Winter's Day at Point Reyes, CA [pics]

A Swell Winter's Day...
at Point Reyes, CA

Part One: Picnic at Point Reyes National Seashore

The goal was to advance to Point Reyes and reclaim it in the name of the European Union... Provisions were purchased at base-camp in Ciudad de Sonoma:

A very nice and modestly overpriced gourmet shop on the handsome plaza of General Vallejo's old settlement.

The views along the Northern California coast are sometimes rather attractive...


Californians are a friendly, gregarious lot. These two people, whom I had never met before, invited me over to join them for a pre-conquest nosh at Drake's Beach (now to be referred to as Playa de la Reconquista).


This sandwich was quite good: sourdough bread, 'Black Forest ham' (not to be confused with Schwarzwälder but really quite good) and Sonoma Jack.


This local lad had a remarkably colourful accent and manner; a little hard to understand at times, especially when he was chewing. Notice his locavore approach to things: Calistoga water (Napa Co.) and Ghirardelli chocolate (SF Co.). Incidentally, his advice for this old sod was to get a Mustang GT and drive up to Marshall to get a dozen oysters at Hog Island.


The white cliffs of rover.


Check six!
Antonius

The only problem with California is that it's too crowded!

A Swell Winter's Day...
at Point Reyes, CA

Part Two:
Hog Island Oyster Company, Marshall, CA

On the east side of Tomales Bay, about half way up on Highway 1, one comes across...

On the way out of Point Reyes, I 'carjacked' (requisitioned) a Mustang and proceeded on to get some oysters.

The reception area.


The Antipasto spread (where's the duck prosciutto?).


The dining room has a nice view but is rather draughty.


The oysters were definitely undercooked.


Some of the folks there were a bit crusty.


Yeah, yeah, I know: there's a shucker born every minute.


Stilleven met afgesneden hand door Adriaan van den Anderenoever
(Still life with severed hand)


Anyway, Hog Island is a delightful place to visit; the young woman who received and served and trained us was very welcoming, the oysters were delicious, the lemon chunks cut just right (the Tabasco completely unnecessary)... $10 for a dozen pristine small sweetwater oysters made for a wonderful snack on the way back to Sonoma from Point Reyes National Seashore. And Tomales Bay, under which runs the San Andreas fault, is remarkably beautiful. Go there and stop by Hog Island or one of the other oyster joints, if you have the chance.


Antonius

Man, I do love that area. Been there a couple of times over the past few years. Point Reyes, Jenner, Bodega Bay, Mendocino, and on and on and on.

One dining spot I liked in the area was the bar at the Gualala Hotel in the center of Gualala, which is somewhere between Point Arena and Bodega Bay on Route 1. For all I know, the place might not even be there anymore (we were there two years ago), but it was a classic little place, with lots of dark wood, animal heads on the wall, good sandwiches, and ice cold beer. And it was across from the Pacific, which is always a plus!

A & A,

What fabulous posts! I enjoyed every picture and word. One of my favorite spots on the planet.

Where else in N. California did you eat?

Bill/SFNM

Bill,

Many thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed them. We had a wonderful little trip in all respects and the culinary aspect thereof was especially fabulous, with excellent meals in San Francisco, Sonoma and Berkeley. More posts will follow, including some on our visit to the same area last August.

I forgot to include in the Hog Island post the following picture, which isn't all that beautiful but is nice, I think, in that it shows the holding tanks where they keep the oysters for a short time after harvesting from the bay. The tanks use filtered and UV-ed bay water, so when they come out of them, they are clean but -- I assume this is part of the goal -- still have the taste of their native environment. In any event, they were delicious.

I also discovered that I rather enjoy shucking oysters (this was my first time doing so)... it genuinely adds to the pleasure of the eating, I believe.

I agree whole heartedely: the Bay Area is one of my favourite places in the world and the Point Reyes area is especially beautiful. The culinary resources are quite amazing and it's always a struggle to fit in all the places we want to visit in a short stay.

And then there's the scenery...


More posts forthcoming...

A

Antonius & Amata

Great pics and write up. Quite a few years ago we had a family picnic in Pt. Reyes. Our kids were just a bit older than yours. It's a lovely park, and we were there in Summer and it wasn't very crowded even then. We headed north and hugged the coast all the way to Oregon, a trip I highly recommend. The scenery north of S.F. is just a spectacular as the Big Sur, but with far fewer humans.

Jonah

With shiv poised in hand you remind me of one of those last bastions of human hope in Peter Jackson's Bad Taste: a compliment, most assuredly.

Antonius wrote:A Swell Winter's Day

A,

A swell winter's day indeed!

Point Reyes is one of my favorite spots on the planet and your post and pictures brought back pleasant memories, thanks.

Enjoy,
Gary

Jonah,

You're certainly right about how quiet it is on the coast north of San Francisco. Not just on this trip, in the winter, but in the summer we often had whole stretches of beach to ourselves and long drives through the hills without seeing many, if any, other cars.

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Hiddenboston,

We were in Gualala a couple of times last summer and really liked the town and the gorgeous park just to its south. Next time we'll check out the place you mention. Maybe I'll get around to posting on a meal we had elsewhere in Gualala too...

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CG,

At first I was not so sure about being associated in any way with something called "Bad Taste" but I do like the idea of being one of the last bastions of hope for humanity. Thanks for the compliment!

And if any giant oysters from space invade Planet Earth, I shall be one of the first to volunteer to shuck them.

*

Gary,

It is wonderful and I now remember you mentioning visting an oyster place and the lighthouse out that way. I was remiss in not adding above a link to that thread from last year that Amata and I started which contains comments and photos on Pt. Reyes related stuff by several people, incl. johnny and Fillay and yourself, starting with Amata's post on our visit to Cowgirl Creamery and such:
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=92193#92193


Indeed, one of the best places on the planet...

Antonius

As Antonius said, thanks to all for the good words above. The building in Point Reyes Station housing the Cowgirl Creamery is also a good place to pick up supplies for a picnic at the beach, though the shops in that complex are open only Wed-Sun.

Tomales Bay Foods (Cowgirl Creamery)
80 4th St
Point Reyes Sta, CA 94956
(415) 663-9335
www.cowgirlcreamery.com
10-6, Wed – Sun

Another resource out that way is a little cafe at Drake's Beach itself, currently open just Friday-Monday, I believe, but probably during the summertime it has longer hours:

Drake's Beach Cafe
http://www.drakesbeachcafe.com/

As you'll see if you click on the link, the cafe is more upscale than you'd might expect from its national parkland location: dungeness crab sandwich on herbed foccacia roll, sauteed nettles... We spotted a listing for artisanal cheese platter on their blackboard of specials, which is actually pretty appropriate given all the dairy farms you drive through on the way out to the point.