pony-tailed Cliff Schaeffer, Aromatherapy and the scrumptious Three Twins organic ice-creamery. But the shopping center's casual suburban vibe and simple architecture – the single-story beige wood structures with their forest-green awnings – haven't really changed since the Kennedy administration. It's a nice contrast to the chichi malls of Marin. 

"There are no chains. It's a small town feeling here," said Ray Vincent, who's owned R&I Automotive for four years. "There's a real sense of community."

Vincent is pleased to see new spots like Weezy's, a cool little diner-like shack, with open-air terraces at either end, across Del Ganado from the fire station and the Terra Linda Rec Center. The hut was previously a coffee place and before that a Photomat. It was opened last fall by Louise "Weezy" Clow, a former corporate type who lives nearby and wanted to open a healthy burger joint that would enhance the neighborhood. 

"It would drive me nuts when my husband took my  kids to McDonalds, and when I took them out for a real burger, it would cost me a fortune," said Clow, who brands her tasty organic grub as "slow food – faster." The kids, she added, "would take two bites then say they didn't want anymore."

 That's why Clow cooked up the idea of serving small, 1/8-pound burgers for $3 a pop ($3.50 for specialties like "The White Trash Burger," topped with American cheese and Thousand Island dressing). If you're hungry, order two; if not, one will suffice, particularly if you add a side of sweet potato fries. Weezy's also serves softies made with Straus's organic ice cream.

Rosemary Salemme and her son Isaac, who attends Girotondo, the Italian-language immersion pre-school on Terra Linda's Los Ovejas Ave., each polished off a shed burger and fries. She goes for grass-fed beef and likes the small-size burger, "which is perfect for me and perfect for him," said Salemme, who lives in Berkeley. They headed over to Three Twins, where Isaac dug into a scoop chocolate-peanut butter on a house-made cone while shop manager Ian Pena offered samples of lemon cookie, mint confetti, roasted peach and heirloom melon sorbet. 

 "Lemon cookie has a crazy following," said Pena, who grew in Marinwood, shops at Scotty's nearly every day and calls Lo Coco's "the best pizza place ever."

 Wandering into Aromatherapy, where shelves are lined with small blue bottles, you're hit with the pungent scent of 150 essential oils. Bottled and sold here, the plant oils are used to "enhance health and treat common conditions," said Dr. Kurt Schnaubelt, a chemist who runs the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy. For about $5, you can buy a 5 milliliter bottle of Eucalyptus radiata, said to help upper respiratory conditions. Or spend $82 for a bottle of Neroli, an oil from bitter orange blossoms used for anxiety and PMS. 

Schnaubelt, who opened the shop in 1993, loves the Del Ganado location. "You can have a fancy mall anywhere," he said. "But where do you find a genuine '50s leftover shopping center?"