Abalone for sale near Davenport

   I kinda knew that there was an abalone farm on Davenport Landing Rd just north of the village, and I assumed that the landing craft gathering kelp I've off of Pleasure Point on a regular basis was part of the operation.  And the farm never had any signs or anything else to show it was there, except for what looked like a couple of old small farm sheds in the weeds.
    Today, as I was driving up the coast, I noticed a bunch of "farm stand" - like signs that said abalone (and some other sea critters) was for sale at that location.   
    I'm naturally curious about what has changed and why.   

PM me

Got Plenny Stories...

PM me

Got Plenny Stories...

Enqiring minds want to know...

   Saw Costco has Australian abalone for sale now as well.

Here is your ab supply. Around 1920 from the island off Bodega Head.

Accounts Of Truckloads Of Abalone Leaving The Landing Are Common

It Was The Original Davenport Until It Suffered A Massive Fire And The Town Was Moved To Its Current Location

Evidence Also Points To It Being A Popular Place With Native Peoples

Truckloads of abalone leaving the landing, meaning the aquaculture is a front for poaching?

Getting good reviews on Yelp

I admit to it: we all have bucket lists in our minds. Places we plan to visit but never get up the gumption to do so. Shellfish, especially the ornery kind like oysters, sea urchin, or abalone, fit perfectly in this category. Sure. In a Michelin-starred tasting room temple, we gladly gulp down uni, abalone, and oysters with alacrity. We adore their wild, raw flavors that taste of the ocean and that refuse to be tamed. But what if you have to shuck or shell them yourself? Then, the tables turn. You must embrace the Neanderthal hunter-gather inside yourself, grab a knife and get to the business of rendering something alive and virile into an edible that you can enjoy. It is messy. It is a little bit Lord of the Flies. You want to dab blood and guts on your cheeks and call into the wild. That's what American Abalone Farms offers: a chance to connect with the civilized caveperson in us all. To carve out an abalone and eat it with a glass of sparkling wine. To split open a dozen oysters and wash it all down with daiginjo sake. To cradle fresh uni in our fingers, swallow it, and wash it down with with bone dry Chablis or Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay. What is wrong with any of that?

AAF is only open on weekends to the public, but it is worth planning a visit with friends who appreciate good, raw seafood. Chill ahead of time a quality bottle of bubbly, sake, or white wine. Buy a Yeti cooler at REI and you will never regret your decision. Grab the best you can afford. Then come here, select oysters, uni, crab, or abalone, head to outside picnic area, and get to work. Shuck the oysters. Slice the abalone and season it with lemon juice and soy sauce. Crack a steamed Dungeness crab and eat it with your fingers. It is raw and wild and tastes incredibly good. Nosh on uni. Slurp your grower Champagne. Instagram the experience. And tell all your friends that American Abalone Farms is one of the best bucket list stops on Highway 1. Like fish and carnitas tacos in Pescadero at the Mercado (a gas station/taqueria/Mexican food convenience store), organic strawberry picking at Swanton Berry Farm, craft beer sampling at Highway 1 Brewing near Gazos Creek Beach, vegetable and free range egg shopping at Pie Ranch, and wine tasting at Bonny Doon in Davenport. It is fun, exciting, and ever so slightly off-putting. You will need to dig deep. To channel you inner Neolithic being. You eat this raw. But with wine or sake. It is a melding of the modern and the ancestral. It feels like nothing else in this world. You will remember it forever. And you will feel so fuc#ing good that you will never eat or drink the same way again.

Not ready to eat raw abalone? No worries! They sell pounded abalone here too for breading and frying at home. And local fish as well. Don't pass this by. Locavores the world over love places like this. And so should you!

Note: AAF also runs a new (opened 2019) full service abalone-centered seafood restaurant in Half Moon Bay, Pillar Point Fish House, with its own Yelp page.
 

 

Truckloads of abalone leaving the landing, meaning the aquaculture is a front for poaching?

To be clear, I am generally a fan of responsible aquaculture and have no ill will towards American Abalone Farms. I wasn’t sure if you were referring to historical take of abalone by the truckload or suspicious recent activity.

Truckloads of abalone leaving the landing, meaning the aquaculture is a front for poaching?

To be clear, I am generally a fan of responsible aquaculture and have no ill will towards American Abalone Farms. I wasn’t sure if you were referring to historical take of abalone by the truckload or suspicious recent activity.

I meant historically, yes. 

However, to be honest, I did drive to many Truckloads of The Farmed Product to airports and distributors all over the Greater Bay Area.

When in New Zealand couple years ago saw a sign for abalone limits.  10 of one variety and 20 of another variety.  Will have to look for the picture I took of sign.  South Island.