Marin is well known around the West Coast of California as a foodie’s paradise and word is starting to get out about this gem. The county has upheld its proud history of fantastic farms and produce; and dotted around the hub of Point Reyes Station there are a number of great spots to visit. Join a tour with Food & Farm Tours to get an insight into the history of the area and the amazing artisan producers that have made Marin their home, along with the chance to taste some delicious morsels along the way.
Stop 1: A Bovine Bakery Breakfast
Kicking off with introductions all round and the rough schedule for your day whilst enjoying your first delectable bite, courtesy of Bovine Bakery, this is just a taste of what’s to come. With platters of their yummy pastries spread across the tables, suitably divided into bite size portions you can dig into the likes of ham and cheese croissants, cheese twists, cherry slices and blueberry scones with lemon drizzle, all whilst learning about the agricultural history of Marin.
Your guide for the day will enlighten you on the history and significance of family farming in the area, and why you can find some of California’s best produce in Marin county. Touching on the geology of the area you’ll soon learn about the differing sides and topography of Tomales Bay all resulting from its position sitting atop the San Andreas Fault Line.
Stop 2: Cowgirl Creamery Cheeses
Discover the full range of Cowgirl Creamery’s seven award-winning cheeses at Tomales Bay Foods at Point Reyes Station. At the site of their original creamery and cheese shop, their location has since evolved to become a marketplace for many divine artisan purveyors. Having a browse around is obligatory although don’t blame us if you come away with way more food than you meant to!
Starting off your cheese tasting with their three fresh cheeses – crème fraiche, clabbered cottage cheese, guaranteed to change the minds of any cottage cheese haters (ourselves included) and fromage blanc, a silky, spreadable cheese that pairs perfectly with some Rustic Bakery crackers (another local product) and a glass of crisp Chardonnay. Next up to begin their line up of aged cheeses, Cowgirl Creamery’s most popular cheese, Mt. Tam. Named after Mt. Tamalpais this triple cream cheese is the one most people have heard of, buttery yet earthy it’s truly a delight to taste.
It’s not often you hear of a cheese being made by accident, but the Red Hawk is one such cheese, created when someone washed the Mt. Tam in salty water to clean it causing B. linens bacteria to flourish and creating an orange rind. A stronger, more pungent cheese, the Red Hawk is a little more complex than the Mt. Tam, but we loved it all the same! The last two cheeses to complete your tasting include a seasonal cheese, based around the grazing plants the Holstein herd feed on during a particular season, and a Wagon Wheel, specifically created for a restaurant in San Francisco as a great melting cheese.
Stop 3: Oven Fresh Brickmaiden Bread
Stepping next door you’ll be able to smell the next stop before you see it! Starting from 2am every morning Brickmaiden Breads produces some of the best freshly baked loaves you’ll ever taste. You’ll be able to take a sneak peek at the inner workings of this tiny bakery and see the incredible level of love and attention that these breads receive, and why they taste quite so perfect.
Upholding traditional methods of creating breads from scratch daily, fermenting the dough and shaping it by hand before resting overnight ready to be baked, the team will be hard at work as you visit. Baking takes place in a traditional wood-fired oven that has been imported across from Europe specially. The hot bricks inside allow the loaves to rise and bake simultaneously developing a strong and chewy crust that Brickmaiden Breads has become known for, and don’t worry you’ll get to taste some of their oven-fresh bread.
Stop 4: Burrata, Burgers & Buffalo Milk Gelato
Only a short drive away, the next stop is Marin Sun Farms, a farm shop and restaurant specialising in great meat produce. Founded by fourth generation farmers in Marin, the Evans family rear cattle, sheep and goats to produce delicious grass-fed meat. The restaurant is set around the shop, where you can see a mouth-watering display of meats, with the kitchen sat behind.
You’ll usually start with a non-meat based dish, in Summer this comprises of a burrata salad with grilled peaches – a sweet and tasty introduction, even for the passionate carnivores in the group! You’ll then get to tuck into a selection of their famous burgers, usually some beef burgers and either lamb, goat or water buffalo dependent on the weekly special. The burgers are served to a temperature of your choosing in a brioche bun, topped with cheese and served with fries and greens on the side. Count yourself lucky if a goat burger comes out, served with goats’ cheese and fennel, and superbly seasoned to create an explosion of rich flavours.
If that’s not enough, for dessert treat yourself to a taste of their home made gelato, made from water buffalo’s milk. Made with no other flavours or preservatives this gelato is super fresh and not sickly – yum!
Stop 5: Unbee-lievable Sparkling Meadery
Based on the ancient medieval drink of mead, Heidrun Meadery have pulled this libation into the 21st century. Producing a light, dry and refreshing sparkling version of mead using Méthode Champenoise (Champagne method), we can guarantee you’ll never have tasted anything like this before. With only three ingredients, honey, water and yeast, the true flavours of the honey shine through emphasising the differences between the various flowers that the bees have foraged from. And those bees have to visit a lot of flowers to make a bottle of Heidrun, in fact one bottle requires 576 bees to visit 25 million flowers!
Enjoy a tasting of at least four of the eight varieties of sparkling mead during your visit and truly appreciate the difference between each one. Discover the richness of the macadamia nut variety (our personal favourite), produced with honey from a Hawaiian apiary where bees foraged amongst macadamia trees, and the light, crisp Californian raspberry blossom variety, with much more herbaceous flavours. With a glass in hand, go behind the scenes to learn more about how Heidrun make their sparkling mead and also visit the hives home to the resident bees.
Naturally Heidrun do also sell several varieties of raw honey alongside their sparkling meads from their quaint greenhouse-style tasting room. You can also purchase a glass of your favourite sparkling mead to enjoy out in their lovely gardens surrounded by vibrant flowers, or tucked away under the shade of a huge oak tree.
Stop 6: (Oysters, Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay
When you first arrive at the Hog Island Oyster Company, there tends to be a crowded car park and a long queue of people waiting to pick up their oysters to take home. This is illustrative of the popularity of this spot, where shuck-your-own picnics can be booked out for months in advance. Don’t let it put you off though, as this is one of the best places to enjoy Marin’s famous oysters.
Coming here with Food & Farm Tours is a great experience, as you’ll be whisked away from the crowds to your private, hidden spot alongside the dock looking out into the bay where the oysters themselves are harvested. With uninterrupted views across Tomales Bay, this is a wonderful place to grab a cold beer and tuck into some oysters.
Speaking of which, you’ll get the chance to try the oysters prepared two very different ways – BBQ’ed with a bourbon butter and raw with lemon and ‘Hogwash’ (their own creation of rice wine vinegar, cilantro and onion). Both are equally delicious and the flavours only accentuate the beautifully fresh shellfish that are harvested earlier that day or the day before.
Stop 7: Strawberry Picking at Table Top Farm
The final stop of the day is at a wonderful initiative run by a local farmer who leases a number of plots in and around Point Reyes Station and grows a variety of seasonal, organic produce. Some of the crop is then sold on to local restaurants but the rest is sold on an honesty stand beside each plot. Locals can pull up and take a look at what is fresh that day to take home, including courgette, green beans and pumpkins.
When you visit with Food & Farm Tours, you’ll get the chance to take a look around the plot and see what’s growing in season. Depending on the time of year, you may have chance to pick some fresh fruit, including the vast strawberry plants that grow here, making for a lovely fresh and healthy, sweet treat to end your day with.
Key Information about Food & Farm Tours
What other tours do Food & Farm Tours run?
The original and main tour that is offered (and detailed above) is the Flavours of West Marin tour, which covers a range of the best produce in the area. If you are interested in a more specific product, this is also available via some of the other Food & Farm Tours. You can explore Cowgirl Creamery plus several other creameries on a cheese-focussed tour of the area. Alternatively, spend your day around Tomales Bay, trying out oysters from several of the key producers as well as getting a full behind the scenes tour at Hog Island, complete with private shucking lesson.
How much does a Food & Farm Tour cost?
The original Flavours of West Marin tour runs from 10am through to around 3pm and costs US $195 per person. This includes all food and tasters throughout the day (more than you will be able to fit it!), plus transport around the different spots in a minibus. The cost does not include drinks, which are available at a couple of the stops to enjoy with your delicacies; and of course any produce you wish to purchase to take home.
The other Food & Farm Tours that focus on certain products, including cheese and oysters, are also priced at US $195 per person. Food & Farm Tours also run custom and large group tours, perfect for big celebrations or corporate events, which can be priced individually dependent on requirements.
Where are Food & Farm Tours?
All the Food & Farm Tours are located in and around West Marin and its hub of Point Reyes Station. Most of the tours meet in Point Reyes Station, apart from the oyster tour, which meets in Marshall, slightly further north. It’s pretty easy to reach from downtown San Francisco, about an hour further north from the Golden Gate Bridge.
How many people will join me on a Food & Farm Tour?
Tours are small and intimate, with a maximum of 7 people on each, allowing for the personal touch to chat and learn about Marin and each of the producers you visit. However, it is worth noting that tours require a minimum of 4 people to run and may be cancelled if this is not met.
Key Information about Food & Farm Tours
We hadn’t originally planned to stop off at Marin during our trip down the West Coast, but we’re incredibly glad that we did as our eyes were opened to this amazing foodie’s paradise. We learnt so much about the area during our day exploring with Food & Farm Tours, thanks to our super friendly and knowledgeable guide, as well as enjoying some delicious food along the way. The only thing we regretted was not being able to buy any of the exquisite produce to take home with us!
Find Out More…
Food & Farm Tours – https://foodandfarmtours.com/
Explore more from Marin and California.
Many thanks to Food & Farm Tours for hosting our day exploring West Marin. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely our own, we wouldn’t recommend something if we didn’t love it!
