Drakes Bay Oysters

Yesterday evening, my boyfriend and I finished off a phenomenal weekend hiking and camping in Pt. Reyes National Seashore by stopping by Drakes Bay Oyster Farm for sixty of their finest. Armed with naught but an oyster knife, a dirty t-shirt (our towel), a lemon, and some cocktail sauce, we spend the last hour of daylight cracking those babies open and slurping them down.

Drakes Bay is a pretty amazing place. It's the only sustainable oyster farm in NorCal, using no inputs, chemicals, fertilizers, or feed. Additionally, the water temperature of Drakes Estero is too cold for the non-native oysters to spawn on their own, so they must be seeded by hand, eliminating the risk of unintended invasion. The Farm also employs an off-bottom, Japanese-inspired, “hanging culture” method (like I know what that means, but it sounds good) that is used by less than 5% of U.S. oyster farmers, and results in "uniquely flavored, ultra-clean oysters." I can definitely say that these are some of the very best oysters I've had in my whole life, and we enjoyed these local, sustainable delicacies at wholesale prices right from the source. I mean, when are the last time you ate huge, perfectly delicious oysters for $0.60 a pop? Yeah, that's what I thought.

So, Bay Area readers and tourists, next time you're planning a YBG weekend of camping, hiking, sea kayaking, or whatever up in Marin County, stop by Drakes for an experience not to be missed.

PS I almost forgot to mention that Drakes Bay needs your help! The National Park Service plans to shut down the historic oyster farm in Drakes Estero, but your participation can help protect sustainable shellfish farming in Marin County. Visit www.alsamarin.org and support the campaign to SAVE DRAKES BAY OYSTER FARM by signing up and learning more about this threat.