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of us who often like our instant gratification moments to come from the natural world.
delayed gratification has turned into an immensely satisfying, incredibly
Sonoma Countys Backyard Comfort Food
The Coastal Clam Chowder Trail
By Peter Posert
Ocean waves crash on the rocks. It’s as old as the formation of water on our planet, some 4.6 billion years ago. As the water careens and crashes over the hard surface, the 5, 10, 15-foot- high spray lights up like a momentary snow-white 4th of July firework display against the dark blue-green ocean. The spray of the waves on the rocks is mesmerizing for those
Over 500 million years ago,
some critters got the idea to have
a shell that was as hard as those
rocks and yet still be in and around the water in
which they lived, and the mollusks appeared. Then, to be even more confounding to any predators, some of those mollusks got the great idea to hide in the sand itself and the clam-like beings emerged.
With a steaming warm cup of clam chowder
Later, in the early stages of the age of humans, some bright indigenous hunter-gatherer was probably watching a long-billed bird dig the
little critters out of the sand. They tried it for themselves, and after a
bit of work, clams were discovered. Not wasting a thing, they used
immediate reward at last
Restaurants participating in the Coastal Clam Chowder Trail Guide are:
The Birds Café, Bluewater Bistro, Boat House, Bodega Bay Lodge – Drake’s Sonoma Coast, Bodega Bay Oyster Company, Café Aquatica, Coastal Kitchen, Jenner Inn, Fisherman’s Cove, Fishetarian, Ginochio’s Kitchen, La Bodeguita, Nick’s Cove, Rocker Oysterfeller’s, Spud Point Crab Company, & Tony’s Seafood.
Pick up the Trail Map at any one of the participating restaurants or go online to visitbodegabayca.com to download one.
Blue Water Bistro The Birds Café
the fabulously hard and beautiful shells to trade as a form of native currency.
From then to now, getting that meat out of the hard shell isn’t easy. One must crank open the shell, and that takes some work. In doing so, our desire for instant gratification is delayed but there is plenty of joy to be found once the hard shells are open, right?
A A n ny yo o n n e e c c a a n n h h e e a a d d o o u u t t t t o o t t h h e e S S o o n n o o m m a a - - M M a a r r i i n n C C o o a a s s t t , ,
the world-renowned heart of clam chowder excellence.
The Sonoma Coast Visitor Center and the Bodega Bay Area Chamber of Commerce has put together a Coastal Clam Chowder Trail Guide. There is a Wine Trail, a Beer Trail, a Cheese Trail and now a Clam Chowder Trail!
For the price of a few wampum you
can enjoy a spectacular chowder in any
one of a myriad of ways and styles,
and in an array of restaurant settings, all within a few miles of each other and along one of the prettiest stretches of shoreline on the planet from Marshall, through Bodega Bay and up to Jenner. Enjoying a warm cup of Clam Chowder makes for a glorious autumn or quiet winter adventure.
Ginochio’s Kitchen
Better yet, instead of sitting in the
seclusion of a restaurant, get a cup of your
favorite chowder To-Go and head over to
your favorite Beach or up the Sonoma Coast
to one of the great little State Beaches that have settled into the cliffs.
ud
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Josh from Oakland Enjoying a Warm Bowl of Clam Chowder
Café Aquatica
Clam Chowder
in hand and the waves crashing around you and the ocean spray leaping up, maybe with the sun starting to set, you’ll get to experience one of the greatest and most glorious ends of all human endeavors. You can say
to yourself “Ahhhh, this Clam Chowder is so good,” and realize your
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Photo: Suzette C. of Fairfield, CA.
delicious, intuitively satiating thing; you’ve earned and worked for your