Not to turn this into a food blog, but talking about The French Laundry reminded me of another awesome Northern Californian meal you could have at a mere fraction of the cost.

Both the Tomales Bay Oyster Company and the Hog Island Oyster Company have farms located by the ocean about an hour north of San Francisco. Anyone can drive up and shuck live oysters that were harvested hours ago just a few feet away. Sit on wooden picnic tables and save money by bringing everything else yourself for a gourmet picnic – shucking knives, lemon, wine, crusty bread, cheese, and so on. Eat them raw or cook them on provided grills. A dozen oysters costs $10-$20 depending on size and type. A comparable meal at a restaurant would cost more than twice as much and wouldn’t be as fresh.

These were the best oysters that I’ve ever had at any price!

I’m trying to think of similar opportunities where you can get the highest-quality ingredients without the white tablecloth, do some of the work yourself, and enjoy an unbeatable meal for the cost of a chain restaurant. When I was younger, we used to catch crabs using chicken necks and a net. Hunting your own meat and fishing also come to mind, although those require a bit more equipment and skill.

Here’s a quote from Ernest Hemingway’s “A Moveable Feast” found in a recent Yelp review that will make oyster-lovers salivate.

As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.