Sunday drives: Tomales Bay and West Marin beckon with oysters, open space and cheese

The coast of Tomales Bay is known for briny oysters, happy cows and fresh ocean breezes that can scuff up whitecaps and turn bone-chilling at the drop of a hat.

But with Indian summer approaching in August and September, it’s the perfect time to take a leisurely drive out to West Sonoma and Marin counties for some grilled oysters, a cold beer and a swim at Shell Beach near Inverness or a hike at Point Reyes National Seashore.

If you plan it right, you’ll have time to stop for a picnic at one of the region’s storied cheese or oyster purveyors, then linger into the evening for dinner at one of the region’s rustic roadhouses.

Leilani Martin grew up along the remote back roads of West Marin and worked closely with oysters at the Marshall Store and Hog Island Oyster Co. before starting her own catering company, Sonoma Coast Shuckers.

“At Hog Island, I learned all about farming oysters and how every process affects the final product,” she said. “Oysters are what kept my attention, and today, oysters are my passion.”

Recently, the 28-year-old oyster shucker led us on daylong exploration along the estuaries, marshes and byways, from Valley Ford and Marshall to Point Reyes Station and Rancho Nicasio. If you follow our itinerary, feel free to reverse the order and take any side trips that beckon, but we don’t advise going on a Tuesday. Nearly everything is closed that day.

First stop: Valley Ford

Fuel up for your journey at the Estero Cafe, owned by Samantha and Ryan Ramey since 2014. The young couple sources local eggs, meat, bread and produce for their all-day breakfast menu (7 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and a lunch menu that includes Twisted Horn Ranch burgers. The cafe is located at 14450 Highway 1.

Another gustatory gem can be found across the street at Rocker Oysterfellers, where chef/owner Brandon Guenther serves a Sunday brunch and dinner Thursdays through Sundays, with craft cocktails, beer and wine. You can enjoy fresh oysters for a buck on Thursday nights, and hook some fish tacos on Fridays at the cozy bar and restaurant.

You have to make an appointment to visit the Valley Ford Cheese Co., but it’s worth doing. Owner/cheesemaker Karen Bianchi-Moreda operates her business at Mountain View Jerseys, a 640-acre farm where five generations of the Bianchi/Grossi family have raised dairy cows.

She started making her first cheese, Estero Gold, in 2007. “It was the cheese we ate growing up with our grandmother,” she said.

“It’s a nutty, Swiss cheese.”

The company also makes Estero Gold Reserve, aged for 13 months or longer; Highway 1, a melting cheese that is aged for 4 to 6 months; and a big blue gorgonzola cheese that is showing up in local restaurants such as Hazel in Occidental.

Last January, Bianchi-Moreda purchased the Wool Mill building in downtown Valley Ford and hopes to reopen it this fall as the Valley Ford Cheese and Creamery. The rustic, wooden barn will house a gift shop, cheese aging room, small bakery serving coffee and a cafe serving simple cheese plates and dishes, beer and wine.

“I want to make it a destination spot,” she said of the historic barn, which used to be a gas station. “It’s going to have reclaimed redwood and stressed wood inside.”

Tomales

Sarah DeVere has purchased the Tomales Bakery, beloved for its almond croissants and pies, and plans to keep baking for the locals and the cycling crowd while adding seasonal fruit muffins, gluten-free options and maybe even salads. The bakery is open at 7:30 a.m. Thursday through Sunday.

Marshall

This is ground zero for oyster lovers, starting with the uber-popular Hog Island Oyster Farm. Remember the old days, when you could stop by the rustic farm to buy oysters and have an impromptu BBQ? Those days are gone.

Now you now need reservations at The Boat Oyster Bar (serving cheese, charcuterie, wine, beer and oysters 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Monday) and at the Shuck-Your-Own picnic tables ($5 per person includes grills, shucking tools, lemons, hot sauce, horseradish, but it’s BYO beer, wine, picnic fare). Or you can pick up oysters-to-go and enjoy them on a nearby beach or park.

You could also just head to The Marshall Store, a community gathering spot that has been refurbished since it was purchased in 2006 by siblings Heidi and Shannon Gregory. The kitsch has been removed, and it’s now a clean but cozy spot for a bite of fresh seafood or smoked meat.

There is some indoor seating, but many still prefer the long, outdoor bar that provides a panoramic view of the bay. (Bring a jacket if it’s windy.) Best bets: any of the fresh or smoked oysters or smokehouse meat sandwiches, such as the pulled pork.

About 3 miles down the road, the Tomales Bay Oyster Co. is open Fridays through Sundays but no longer provides picnicking or barbecues for its customers due to permit issues. During the week, you can purchase their oysters at The Marshall Store (Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays) or find them at The Palace Market in Point Reyes Station.

If you want to avoid the weekend crowds on the coast, longtime Tomales Bay oysterman Martin Strain has opened a new retail outlet for his Point Reyes Oysters called the Bodega Bay Oyster Co. at 12830 Valley Ford Road. Picnic tables do not need to be reserved, and you can enjoy barbecued oysters on Saturdays and Sundays.

Point Reyes Station

Nestled into a ridge overlooking Tomales Bay north of town, the Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company is the home of the world famous Point Reyes Original Blue, Bay Blue, Toma and fresh Mozzarella cheeses. Reserve a spot at a casual farm tour and tasting from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Fridays through October for $25.

Or, for a deeper experience, sign up for a farm brunch, dinner or cooking class at The Fork at Point Reyes, the on-site cooking school.

Located just outside town, the Heidrun Meadery is an only-in-Marin experience.

With a tasting room located in a greenhouse converted from a cow shed, this unusual farm sources honey from all over, including its own gardens, for a unique line of fermented honey sparkling meads.

Mead is an alcoholic beverage similar to wine, only made from honey that undergoes a secondary fermentation to create effervescent bubbles.

Founded in Arcata by one-time beer lover Gordon Hull, the meadery started production in 2012 at the former dairy farm just outside downtown Point Reyes Station and now offers six varietal meads, from Point Reyes Wildflower to California Orange Blossom and Hawaiian Macadamia Nut.

A mead tasting costs $15. Tours of the production area, located in an adjacent barn, cost $25. The mead itself goes for $20 to $30, with the estate varietal priced at $50.

“You can also come and buy a glass or a bottle and have a picnic,” said Carly Sheriff, sales and hospitality director.

Downtown Point Reyes Station is always abuzz with activity, especially during the summer when the Point Reyes Farmers Market pops up at Toby’s Feed Barn on Saturday mornings and hordes of avid bicyclists take over the open spaces of the historic town.

Locals like to gather on Third Street, across from The Palace, to drink coffee on the shaded bench. Bovine Bakery offers a wide range of pastries, and although it doesn’t have a retail outlet yet, you can find Brickmaiden Bread’s signature Country Sourdough and Levain breads all over town.

Baker Celine Underwood uses wood fire to heat the deck oven where she bakes her artisanal breads, often made with ancient and whole grains such as spelt and khorasan.

Hungry? The Osteria Stellina serves rustic, locally sourced Italian food for lunch and dinner. For something more casual, stop by the Cantina at the Cowgirl Creamery for a salad or sandwich, or head down the road to the Inverness Park (IP) Market for deli fare.

Nicasio

Just up the road in the Nicasio Valley, the 75-year-old Rancho Nicasio offers a little something for everyone. American comfort food is served up in the main dining room; there is live music on Fridays through Sundays; and an outdoor barbecue served every Sunday also includes live music. For tickets and a schedule, go to ranchonicasio.com.

Modern American food is now available in the 45-seat Western Room, run by chef Ron Siegel of Masa’s and Michael Mina fame. The menu highlights the best of the region, from rabbits raised by Mark Pasternak of Devil’s Gulch Ranch to Nicasio Valley Cheese, both located just down the road.

Nicasio Valley Cheese is a historic dairy that has weathered the volatility of the milk business by converting to organic milk and making it into farmstead cheese.

“We wanted to sustain our ranch for the next generation,” said Rick Lafranchi, sales and marketing director. “So we went back to our roots as a Swiss-Italian family ... we are the only certified organic, farmstead cow’s milk cheesemaker in California.”

The family, which has 1,150 acres of pasture land on the north side of town, now makes 100,000 pounds of cheese a year from its Holstein herd, which is pastured at least 120 days a year.

At the tasting room, which has a window into the cheese-making facility, you can taste through the company’s line of 10 cheeses, ranging from the popular fromage blanc-style Foggy Morning to the new soft-ripened cheeses, Tomino and Locarno.

Ryan Dobson of Roseville made a recent pilgrimage to Nicasio Valley Cheese Co. after discovering their cheeses at Costco.

“We made a special trip here,” he said. “We’re going for a hike at Tomales Point on Point Reyes, then I’ll buy a big bucket of oysters and bring them home. This is my happy place.”

Staff writer Diane Peterson can be reached at 707-521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @dianepete56.