Saturday, the boy and I were on different wave lengths. I had worked hard all week and was ready to play. He had worked hard all week and was ready to hibernate. We agreed to do our own thing during the day and meet up in the late afternoon.
At three o'clock, we walked to Swan Oyster Depot -- a local oyster place that is a fun way to spend some time and share a dozen oysters. I was looking forward to oysters and a glass of wine. We arrived to find something very unwanted -- a long line of about 20 people waiting for a seat at the long counter. We were both hungry, and not ready to wait.
I convinced Jason that 1) we should try out the new Hog Island Oyster Bar at the Ferry Building and 2) that we should take a cable car to the ferry building. He was game. There were storm clouds gathering quickly, but the rain had held off all day and I assumed that it would hold off a bit longer. I was wrong. The rain began to fall, and we got on to the cable car. We chose a seat in the front ... outside of course, and off we went with all the tourists. It wasn't until the rain began to drive horizontally into my face that I gave in, and agreed to move to the inside portion of the cable car.
We got off at the end of the line, and began a two block run in the pouring rain to get the the Ferry Building. Neither of us had umbrellas, and I didn't even have a jacket (sorry, mom). I was a little nervous about the boy's reaction to all this, knowing that he would have been just fine staying home all day and relaxing. He agreed to go out because I was a little stir crazy, and I was really pushing the limits with my cable car - rain - ferry building adventure. We arrived at the Ferry Building soaking wet.
The Ferry Building is an old landmark that has been reopened this year with lots of fun food stands inside. It's also the site of the Farmer's Market. Stores within the building have been opening at a steady rate since March, with people like me anxiously awaiting each opening.
The most exciting addition so far for me is the new Hog Island Oyster Bar. It opened a week or two ago, and I had been hearing great things but hadn't had a chance to check it out. Hog Island is an Oyster Farm in Tomales Bay, about an hour north of San Francisco. Jason and I spent a really great afternoon there in January shucking oysters on the bay and watching pelicans dive for their dinner. They have a booth every week at the farmer's market where you can buy a couple shucked oysters and eat them standing up in the middle of the market.
The new oyster bar is a long way from the oyster farm in Tomales Bay, where you don a goopy glove and shuck your own oysters. This is a gleaming, shiny, clean u-shaped bar that seats about 20 people. After trying to dry ourselves off, we took a seat at the bar and ordered -- a dozen kumamoto oysters, clam chowder, green salad with a local blue cheese, and a couple glasses of wine.
The large, floor-to-ceiling windows of the restaurant look out on to the bay and the Bay Bridge, and we were able to watch the storm from the warm safety of our seats. The water was dark and choppy, and the overall effect of the bay was beautiful. It's easy to love places like the bay on the sunny, bright blue days, but there is something about a stormy dark day in San Francisco that is equally as beautiful to me.
Everything that was served to us was the epitome of what I consider to be wonderful food: fresh, simple, wonderful ingredients in dishes that are not overly done. The fresh, small kumamoto oysters, the clam chowder which was basically a bowl of steamed clams with some creamy broth (!!!), and the deliciously simple salad with blue cheese -- we were having a wonderful time. At one point in the dinner, Jason declared, "I think this is the best place EVER!". My worry about him having a good time had subsided the moment we walked into the restaurant, and we were revelling in how happy a great meal could make us. We spent a few minutes talking to the proprietor and left the restaurant happy and full and looking forward to a quick return.
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