Drakes Bay Oysters!

On Saturday morning, fully booked for the weekend, I threw all engagements to the wind and opted to celebrate Buckle’s birthday with her and friends eating oysters at Drake’s Bay.

After a quick drive over the Golden Gate Bridge and North on Highway 1, we got out of the car and were hit by the smell of salt water, the noise of the seagulls and the feel of the not-so-subtle ocean breeze. We had arrived at Drake’s Bay with a picnic in hand and ready for the ocean’s treat of fresh oysters. Like Hog Island Oyster Co (which was closed for the day), Drake’s Bay offers fresh oysters, unshucked and by the dozen, picnic tables along the water’s edge, a small shack selling seafood delights and condiments and endless piles of discarded oyster shells (some of which were over 10 feet high). What the place might have lacked in ambience (because in reality, it really wasn’t all that glamorous) it made up for in the quantity and freshness of its oysters.

We bought our oysters (5 dozen medium sized locals) in the nearby shack, unpacked the picnic (which included white wine, beer, crackers, hot sauce, lemons, chips, salsa, cheese, salami and cookies) and got to work. First order of business, learn how to shuck an oyster. While we had all we needed – oysters, gloves, shuckers – we lacked the skills or technique to actually enjoy them. Thankfully a gentleman at the next table exchanged his knowledge and know-how for a lemon and splash of hot sauce.

With the oyster firmly pressed against the table with my left hand, I wedged the shucker into the hinge of the shell (the back-door if you will) and began the battle of strength and endurance, using a cross between back and forth and clockwise rotations to pop open the shell. After the 5 minute struggle, the shell opened up and I was able to admire my hard work. I garnished the oyster with care, including hot sauce and fresh squeezed lemon juice and enjoyed my reward in one quick motion. And after only a few more attempts, I had reduced my shucking time down to 10 seconds and officially nominated myself as the “master shucker” of the table.

The day continued in a leisurely manner, taking breaks from the effort to tell stories, enjoy the sun and company and work back up an appetite. And when the bag of oysters was finally empty, we packed up the remains of the picnic and prepared for the journey back to the city in our seafood and wine induced como and more than slightly sunburned from our first weekend of Spring.