On the Road

Favorite Day in Morro Bay

Morro Bay, California gets to claim a lot of my favorite days, actually.  For me and Jan, it’s been host to relaxing weekends, our wedding, and even a lunch destination when we were craving fresh seafood and were willing to drive two-and-a-half hours to get it.

This past weekend we stayed at a friend’s beach house in Los Osos to celebrate our four year wedding anniversary.  We escaped the fog in Fresno for sunny and warm weather at the beach, accompanied by lots of great food.

Seagull scavengers at Giovanni's in Morro Bay

Our first stop in Morro Bay was Giovanni’s Fish Market and Galley, home of my favorite clam chowder and Jan’s favorite raw oysters.  The fish and chips is also excellent, and the attached market is the perfect place to buy a half bottle of wine for a picnic in the outdoor seating area overlooking Morro Rock (just remember to bring a corkscrew).  This time, there was something new on the menu that we just had to try: fried Twinkie.  Battered, fried, and topped with a sweet berry sauce, the warm, gooey dessert did not disappoint.

Seaweed salad at Giovanni's

Oysters at Giovanni's
The fried Twinkie

The next stop was Coalesce Bookstore and Garden Wedding Chapel to wander and reminisce in the garden, and report to the folks at the bookstore (and also our wedding officiants) that we are, in fact, still married.  The bookstore is a great place to stop even if you’re not getting married, as it regularly hosts concerts, classes, and of course, offers a great selection of used books.

It was takeout for dinner from Noi’s Little Thai Takeout in Los Osos.  The restaurant has a small space and limited hours (Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-7 p.m.) but makes some of the best Pad Thai I’ve had.  In addition to Pad Thai made with small rice noodles, chicken, egg, ground peanut, bean sprouts, and cabbage, we also ordered egg rolls and Pad Kee-mow, which is flat noodles with chicken, egg, chili paste, basil, tomato, red bell pepper.  I think when we were ordering the Pad Kee-mow and confirming that it was, in fact, spicy, we were actually ordering the dish extra spicy, which I don’t recommend.  The flavor was great, but I could only take a few bites before my mouth was on fire.

Takeout from Noi's: Pad Thai
Super-spicy Pad Kee-mow

The next day we headed to Cambria for lunch at Indigo Moon, a great café with fresh, simple dishes and a beautiful outdoor (heated) patio.  I ate a Cobb sandwich with grilled chicken, bacon, blue cheese, tomato and romaine on a warm ciabatta bun, with mixed green salad tossed with mustard lemon vinaigrette.  I was in sandwich love.  But I think Jan was even happier with his sandwich: duck confit, bacon and slaw served on ciabatta bun, with sweet potato fries and spicy pepper aioli on the side.

Cobb sandwich with grilled chicken, blue cheese, bacon, tomato and romaine
Duck confit with bacon and slaw, served with sweet potato fries

When it was time for the necessary walk on the beach, we headed to Cayucos, where the beach was populated only by a few other people.  When I spotted a swing set and no children nearby, I jumped at the chance to be a kid again, if only for a few wonderful minutes.

After a day of walking and eating, we were ready for some rest, so we headed to the grocery store so we could cook a relaxing dinner back at the beach house.  Jan bought a rib eye steak for us to share, spicy Italian sausage, prawns, a lobster tail, asparagus, and French bread.  We cooked everything on the charcoal grill while looking out on the ocean at night.  It was just the kind of surf and turf that perfectly completed the weekend.

Barbecue on the balcony
Rib eye steak and prawns

We didn’t make it to all our favorite stops on the Central Coast this time (not enough meals in the day!), but there are a few other favorite spots worth mentioning:

La Parisienne French Bakery located on the ground floor of the Front Street Inn in Morro Bay offers excellent desserts and pastries, and even has mini-sized cakes for the perfect two-person celebrations.

Tognazzini’s Dockside Too, is a fish market in Morro Bay offering outdoor dining, with live music on Saturdays and Sundays.  They make my favorite fish and chips.  The dining area offers dog-friendly dining, so when we’ve got Benny with us, it’s his favorite place too.

Jan likes to stop and get saltwater taffy to bring home to his brothers. Carousel Taffy in Morro Bay has giant bins full of different flavors, and you can try samples while you fill your bag full of all your favorites.

Canoeing and kayaking is a fun activity in Morro Bay, and it’s great to oar our way back to check out an alternate view of all the places we’ve walked before.  We’ve launched our own canoe from The Kayak Shack at State Park Marina, but rentals are also available there.

Sailor Benny hits the high seas (more like low tide in Morro Bay)

Driving north past Cambria, Sebastian’s General Store and Cafe is a great stop for beer and ice cream.  Open daily until 4 p.m. at W.R. Hearst State Beach, the café was recently remodeled and reopened, serving sandwiches made with Hearst Ranch beef.  It’s a great place to watch elephant seals in January.  And this section of beach seems to always be sunny when Pismo Beach, Morro Bay, and Cambria are overcast.

And we even discovered a new place to try in the future.  The Gold Rush Steakhouse at the Madonna Inn was not open when we peeked our heads in for a look, but with its pink booths and floral pink carpet, it’s at the top of my list for our next visit.

Thinking pink at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo

One Year Ago: Reminiscing on the Vantastic Voyage

 

Last November, Jan and I (and our dog Benny) embarked on a month-long cross-country road trip in a van Jan converted into a mini RV. It was the trip of a lifetime—we experienced new things, places, activities, sights and tastes. We lived out of our van and stayed mostly in campgrounds of the national parks. We ate at restaurants and with some friends we visited along the way, but mostly we visited unfamiliar grocery stores and Jan cooked our meals on our wonderful Weber Baby Q.

Our route started in a clockwise direction from Fresno, CA.  A total of 5,341 miles were driven. We returned home the day before Thanksgiving with many good memories and hundreds of photographs.

At camp in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Pizza bread made on the grill
Potato, egg and bacon skillet in Arches National Park, Utah

Fast forward a few months after our return, the trip had a big part in the formation of this blog. Being on the road boiled life down to the simplest things: being with family, enjoying good food, and experiencing new things. When you’re on the road and living out of a van, there isn’t room for much else. Even now that we’re at home, these things remain important to us, which is probably how they transformed themselves into the focus of Our Life in Meals.

Bacon for breakfast in Zion National Park, Utah
Brussels sprouts in the skillet, sausage, and bacon-wrapped pork chops

A discussion of the trip came up recently, as Jan and I stared out our front window and at the van, agreeing that we needed to take another trip with it, and soon. But before we could do that, some reminiscing on the Vantastic Voyage was in order. Here are some highlights in photos:

Barbecued bison for dinner

The plan: In 2004 I drove with a girl friend from San Francisco to Boston in five days. Ever since then, I’d wanted to do another road trip, but this time, taking time to visit all the places off the interstates I’d missed. For a while, I’d thought the best vacation would be to rent an RV and hit the road for a month. I told Jan about my crazy idea and he was game.

Stopping to pick apples outside of Zion National Park, Utah

The van: I started researching RV rentals but found the cost to be ridiculous. Nearly $100 per night plus $.32 per mile in addition to gas for the thing? Jan and I decided a better option would be to purchase a used van to use for the trip, then sell it afterwards. This became Jan’s project. He found a 2002 Dodge Ram Van and proceeded to build the best mini RV I’d ever seen. We did check out the Sportsmobile factory in Fresno to copy their best ideas for a tiny fraction of the cost of the 4×4 Sportsmobiles.

Night before departure, the van is coming together
In the van with the essentials: solar-powered mobile kitchen, bedroom complete with mini blinds, Benny's bed, and barbecue

The trip: I’m a planner. Jan hates having a plan. I acquiesced to the idea that nothing about the trip would be planned except that our turnaround point was going to be the Jack Daniel’s factory in Kentucky, and we had a month to get there and back. We’d just drive and take in the country at our own pace.

Following the laws of the land -- different for each of the seven states!

Of course there were some bumps along the way. We didn’t make it cross country. After driving about a third of the way to the other coast, we realized we’d be driving all day and night while seeing nothing if we were going to make it there and back within a month. Despite the fact that Jan never got to Lynchburg, we did make it one of the best vacations we’ve ever had.

Making s'mores outside of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico
Best burger I've eaten in my life: barbecued by Jan outside of Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
It wasn't just us focused on food: The guide at Lehman Caves, Great Basin National Park, Nevada, called these cave formations "bacon"
Jan assured me more calories were burned in colder temperatures, hence bacon for breakfast daily was not only OK, but necessary

Did we last a month? No. We thought about celebrating Thanksgiving in Las Vegas and slowly making our way back home for the remainder of November, but decided a bigger, better adventure would probably be hosting our first Thanksgiving dinner at home (which we ended up doing, very successfully). Besides, after all the great food we’d eaten along the way, the all-you-can-eat buffet was a bit anticlimactic.

At the Mirage in Las Vegas

Did we get ever mad at each other living in such close quarters? Yes. I really don’t need to say much besides: men, women, and directions. They do not mix well. But then again, if you don’t really plan where you’re going, you can’t ever be lost, right?

The navigator

Would we do it again? Yes. When you sit back and let the road take you where it wants to take you, some fun discoveries are made along the way. For example, Super Wal-Marts were our savior. With grocieries (including bison steaks in Utah!), camping supplies, and a McDonald’s all rolled into one, I changed my standards for what made a good town—if it had a Super Wal-Mart in it, it was a happening and awesome place. After driving for miles and miles and seeing not much besides the desert, the glow of its neon sign became a welcome sight.

Another lesson learned? Throw out the guidebook. I’d scan it on the way to our next destination, excited to see Site A, Museum B, and Restaurant C, only to be disappointed. We’d just happened by the places the ONE day they happened to be closed, or the author made something out to be different than it really was. The best discoveries were the accidental ones, the places we stumbled upon, and the meals we threw together.

Notice the snow behind the Baby Q: Camping in the snow in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Fajitas at Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
At the Coors Factory in Golden Colorado, they give you lots of free beer!

One year later, we still have the van. We want to go on one more trip with it before letting it find a new home. Of course, Jan’s got big plans for his next vehicle project. He says four-wheel-drive is required. The only thing on my list is a GPS.

Girls Gone Camping

I recently got a valuable lesson reinforced to me: girls can do anything! Ok, well, I suppose I knew that already, but when it came to camping in the woods, I wasn’t convinced until a friend said she wanted to forgo the traditional bachelorette party in favor of a girl’s camping weekend. I love camping, and go whenever I get the opportunity, but could us girls do it on our own? Would we want to?

I campaigned to the girls, citing the best part of camping was having the guys do everything for us, set up the tents, make the fire, scare away bears, etc. Continue reading →

Tired, happy, and full in San Francisco

Rosamunde's Sausage Grill

After a day of walking up and down hills, good food, great friends, and free-flowing drinks, I’m happily exhausted. I love how that’s the way things are on visits to San Francisco.

When Jan had a bachelor party to attend in the city and suggested I drive up with him and spend time with our friend Lucy, I quickly agreed.

After arriving at Lucy’s in Haight Ashbury, our first stop, before we could do anything else, was to get Jan some serious food. We walked to Rosamunde’s Sausage Grill, where Jan ordered the nuernberger bratwurst (savory pork). We waited in the small restaurant, which had a handful of barstools lining the counters at the front windows.

Two sausages were grilled and served with sauerkraut and peppers on a toasted French roll. This was the kind of gourmet hot dog Jan had been dreaming of. But we had to get back in time to head off for the picnic Lucy planned, so we tested the to-go qualities of the bun as we walked back to get the rest of the picnic ready. Jan might have had mustard all over his face, but he could now carve the chicken Lucy had roasted earlier without dying of hunger.

While Jan headed off to meet the boys at AT&T Park for a Giants game, Lucy and I caught the bus and headed toward the Presidio.

The multi-million dollar view

We met friends at the top of the Lyon steps at Lyon and Broadway, enjoying a beautiful view on a sunny day. Then we walked into the adjacent Presidio in search of a good picnic spot. Our map hadn’t told us of all the construction projects going on where picnic tables had been listed, but we finally found a table hidden away between rows of converted army housing.

Not your average picnic

Lucy was a picnic pro, and I was so impressed that she brought tablecloths, real plates, and silverware. I thought that was what had made Lucy’s backpack so heavy on our walk through the Presidio, at least until Lucy pulled out the 32 oz. bottle of Tapatio we’d gotten for her during our last visit! (See An open mind, and mouth, for oysters).

Zesty gazpacho

We feasted on roast chicken, sausages from Rosamunde’s, guacamole, cheese, pickles, dried fruits and several bottles of Pinot Noir. Though I’m not usually a gazpacho fan, Lucy’s gazpacho topped with avocado was excellent. I thought it would have also made the most delicious bloody mary.

But we stuck to red wine, and continued stuffing ourselves on tasty two-bite brownies and chewy peanut butter cookies from Whole Foods. We rolled ourselves to the bus stop and up the last hill back to Lucy’s place.

After resting our feet and several cups of tea at Lucy’s, it was time to continue work burning off our picnic. We met up with Jan on his way back from the bachelor party and all headed to the Castro.

The Mix bar on 18th street provided the atmosphere we needed. And it was conveniently located across from Nizario’s pizza, where Jan sampled a combination slice on our way into the bar and the California (chicken, pesto, spinach, and feta) on the way out.

Beautiful breakfast

In the morning, Lucy had prepared us a real Midwestern breakfast. (She’d asked me the day before if I preferred cereal and granola for a lighter option, and I heartily declined, saying I liked to use the vacation excuse whenever I could.)

Sausage, Canadian bacon, bacon, pancakes, berries, and more

We had breakfast sausage, Canadian bacon, and bacon served on the meat platter. There were also pancakes, strawberries, blackberries, and Greek yogurt. Then there was fresh walnut bread and butter. And Lucy even heated the maple syrup on the stove and put it in a mini-pitcher, the perfect combination of West meets Midwest!

Planter at Flora Grubb
Even the coffee was artfully arranged

We headed to Flora Grubb Gardens for some backyard inspiration, and Lucy enjoyed a beautiful cup of coffee as I took in garden ideas to duplicate at home (though I won’t be copying the car-as-planter idea).

Gravad lax: a taste of Sweden
Last stop: meatballs

After saying goodbye to our gracious host, Jan and I headed across the Bay Bridge. We already had our lunch in mind: meatballs at IKEA in Emeryville. It’s become the tradition that we’ll brave Saturday IKEA crowds for, even though we realize the meatballs aren’t the best. But, we did get to stock up on a staple in our household: Lingonberry preserves.

Finally it was time to head home, for some much-needed rest after our two-day vacation.

Getting scientific about s’mores

I can and will use any excuse to make s’mores. It’s winter time? Well, I should sit by a nice fire and roast some marshmallows. It’s summer? The perfect time for camping, campfires, and making s’mores outdoors. I adore chocolate in any form, but the funny thing is, I’ve never been crazy about graham crackers or marshmallows on their own. But when it all comes together in melty, messy gooeyness, there’s no comparison to anything else. 

Roasting technique

 Jan and I recently camped with our friends Ken and Amy at the Dorabelle campground in Shaver Lake. While Jan was busy putting together all the ingredients for our feast of steak tacos, Spanish rice, and refried beans, I was doing my part: getting out the two-pronged skewers reserved specifically for the task of roasting marshmallows over a fire. 

Now, I had to endure a bit of teasing for the degree of seriousness of which I took the s’more-making, and luckily Ken appreciated my scientific approach. Everyone laughed as I demonstrated my technique. I got out two graham cracker squares, placed two squares of Hershey’s Special Dark on top of one, and placed the graham crackers over the bbq grate part of the fire pit. While my chocolate was melting, two marshmallows were skewered and slowly roasted. Just before the marshmallows were so hot inside they were ready to melt off the skewers, I placed them on top of my graham cracker with melting chocolate, covered with the other graham cracker, and removed the skewer. 

Ken still needs some practice

 Of course I got chocolate and marshmallow everywhere in the process, but my s’more was amazing. Everybody else joined in making s’mores, but they went more for the set-the-marshmallow-on-fire and char the graham cracker approach. My method took a bit more patience and wasn’t so satisfying for pyromanics, but either way, I’m dreaming about the next campfire.

Buffalo for dinner at the edge of wilderness

About a two hour’s drive away is a completely different world that I only just experienced for the first time. Last week Jan took me up to see Florence and Edison lakes, an area that he spends some time patrolling at work. After driving to Huntington Lake on Highway 168, we took the turnoff for Kaiser Pass. The road soon turned into a narrow, bumpy, one-lane road that Jan said is purposely kept that way by Southern California Edison to limit traffic. And lonesome it is, except for the marmots, lizards, and deer we saw along the way. I asked Jan, “Really? This is your cubicle!?” It was beautiful. 

Drive through Kaiser Pass = backroads bubbly

Both Florence Lake and Edison Lake sit at the edge of the John Muir Wilderness area, and offer services to backpackers either about to embark on a journey or need of more supplies. Both lakes have boats to ferry hikers to the other side of the lakes, and each has a small store, restaurant, or both. After a picnic lunch at Florence Lake, we checked out Vermillion Resort at Edison Lake, where Jan has eaten many times while fighting lighting fires in the area. 

We hiked through a muddy path to see some of the volcanic hot springs, but I had forgotten insect repellant and was getting eaten by mosquitoes and didn’t want to stay for a dip into the water. 

Homemade blue cheese dressing perfected

We stopped for dinner at Mono Hot Springs River Rock Cafe, and on a Tuesday night, had the entire patio to ourselves. After enjoying salads with homemade blue cheese dressing (yum!) we watched the sunset over the mountains and ordered two specialties of the house: Corned buffalo for Jan and a buffalo burger for me. 

Buffalo burger and rice pilaf

Both dishes tasted similar to their beef counterparts, but were leaner. Our server Lea offered a great finale to the end of an excellent birthday with New York cheesecake. And even though I’d previously made fun of Jan for celebrating his birthday for the entire month of April, I did have to admit that celebrating my birthday for a week and a half was far better than my previous attempts to simply pretend the day wasn’t different from any other. I had, by that time, completely forgotten about getting another year older. 

A tasty end to the birthday celebrations

 

Napa Valley mini vacation, day two

Breakfast, first course

We began the next day back at the inn’s dining room, which was a converted cellar with exposed stone walls and great ambiance. When we sat down, a bowl of fruit and champagne glasses full of orange juice were waiting for us. The glasses were actually half-full of orange juice, and Jan and I briefly considered filling the other half from the bottle of Domaine Chandon sparkling wine we’d bought the day before. Mimosas sounded excellent, but we decided against it.

Breakfast, second course

The innkeepers said the breakfasts there were always hearty and meant to sustain guests for a day of wine tasting. As soon as we finished our fruit, the staff brought in the next plate, which consisted of an apple crisp and also an egg and potato soufflé.

After checking out we headed north, with a plan to drive to the top of Napa Valley and slowly make our way south before heading back home. Our first stop was Château Montelena, which I wanted to see after recently watching the film Bottle Shock. The building was beautiful, just like in the movie and the grounds featured a lush garden, lake complete with geese, and red pagodas.

Next we walked downtown Calistoga, enjoying the sunshine, but no mud baths that the town is famous for. I was too happy and clean after soaking in our room’s Jacuzzi tub to have any desire to be covered in mud at the moment.

Culinary Institute of America

We continued our drive, heading south on Highway 128 and stopping to tour the Culinary Institute of America, which was housed in an imposing but beautiful old winery. No celebrity chefs were spotted this time, but we saw plenty of students and checked out the winemaker’s hall of fame, learning a little more of the area’s history. At this point we were starving, so we drove through St. Helena, a town I would want to revisit in the future.

Deli counter at Oakville Grocery

We had lunch at Oakville Grocery Co., which came recommended to us by other guests staying at the Old World Inn. I ordered the Chicken Gruyere, which also had pancetta, balsamic onions, Dijon, and mayonnaise on a baguette, while Jan ordered the Classic Reuben, which had corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing on rye bread. We also asked for two plastic cups so we could enjoy a glass of wine with our picnic outside. The sandwiches were delicious, the only thing we were missing was a pickle to go with them.

Cheesy Gruyere goodness

As we were eating lunch, the Napa Valley Wine Train passed by. I’m not sure how the food compared there, as I’ve heard the train is an experience not to be missed, but I could have sworn some of the passengers were eyeing our sandwiches.

I had heard about the art at the DiRosa Preserve, and that was to be our last stop. However, when we arrived, we were told that we had missed the last tour for the day, and that there wasn’t much to see in the entry gallery. But we weren’t too disappointed, as we added another item to our list for our next visit. As it turned to late afternoon, and we’d reached our limit of wine, food, and sunshine, heading home to Fresno was exactly what we wanted to do.

Napa Valley mini vacation, day one

When I couldn’t come up with anything I wanted for my birthday, Jan decided we’d take a last-minute getaway to Napa Valley, taking advantage of his mid-week days off to experience it without the crowds. Neither of us had been to Napa Valley before, so we did some research on bed and breakfasts in the area, Jan found a good deal at Napa’s Old World Inn, and we booked a room for the next night. 

We arrived a few hours before check-in, but the innkeepers graciously took us to our room (which had Ghirardelli chocolate squares on the pillows, they really knew how to win me over!) and informed us of the various items on the inn’s schedule: freshly baked chocolate chip cookies would be put out in the library at 3 p.m., appetizers and wine tasting in the dining room at 5:30 p.m., desserts at 7 p.m., and breakfast served the next morning at 9 a.m. Just as I was starting to think I should be writing this down, they offered their suggestions for places to visit that afternoon and circled those on the map.

Grapevines at Goosecross

For me, wine tasting is one of those things that’s better in theory than reality, as I’ve learned I can’t handle tasting at more than one winery without feeling the need to curl up for a midday nap. The next solution would be to taste the wine without drinking the wine, but that, along with all the wine sniffing and glass swirling, seemed a bit too much for me. I just want to drink good wine. So, without aspirations to be wine connoisseurs, we headed north on the Silverado trail for an afternoon drive. 

Bread selection at Bouchon Bakery

 I was also curious to see Yountville, a town with probably more fine dining restaurants per capita than any other place I’d experienced. Right away, we saw celebrity chef Thomas Keller posing for pictures for tourists in front of the French Laundry. We peeked into Bottega and Bouchon, both often referenced on Top Chef, but they offered far more than the small snack we needed, and we finally settled on the wheat-stalk-shaped epi baguette with butter and jam from the more modest Bouchon Bakery.

Old World Inn wine tasting

 We arrived back just in time for the inn’s happy hour, but we weren’t the first ones there, as the other guests seem to have had the same idea. While tasting a Merlot from winery Folie à Deux, we met Lindsay and Joe from Ottawa, Canada who seemed just as excited as us to take advantage of the complimentary happy hour.

After exhausting the allotted supply of the tasting hour’s wine and appetizers, we wanted to continue the party, and our new friends invited us to drink a bottle of Syrah they had purchased at Burgess Cellars during their wine tasting earlier. 

Shrimp cocktail on the balcony

 While Jan ran to the Safeway across the street for a baguette, some brie, strawberries, and shrimp cocktail, we set up on the balcony outside our friends’ room. Before we knew it, it was 7 p.m. and time for the desserts to be put out in the library. Lindsay and I returned with chocolate covered almonds, chocolate covered apricots and brownies. After enjoying the extended wine tasting and finishing the bottle, we said goodbye to our new friends and set out to find some dinner in downtown Napa.

Cheeseburger at Buckhorn Grill

After all that wine and cheese, we weren’t looking for something too big, so we shared an avocado-swiss-bacon burger and onion rings from the Buckhorn Grill, a place that reminded me of Fresno’s own Doghouse Grill. Now thoroughly stuffed, we walked back to the inn to rest up for another day in wine country. To be continued.

An open mind, and mouth, for oysters

 

Jan shucks oysterLet me start by saying I’ve never been much for raw oysters. Jan loves them and actually convinces me to try one every so often, but I feel their greatness is wasted on me. If they’re considered delicacies and here I am thinking they’re only tolerable, I’d rather save the slimy mollusks for those who truly appreciate them. 

However, one recent experience put the oysters in a slightly more favorable light. Visiting our friend Lucy in San Francisco, Jan and I thought we should take advantage of a gorgeous day and go for a drive through Marin County. Jan wanted to return to an oyster farm we’d passed on a prior trip – and Lucy was also an oyster fan who was thrilled about the chance to eat oysters fresh from the ocean. 

We started our Saturday at San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market to get picnic ingredients. At the Sur La Table there we were in search of the tool we would need later, more specifically, an oyster-shucking knife, since the place we were visiting only sold oysters and visitors were supposed to shuck the oysters themselves. An employee directed us to a knife and oyster-holder contraption and said this was made for the job. Having no experience in oyster-shucking, we took his recommendation and headed north. 

It was a beautiful drive that seemed worlds away from the city we just left. We stopped in a market in Stinson Beach for the last few necessities we couldn’t get at the farmer’s market –Tapatio, white wine and beer – all the while our appetites grew steadily. 

Setting up the picnic

 

The parking lot of the Tomales Bay Oyster Company was packed, and the smells coming from each picnic tables’ barbeque was like a walk through an international food court. Next to us, one group prepared pot stickers and a spicy soy dipping sauce while their oysters cooked on the barbeque. On the other side, a group of friends pulled out a trio of freshly made salsas from a cooler brimming with food. 

Trying out the proper technique

 

Jan returned with a bag of one dozen oysters in each hand, and I read over the oyster-shucking instruction sheet. We tried the fancy Sur La Table tool, but soon realized it wasn’t going to get the job done. Lucy and I went to find an expert, worried they would probably have a thing or two to say about our knife. 

After quietly grinning and calling our tool “worthless,” we got a lesson from one of the oyster farmers himself, who generously lent us his knife – something purchased at a hardware store, not a culinary boutique. After a little work getting the right technique, Jan, Lucy and I took turns cracking open the oysters with a slight twist of the knife. We tried different toppings, from our neighbors’ salsas to our own Bloody Mary concoction of tomato juice, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, and Tapatio. When the oysters we’d placed on the barbeque began to open, we let them cool slightly before trying those topped with spicy mayo (mayonnaise mixed with the condiment of the day: Tapatio). 

The face of trying something new

 

We took our time eating lunch, but we still weren’t able to finish the 24 oysters we’d bought. Between sips of beer and wine, enjoying the sunshine, and shop talk with our picnic table neighbors (comparing barbeque techniques, best toppings, etc.), we’d spent a wonderful afternoon stuffing ourselves while overlooking the calm waters of Tomales Bay. I’m not sure if it was the music, fun-loving atmosphere, or the company, but I’d managed to enjoy an oyster or two. Perhaps the recipe for the squeamish raw oyster eater is to simply shuck the oyster yourself. After all, putting in the effort to pry the thing open and top it with something you’ve prepared did improve the taste. While I don’t think I’ll be at a restaurant ordering raw oysters on the ½ shell anytime soon, I’d definitely go back for the do-it-yourself oyster-shucking picnic any sunny day of the year.