Play: Traveling Sonoma’s spectacular coastline? Hello, clam chowder, fish tacos and more.
The Coastal Miwok must have been awestruck as they watched Spanish Capt. Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra drop anchor in their traditional fishing grounds in 1775, and name the “newly discovered” estuary harbor after himself. But it wasn’t until Alfred Hitchcock set his 1963 classic, “The Birds,” in the towns of Bodega and Bodega Bay that this quiet fishing port caught the world’s attention.
Since then, Bodega Bay has become a full-on day-trip destination for Northern Californians in search of dramatic scenery, expansive beaches and coastal village vibe. How popular is it? No specific number of visitors has been tallied, but here’s an indicator: Sonoma County tourism is a $21 billion industry, says the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau. That’s a lot of wine and fried fish.
Best advice: Hit the road early and bring an ice chest. You’ll want to stroll Doran Beach, picnic above the cliffs at Bodega Head, hike along the coastal Kortum Trail and, if you’re there on a Friday, learn something new on a free tour of the Bodega Marine Lab, which is part of the UC Davis Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute.
If you and yours plan to extend your day trip into an overnighter (or longer), Bodega Bay Escapes specializes in rental homes from plain to fancy. If it’s a luxury hotel experience you’re after, one choice is the Bodega Bay Lodge. And if roughing it is more your style, you can choose
your comfort level at various camps.
The best time to visit is winter and spring, when the weather is delightfully moody and the summer crowds are a mere memory. Of course, dining joins sightseeing on any agenda, and we have a tableful of suggestions for that.
En route to Bodega Bay, make your first stop at Petaluma’s Della Fattoria Bakery, named one of the “Top 10 Best Bread Bakeries in America” by Bon Appetit magazine. The bakery opened a classy bistro next door in March, but you may not get past the 30 or so baked goods in the original cafe, where the must-haves include pecan sticky buns, croissants and loaves of hand-shaped breads — 14 of ’em — baked in wood-fired brick ovens. Don’t miss the Meyer lemon-rosemary and black currantwalnut loaves.
Leaving Petaluma, head for the coast, where curvy, hilly Highway 1 meanders through fields and forests to the outpost of Valley Ford, population 147. You’ll find owner Dennis Becker inside his weathered Valley Ford Market, selling hickorysmoked wild salmon, housemade sausages and beef jerky.
This may be a small town, but a bronze plaque next to the post office commemorates Valley Ford as a Sonoma County Historic Landmark. That’s because pop artist Christo’s 24½-mile-long, 18-foot-high “Running Fence” passed through town in 1976.
Seafood is Bodega Bay’s main claim to fame, and the town takes its clam chowder so seriously that it has hosted a professionally juried Chowder Day festival on the last Saturday in January for 15 years. It’s a competition among local restaurants, judged by the pros, but there’s a people’s choice vote, too.
The Bluewater Bistro at The Links at Bodega Harbour, a public golf course, took first place this year and has placed in the top three in years past. Its chowder is rich, silky and a touch briny, with plenty of clam bites, but the kitchen won’t give up its secret ingredient. Order a bowl at the upstairs bar — look for the table by the fireplace — and match it with beer-battered, deep-fried local rock cod.
A mile or so farther on is the town of Bodega
Bay. You’ll know you’ve arrived when you see a flotilla of fishing boats bobbing together in the marinas.
Pull into Tides Wharf for a close-up, and be sure to cruise the fish market inside the Tides Wharf Restaurant, where the local catch is on display. Get a cup of clam chowder, stroll the dock and spare a moment for a bay vista of timeless wild beauty.
Next stop is the smaller Lucas Wharf fish dock, where commercial fisherman Shane Lucas and his vegetarian wife, Dana,
run Fishetarian cafe and seafood market. They’ve brought an original flourish to the local dining scene — the conjoining of traditional seafood with vegetarian sensibilities.
Fish and chips, for instance, comes three ways — traditional, gluten-free and tofu. Or how about a gluten-free seared ahi sandwich? Or one of six veggie options? Better still are the fish tacos — chunks of local rock cod breaded in gluten-free flour and served on organic corn tortillas, topped with red and green cabbage, cilantro, avocado and chipotle mayo.
Make sure you pick up a few jars of dried wild kelp and seaweed salt, and check out the Exotic Soda Wall of retro drinks.
If you can’t get enough seafood, make plans to return for the 46th annual Fisherman’s Festival May 4-5, or the Bodega Seafood, Art & Wine Festival Aug. 24-25.
If seafood’s not your style, make tracks to the Dog House and sit outside for the bay view. Inside the dog-friendly (of course) cafe, order the giant Vienna hot dog on a locally baked hoagie roll.
The pop-to-the-bite franks are from the fabled Vienna Beef company of Chicago, founded by Austrian-Hungarian immigrants in 1893. Dress your dog at the wellstocked condiments bar, which includes Pickapeppa sauce from Shooter Hill, Jamaica, where it’s been made since 1921. Try it as a substitute for mustard and ketchup (a little goes a long way).
You can’t leave town without a flight of Sonoma County wines. The best place to do that is Gourmet au Bay, directly on the water.
“We focus on small wineries that produce under 1,000 cases a year and have 90plus scores from Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast magazines,” owner Brian Roth says. Sonoma wines dominate, of course. To broaden the tasting experience, the wines on the by-the-glass list rotate two to three times a week.
Gourmet au Bay’s signature dish is a fish stew of halibut, salmon, fresh local oysters, clams, hominy and leeks. Roth suggests pairing it with Charles Heintz Migration chardonnay or try the Westwood Estate Legendblend of syrah, grenache, mourvedre and zinfandel.
Then head for Bodega Bay’s dining-centric reveal: The deceptively casual Terrapin Creek Cafe, where owners Andrew Troung and Liya Lin turn food into art. The Terrapin held a Michelin star from 2012 to 2018.
After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, the couple worked at several upscale San Francisco restaurants, including Jardiniere and Michael Mina, before moving north.
“We serve what we enjoy eating,” Troung says. “It’s local and seasonal, with little manipulation of the ingredients, to let each shine through.”
As good as the fowl, pork and lamb can be, order whatever the seafood special is the night you visit. You’re on the coast, after all.
“We focus on small wineries that produce under 1,000 cases a year and have 90-plus scores from Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast magazines.” — Brian Roth, owner of Gourmet au Bay