Review: Tomales Bay Oyster Company - Marshall

[TNT Adventures]

Pictures can be viewed at:

http://tnt-adventures.blogspot.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.

[TNT Adventures]

sonomajom - Great idea about buying them and taking them to a nearby beach. No better way to laze away Monday through Sunday!! Were you referring to Hog Island?

[sonomajom]

we go there or the other place closeby - cant think of hte name wight now but it's less than a mile away on same road - but they'll actually sell you an oyster knife there. Agree the experience is wonderful and oyster soooo good. What we like to do is buy thenm and take them to the little local beach nearby . It can get somewhat noisy at the sites themselves.
No better way to laze away a Sunday

[Zeldog]

I think you mean Hog Island Oyster Co. Slightly more expensive than Tomales Bay, but they usually have Kumamoto's which are small, but especially flavorful. They have a store/restaurant in the Ferry Building that will sell you unshucked oysters to go at the same price (at least they would a couple of years ago).

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Hog Island Oyster Co
610 1st St, Napa, CA