Oysters at Tomales Bay: sexy, sustainable and delish

One of the quintessential bay area getaways is going to Tomales Bay in Point Reyes to kayak and barbecue oysters. The best place to do it is right at Tomales Bay Oyster Company, where they play groovy reggae music by the water, you buy the oysters right there, and can bring your own picnic. It’s cheaper than going to the fancier Hog Island Oyster Company or ordering them at the Marshall Store. Thanks for the tip from the friendly lady at Blue Waters Kayak Company!

A group of us ate them at the house we rented the weekend of my friend Brenda’s birthday. We had great weather and views of the bay right from the living room. Brenda brought together friends from her job at Lonely Planet and lots of other folks, including Kazuko from TransFair, who I met at last year’s Greenfest. A big bag with 2 dozen Pacific oysters cost about $45, and fed 6 people. Saturday night we had a feast with homemade lasagna and lots of good stuff.

I learned how to shuck oysters using a special knife. You just have to point it down and get used to poking around : )

Oysters a’re good raw; everyone recommends warming up to them by eating the small ones first. You feel like you’re literally eating the ocean. When barbecuing them, we drizzled them with a garlic butter sauce in the half shell over the grill. Supposedly oysters are best in months with an ‘r’. But they tasted just fine in August.

Tomales Bay oysters are farmed – a sustainable seafood choice in the new Smart Seafood Guide from Food and Water Watch. This new guide goes beyond the one from Monterey Aquarium to take socioeconomic factors like people’s livelihoods into play. If we can make sustainable choices that support communities, that’s even better:

Farmed oysters can actually improve the health of the environment they are farmed in by filtering the water. Wild oysters may contain levels of PCB contamination that pose a health risk to adults and children.

Health-wise, it’s the zinc in oysters that’s responsible for improving your libido. So eating a diet high in veggies can also do the trick, but more so if you add exercise like yoga, or branch out and do breathing exercises.

(left: yoga on the dock Sunday AM)