Left Coast Vacation 2010: Day 1 - Oxbow Public Market and Hog Island Oyster Company

This is part 1 of a series of posts about my vacation to San Francisco and the Napa Valley.

The first day of our vacation was ironically our most hectic. Our six hour flight from JFK to San Francisco was seamless and had me wishing my experience with the rental car counter was half as smooth. After finally getting our rental car we headed to Napa with empty stomachs, resisting the temptation to settle for airport food. Needing sustenance, MW and I decided to grab a light lunch before checking into our bed and breakfast and chose to visit Hog Island Oyster Company's Napa location in the Oxbow Public Market.

The Oxbow Public Market was pretty sleepy on a Tuesday afternoon and although MW and I wanted to peruse the rest of the market in greater detail we were on a tight schedule and headed straight to Hog Island. Started in 1983, Hog Island Oyster is a celebrated company practicing sustainable oyster farming in Tomales Bay, located 40 miles north of San Francisco and works closely with with the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Known for their impeccably fresh farm-raised oysters, Hog Island has been featured on Avec Eric.