Fine Dining by Boat

You may not have caught the recent news that Michelin isn’t handing out stars this year due to Covid-19. Instead, among other things, the French restaurant guide offered what it calls “discoveries” — and there are six of them in the Bay Area.

What does this have to do with sailing? Patience, dear reader, we’re getting there! 

But first, you should know that food matters to me. And drink. 

A number of years ago, after learning to brew beer, I got myself signed up for an intensive set of classes that led to — seriously — being a certified beer judge. More recently, my wife cajoled me into taking classes to learn a bit more about wine. We’re now what I call Wine Snobs Second Class, having passed several levels of a ridiculously complex hierarchy of classes and distinctions in the oenological arts. 

And we’re both dedicated cooks. 

So food and the recognitions that Bay Area eating and drinking establishments receive are a bit of a thing in my household. 

And of course, sailing! You probably know that’s a big thing for me. 

That’s why this news from Michelin caught my attention. If you’re an eater or drinker, it might catch your attention too.

And so! You’ve stuck with me this far, dear reader. Your reward is the Big Reveal: One of the six Michelin “discoveries” in the Bay Area has been a favorite of mine for years because it allows me to combine my food/wine/beer thing with sailing. (Why Michelin calls something that’s been around for years a “discovery” is a bit confusing. It makes them seem a little obtuse. 
But so be it.)

You want an amazing beer selection? You want unbelievable house-made sausage? You want Covid-safe outdoor dining? You want all this — and a dock so you can arrive by boat??? 

You’ve got it: Brotzeit Lokal, a biergarten on the Oakland estuary. Its address is 1000 Embarcadero, Oakland. But for boaters, you’ll find it down the Oakland Estuary past Jack London Square on the left across the channel from Coast Guard Island.

Restaurants with their own docks are a rarity in the Bay. One of my favorites, the Ramp in San Fransisco, stopped allowing boat-in dining a few years ago after a drunk idiot caused an expensive accident of some kind. Others remain, such as the the famous Sam’s in Tiburon, Quinn’s Lighthouse, also on the Oakland Estuary, and the Trident in Sausalito. 

Many other restaurants are also accessible by boat, as well, via convenient free or inexpensive docking. Any San Francisco restos in or near the Ferry Building are a few minutes walk from Pier 1 1/2, a first-come, first-serve free dock next to the Ferry Building. And there’s free guest docking at Jack London Square, which gives easy access to a dozen or more establishments. 

Reasonably priced guest slips are available at South Beach Harbor, Pier 39, and Sausalito for dozens more dining and drinking opportunities. 

Elsewhere around the Bay, you’ll find restaurants within walking distance of marinas in Berkeley, Richmond and Balena Bay on the west side of Alameda, for example. For the more adventurous, head up San Rafael Creek and dock to Terrapin Crossroads, Bob Weir’s music, food and drink place, another restaurant with its own dock. For years, it was a New Years Day tradition to boat in there for members of the redoubtable Cal Sailing Club in Berkeley.

Then there’s my favorite Mexican restaurant of all time. It’s a long trip by boat but if you’re heading to the Delta for a week of fun, don’t forget to stop into the marina at Pittsburg. It’s a convenient place to wait out an adverse tide. While you’re waiting, walk a few blocks up Railroad Avenue to the New Mecca Cafe and you’ll gain a new appreciation for, well, a lot of things. The right way to make salsa, to begin with. 

But for now, with fall well upon us, it’s not too late to plan a day trip up the bay to dine and imbibe a bit at a Michelin-recognized beer joint. If you plan the tides right, you can make it up from Redwood City by about noon, have a comfortable meal and be back at your dock well before our now-way-too-early sunset. 

Prost!