West Coast Hogs

 First planted in 1983 by John Finger and Terry Sawyer, Hog Island Sweetwater Oysters have won
connoisseurs and oyster aficionados over all around the world.  Location is everything when growing oysters and Tomales Bay, California provides the picture perfect place with extreme tides, cold, clean brackish waters, and a healthy flux of tasty nutrients.  The oysters here are extremely tasty, some of the sweetest I have ever tasted.  They offer a perfect brine coupled with hints of cucumber and melon and finish with an algal sweetness.  You can visit the farm and order oysters fresh, right out of the water while catching views of the fading sun twinkling off of the pristine estuary.  Beer, Tomales Bay, great oysters, life really does not get any better than that.  I should know, I had the pleasure of getting out there this spring to meet the guys that deliver us such a great product.  Below are some videos of my visit there, with views of the Bay and some great information provided by Garret, the manager at the farm and a really knowledgeable and friendly oyster guru.

Hog Island Oyster Co. has expanded to offer five different species of oysters, including olympias, flats, virginicas, and gigas.  Right now demand is so high, they are not able to ship to us on the East Coast.  When available, Black Restaurant Group carries the original Hog Island Sweetwaters, Hog Island Atlantics - which are a virginica seed grown in Tomales Bay, a fantastic, complex oyster, - and Hog Island Cliffsides - which are are pacific oysters grown in the flavorful area of Discovery Bay, WA.  Hog Island does not sell their oysters to just anybody commercially, so you won't go finding them in every oyster bar in D.C.  Black Restaurant Group is proud to be one of the few places that the Hog Island Brand Oysters are served and we highly recommend getting yourself a dozen, whether it be here in D.C. at one of our restaurants or out in Tomales Bay on the farm.  Either place,  you are promised one of the freshest, best tasting oysters you'll ever have.

Check out videos : Intro to Hog Island, Production, Chat with Garret