Tomales Bay Oyster Company - Marshall

15479 Highway 1
Marshall, CA 94940
415.663.1242
www.tomalesbayoysters.com

This is definitely one of the best oyster experiences I had!   There is nothing better than sitting outdoors, soaking in the sunshine, breathing the fresh air, and shucking your own tasty oysters fresh from the farm.  And not to mention, eating as much as you want without burning a hole in your wallet.

We arrived at the farm around 10:00am and were the first few to have claimed our spot next to the water.  More people started coming in around 11-12pm, bringing out their big coolers, E-Z Up canopies, red and white checkered tablecloths, boombox, and large amounts of food. I looked around and thought... "they know how to work it."

I first ordered a dozen for a mere $10!! Great deal and it's fresh. You have a choice of x-small, small, medium, or large.  X-Small ones were perfect.  The Tomales Bay worker said that he doesn't know why people get the mediums, or especially the large ones.

After popping 12 oysters in my mouth, I was content, but was needing more.  So.. another dozen!

Being first-timers, we only brought small packets of tabasco that we managed to find and keep from our drive up to San Francisco, a lemon, and a towel. We didn't even have a shucker.  The night before, we stopped at several places to buy one and even a General Store at a nearby small town, but no luck for us.  Luckily though, the man selling the oysters at this farm let us borrow his (what a nice guy). Whew!

We found a great tutorial on shucking oysters from youtube.com, and the farm also had some reading material as well. The important thing is not to injure yourself, while being careful not to let any shell remnants get inside and contain the oyster liquor inside the shell.

The damage I did.... 24 oysters later. All by myself....

What a peaceful view of the waters while enjoying the fresh oysters.  

This unique experience was worth the 45 minute drive from San Francisco.  The beauty and serenity of the place (before the crowds come) and the delicious, sweet oysters made it heavenly for me. Next time, I will definitely be better equipped with the right tools and ingredients.  Not to mention, a bottle of wine.

Bar Crudo - San Francisco

655 Divisadero St (between Hayes and Grove)
San Francisco, CA 94117
415.409.0679
www.barcrudo.com

We decided to head up to San Francisco for our anniversary weekend. San Francisco is one of our favorite cities to visit because of the delicious food, the beautiful scenery, and the chill, cool, and unpretentious people. Our first stop was Bar Crudo, a place known for fresh and delicious seafood.

We came for their happy hour: $3 beers on a certain beers, $10 for 2 fish tacos, $5 for seafood chowder and $1 oysters from Point Reyes. We came there at 5:30pm and there were no seats at the bar but small wooden panels from the wall that you can stand and enjoy your beers and food. Luckily for us, they decided to offer the upstairs area as part of the happy hour area. Made for much more of an enjoyable and relaxing experience for us.

 

Crudo Sampler: (12)

Artic Char (horseradish cream, wasabi tobiko, dill)  This was my favorite! It was buttery like salmon.

Hokkaido Scallops (sweet corn puree, piri piri peppers, spanish smoked salt) The scallops had a soft texture, but the sweet corn threw me off a bit.

Tombo Tuna (avocado mousse, chili lime vinaigrette, peaches) This had some good flavors, but nothing memorable.

Butterfish (salmorejo, quail egg, jamon)

Seafood Chowder (5)
A hearty and comforting chowder with generous amounts of seafood. Good-sized chunks of fish, calamari, mussels, shrimp and potatoes. Also had chunks of chorizo and applewood smoked bacon.  Definitely a must order! 

Point Reyes Oysters, Marin ($1 each)
One of my favorite reasons to come to San Francisco is to eat and slurp on super fresh and tasty oysters.  These oysters did not disappoint. They were cold and fresh, and the accompanying mignonette was perfect with the oysters.

Service was great throughout our little dinner/snack. While chatting with the waitress, we mentioned we were up in SF for our anniversary and they were kind enough to bring us chocolates with a candle. We heart SF!!!!

If you are ever in SF and looking for a place that serves fantastically fresh seafood in a laid back and unpretentious setting, Bar Crudo is a great place to be.

Le Crêperie Bretonne - Paris, France

56 Rue Montparnasse, 75014 Paris
Tel. 01 43 20 89 58

If you're ever in Paris and craving crepes, Rue Montparnasse must have the highest concentration of creperies on one small street that I have ever seen. They should just change the name to Rue Crêperie. Since we weren't staying too far from this area and wanted some proper crêpes and not the pre-made ones we decided to give Le Crêperie Bretonne a try.

As you walk along the street you can take a peek and see the master crêpe makers at work. Not sure if the French sailor shirt is a uniform there or not but adds to the authenticity of the place, at least from a wardrobe standpoint.

No fat free margarine substitutes are used here. This is the real deal right here and they don't skimp on it either. 

Tight seating is the norm in Paris. During lunch, we saw many business people ordering their savory crêpes and sweet ones for dessert.

Crêpes are made with blé noir, buckwheat flour, although buckwheat crêpes are generally called galettes rather than crêpes. We decided to order the galettes for a lunchtime snack.

Check out the nice little pad of melted butter that is added.

Peeling back the layers of the gallete revealed slices of tomatoes and jambon with goat cheese. I am no galette or crêpe expert but these were nicely crisped throughout, especially on the sides.

The second galette that we ordered was the either a merguez or a chorizo filled galette with cheese. I preferred this more savory and amped up flavor galette to the fresher and slightly healthier previous one.

If you are in the Montparnasse and craving a crêpe, Rue Montparnasse is definitely the place to be. Now to decided which one you are going to eat at is up to you. Bon Apetit!