Are Oysters the Perfect Love Food?
De Maupassant described them as “…small and rich, looking like little ears enfolded in shells, and melting between the palate and the tongue like salted sweets.”
Paired with our dizzying, appetizing, and refreshing Le Merle Saison, the champagne-like Grand Cru, and the dark, rich Old No. 38 Stout, it sounds like Valentine perfection to us.
Join us at the North Coast Brewing Taproom & Grill for Valentine’s Day (Tuesday, February 14, 2012; 444 North Main Street, Fort Bragg, CA), where we will be featuring the clean, mildly salty Drake’s Bays; the sweet, buttery, melon-flavored Kumamotos; and the clean, briny Barron Points. 
Our Favorite West Coast Oysters:
Barron Point* (Puget Sound, WA): soft-textured, sweet, and musky
Blue Pool (Pacific variety, Hood Canal, WA): crunchy texture with a pronounced vegetable finish
Drake’s Estero* (Drake’s Bay, CA): tender and briny, with a touch of bitter herb
Hog Island Sweetwater (Pacific variety, Tomales Bay, CA): salty with crisp, grassy flavors and a sweet finish
Hog Island Atlantics (Atlantic variety, Tomales Bay, CA): intensely briny with a fruitiness
Kumamoto* (Tomales Bay, CA): small and mild with a creamy watermelon finish
Penn Cove Selects (Pacific variety, Samish Bay, WA): firm meats with a bright brininess and cucumber finish
*Oysters featured at our Taproom and Grill on Valentine’s Day
Try our favorite mignonette recipe with chopped fine fresh mint, fresh cilantro, and red jalapeno; diced fine shallots; rice vinegar; fresh lime juice; and black cracked pepper.
