Marin County Oyster Crawl

The Bay Area has a long and rich half-shell history.  Native Coast Miwoks survived off hunting and gathering fish, shrimp, and oysters in the various bays and coves for centuries.  Mark Twain raved of the succulent shellfish he enjoyed at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco, calling it "heaven on the half shell." San Francisco Bay, or San Francisco Estuary, to be more accurate, was one of largest shellfish producers in North America in the late 1800s, providing an abundance of mussels and native Olympia oysters.  As the area grew and native oysters dwindled, Eastern Oysters and Washington Oysters were shipped in and finished in the Bay to meet the growing demand.  And sadly, soon to follow, hydraulic mining, industrial pollution, and over-harvesting quickly led to SF Bay's oystering collapse.  

Yet, while San Francisco Bay could no longer support any bivalve breath at the beginning of the 20th century, Tomales Bay's oyster production began to burgeon.  Modern day oyster harvesting started in Tomales Bay in the 1860s, but didn't fully take off until Tomales Bay Oyster Company, in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Game, introduced the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea Gigas) in the 1930s.  These oysters soon became the Bay Area standard, and are now familiarly known to raw bar enthusiasts as Preston Points, Hog Island Sweetwaters, or Marin Miyagis.  Surprisingly, as large as California is, it does not enjoy many oyster growing areas.  Aside from a few farms in Humboldt Bay, Morro Bay, and off Carlsbad, the main focus of oyster growing in California is in Marin County between Tomales Bay and Drakes Estero.

Luckily, San Francisco is only a scenic hour and half drive away from California's greatest oyster grounds.  Being the oyster junkie I am, I try to make it up there as often as I can. I decided to spend my most recent sunny Monday off traversing the beautiful Tomales coast in search of the best oyster preparations Marin County has to offer.

I immediately knew where to start: Tomales Bay Oyster Company.  Not only do they produce delicious Preston Points, Golden Nuggets, and now their very own Kumamotos, they are also the oldest continually operating oyster farm in California, beginning in 1909.  This, plus the fact that they established the Pacific oyster in the Bay Area.  As it was Monday, I had the picnic area and knowledgeable staff all to myself.  I suppose "industry" weekends do have their perks.

So, with cash in hand and a single 22 oz. Tecate, I set out to purchase a half dozen Kumamotos and a half dozen Golden Nuggets.  There's something great about pulling into the rustic Tomales Bay Oyster Company.  Just tables, grills, and oysters.  No bells and whistles.  Beers, barbeques, and bivalves.  It's all you need.

Each oyster was not only brimming with Tomales Bay's flavorful finest, but a pleasure to shuck.  Any accoutrements other than the beaming sun and salty fresh air would have been nothing short of blasphemy.   I'd had the Golden Nuggets a few times before, but they were especially amazing on this occasion.  Perfectly tide-tumbled (the method of growing), well manicured, deep cupped, plump, and rich.  They started with that familiar Tomales briny punch, but mellowed out into a rich, buttery finish, almost like dipping artichoke leaves in bernaise sauce.  The Kumamotos (Crassoastrea sikamea) were equally as tasty.  They were less salty that their gigas counterparts, but definitely brinier than Kumamotos from Humboldt Bay or Puget Sound.  At four years to market size, it was a complex roller coaster of flavors from bitter herb to that familiar cucumber melon that most Kumos deliver.  Unfortunately, the only place to find the Golden Nuggets and TBOC Kumamotos is at the namesake establishment.  However, the trip is absolutely worth it.

After my raw oyster appetizer, I headed a little more than a mile up Highway 1 to The Marshall Store.  Established overy a century ago, The Marshall Store long served as the general store for Marshall and the surrounding Tomales Bay area.  Now, under the same ownership as TBOC, it's a humble but amazing seafood shanty sitting right on the town of Marshall's boat harbor.

I know that I always talk about being an oyster purist.  No sauces, no lemons, and especially, no cooking.  Raw or bust.  However, I'd be lying if I said I didn't like barbequed oysters just as much as the next guy.  In fact, I don't know anybody that doesn't like them.  "Nope, I don't like barbequed oysters.  I don't like sunshine, sex, or Bob Marley either."  It just doesn't make any sense.  They're delicious.  And at the Marshall Store they're about as good as they get.

There is one simple rule to barbequed oysters and that is DO NOT OVERCOOK them.  As soon as the liquor starts to bubble and the oysters start to curl at the edges, they're done.  Just enough to incorporate all the flavorful toppings but not to the lose the natural juiciness and freshness of the oyster. The Marshall Store certainly knows this rule well.

Classic BBQ Sauce and Garlic Butter; Chorizo Butter and Cilantro; Oysters Rockafeller.

All three styles were delicious, especially the chorizo butter.  Shellfish and salty pig parts never fail to deliver, nor does the view from the Marshall Store while enjoying a cold beer and these tasty bites.

So, with two excellent preparations under my belt, I had one more to go.  Two constitutes a good time, but no less than three equals an "oyster crawl."  There are several places in Marin County offering great preparations of oyster po'boys and hangtown frys, but I knew I was setting out for something special offered at Osteria Stellina in Point Reyes Station.

Run by Chef-Owner Christian Caiazzo, Osteria Stellina offers up hyper-local fair dubbed as "Point Reyes Italian."  The restaurant was inspired by his lengthy travels around Italy where he noticed that each little country-side town had its own unique flavors and styles of cuisine.  To his amazement, this stemmed from the cooks using only local, fresh ingredients from the immediate surrounding farms.  Not because it was trendy or the "in" thing in the food scene, but simply because that was how it's always been.  The cooks' parents used local ingredients, their parents' parents used local ingredients, and so on.  It was just the way things were.  No all white meat Tyson chicken breasts or Chinese grown brocolli on their tables.

In trying to replicate this style of restuarant in the U.S., Chef Caiazzo realized that Marin County was the perfect setting.  All of Osteria Stellina's cheeses, meats, produce, and many libations come from West Marin, demonstrating the seasonal bounty the region has to offer.  And with this as the restaurant's credo, you know they have to use local oysters.

Enter Osteria Stellina's famed Drakes Bay Oyster Pizza.

Oysters on pizza right off the bat doesn't sound like it would work.  Perhaps if you called it a flat bread or something people wouldn't be as taken aback.  However, it is pretty spot on.

Straus Family cream braised leeks, crispy yet toothesome crust, parsley, lemon thyme, and generous portions of slightly warmed Drakes Bay oysters made for a delightful culmination to my Marin County Oyster Crawl.  The buttery cream was perfectly cut by each little salty, herbaceous pop of the oysters.  It was like an oyster chowder with ample amounts of crusty bread for dipping, but already put together for you.

In the end, I realized that Marin County not only grows some of the best oysters in the country, but goes the full nine in serving them up in simple, classic, and innovative ways.  The long and rich half shell history of Northern California has not only endured in Tomales Bay but continues to grow as more and more recognize what a true treasure the area is.  Take a day off work and check it out for yourself. 

Cheers,

The SF Oyster Nerd

Oyster Farming on Tomales Bay

I've eaten thousands of Oysters, killed thousands more, but until this past Sunday, I had only shucked, slurped, and savored.  However, thanks to the Pickleweed Community Oyster Farm and Luc Chamberland, I am now a proud Oyster farmer.  Well, as much as an individual who goes apple-picking for a day is an apple farmer, I suppose.  But we did plant our own Oysters and now have the chance, nay, responsibility of going back up to Tomales Bay every month or so and checking in on their progress.

The farming we're doing is pretty straight forward, almost anachronistic, at least once you have the baby Oysters.  Having seen the hatchery process at Drakes Bay Oyster Company, I can tell you that larval development is anything but simple.  We had the good fortune of being able to skip that part.  The Oysters we planted had been shipped in from another hatchery and were all ready and set to go into the water.  They're actually quite adorable. 

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Once the packages of Oysters were cracked open, we had to count them out, placing 1,000 to a bag.  This was conveniently estimated with a standard measuring cup.

After a solid 45 minutes or so, the hard mesh plastic bags were filled, firmly "riot-tied" shut, and ready to be loaded on to the boat.

This was where the fun part came.  Any excuse to get on a boat, I'm in.  If Oysters are involved, doubly so.  However, I'm the first to admit I'm not the strongest swimmer.  That's why I like fishing; don't go into their environment but take them out and into yours.  Perhaps a little unfair, but it's leisure, not sport to me.

Typically, the farmers go out at lower tide.  In our case, there was a group of other first time farmers that went out before us.  So, when it was our turn to go, the water was a little rougher than usual.  I'm fine with that, but only while on a boat.  I knew we'd be getting in the water.  When we arrived at the actual planting ground, Luc's son, who was our captain, said "whoa, that's actually kind of deep."  Not the most encouraging words from the savvy pro.

However, nothing was keeping me from planting my little bivalve buddies.  I eagerly hopped in the frigid water, only to learn that my right boot in my waders had a hole in it.  Awesome.  We trudged about 40 yards away from the boat and began running into long tethers.  Our trusty captain lunged his hand into the water, pulled up a yellow line, and had us tie our treasure on.

After we finished and my boot was filled with Tomales Bay's finest, Luc's son grabbed a few harvest ready bags and we headed back to the beach.  Living in the city and rarely making it up there, I have to say that spending time on the bay does give you that transcendentalist feeling to just say "fuck it, I'm becoming an Oyster farmer or something."  It is truly beautiful, but I think that whole Haight-Ashbury "concrete doesn't breathe, man" is another converstation.

Instead, what I can tell you is that we returned to the beach, fired up the grill, and cracked open plenty of beers and Oysters.  Hopefully, the end product you see below will genuinely be one of the fruits of my own labor 10 to 18 months from now. 

 

If you live in the area, I highly recommend getting in touch with Luc to become a part of the Pickleweed Community Oyster Farm.  Everyone from school children to stock brokers are involved, and it's very user friendly.  It not only gives the opportunity to frequently go up to Tomales Bay, but the excuse.  "Sorry, honey, can't go to your sister's this weekend.  I have to go and take care of the Oysters."  Just don't forget your sunscreen because damn have my past few days sucked.

Cheers,

The SF Oysternerd  

How To Open an Oyster and TBOC's Golden Nugget

I've never posted on youtube, but my coworker does. She uploaded a brief video on how to open an Oyster at Tomales Bay Oyster Company on Memorial Day Weekend 2011. Apologies for not making it clearer to the camera (I wasn't aware I was on film til the end). Even greater apologies for the lame smile at the end. Whatever, I was pretty lubricated (not the best idea when shucking Oysters) and enjoying life .



Basically, in short, place the flat side of the Oyster up and the cup in your palm (with protection, unlike me in the video). Make sure the bill (mouth) of the Oyster is pointing away from you and the butt/hinge toward you. Insert your knife, which is comfortable and firmly in your dominate hand, into the hinge and push lightly. You should push to the point where the knife is stuck in the hinge and can support the Oyster, if picked up, on its own. Then, simply wiggle like turning a door knob. You will feel a pop. Take the knife out and clean it of excess shell. Slide it back in, sideways, following along the "roof" of the Oyster in a very slow sort of motor bike clutch revving motion. Cut the adductor muscle located at 2 o'clock on the Oyster. Pop off the top and cut the bottom adductor muscle by sliding the knife in below the Oyster at the 2 o'clock spot. Now all there is left is slurping it back and savoring. It should be a necessary requirement of manhood (and womanhood) to open your own Oyster at some point. And yes, there were all sorts of opportunities to throw sexual jokes in this brief explanation. I was tempted quite a few times at "with protection" and "slide it back in," but, like a gentleman, I refrained for posterity's sake. I'm an uncle now.

The Oyster in the video is a Tod Friend made TBOC Golden Nugget. TBOC is known for their incredibly delicious and briny Preston Points which are difficult to find in the Bay Area outside of a few select restaurants and, of course, the company itself.

This new, even more elusive Golden Nugget Oyster was the fruit of three years of TBOC labor, and the Oyster in the video is one from the company's first ever commercial harvest of this style of growing. It is ultra manicured from being "tide-tumbled." Tumbling Oysters is a relatively new style of growing Oysters. It started with Kusshis in British Columbia, where the farmer would pull the Oysters up and throw them in giant rock tumbling barrels every so often. This toughens up the Oyster, making it shed brittle shell, strengthen its adductor muscle, and form a deep cup with rich, plump flesh (it basically makes Pacific Gigas Oysters more like Kumamotos in size and shape).

The style of tumbling TBOC does is much less time and effort consuming, however. They put the Golden Nuggets into giant bags attached to floats and let the tides do all the work. After a few years of being thrown around by the tides, the resulting Oyster is rich, buttery, full bodied and plump. There are only a few tumbled Oysters out there. Shigoku from Taylor Shellfish in Washington, Pacific Rims and Kusshis from British Columbia, and now Tomales Bay Golden Nuggets (I'm sure I'm missing some other tumbled Oysters out there). Naturally, you end up comparing these oysters. Where Pac Rims and Kusshis have that sweet lettuce and subtle melon flavor and Shigoku have that familiar deep sweet-grass and earthy finish, Golden Nuggets really hit me with a smooth buttery brine upfront and a woody artichoke finish. They were a little spawny at the time, but didn't detract from the flavor or palatability. I hope TBOC is still producing them this fall, because I imagine they are going to be perfect in the next few months.

However, I know you won't be seeing them in stores any time soon. Mr. Friend has made it clear that they won't be sold outside of the TBOC location itself for quite some time. Believe me, our purchaser has tried over and over. Soon, hopefully. But hey, it's now another excuse to take an excursion up to beautiful Tomales Bay, do some hiking, taste some wines, and of course, eat some Golden Nugget Oysters.

Cheers,
The SF Oysternerd