Last Sunday, while more than a hundred and twenty-three million others watched the Super Bowl, I went hiking at Muir Beach with Julia and little Arlot. From the path above the cove we saw some folks lying together like sweatshirted seals on beach blankets, and leaping dogs colliding in mid-air, but there were far fewer beachgoers than on an average Sunday. As always, the Marin coast gave us a strong dose of the sublime, with enormous, unyielding crags of rock interrupting the surf, waves of ripples snaking back toward the horizon, vibrant crimson wildflowers, and crisp marine air laden with the scent of sun-baked underbrush.

Six miles later, wondering whether there would be blisters or just sore feet, we wearily made our descent, still pleased to be amid the beauty of northern California. The big game had begun and we thought to take advantage of our nation’s preoccupation by stopping for refreshment at the nearby Pelican Inn, an ivy-clad, whitewashed reproduction of a 16th-century Tudor country inn, with slate roofs and leaded glass windows. Normally packed on a Sunday afternoon, the candlelit dark wood dining room was nearly empty, the only other table occupied by a vacationing French family. With their foreign banter in the background, snacking on oysters and charcuterie and admiring the antique splendor of the room, we each found ourselves transported for a moment to France, perhaps their west coast, somewhere near Bordeaux.

Despite our delight in our actual whereabouts, we were happy to suspend reality and indulge in a twenty minute trip abroad on this magical Sunday, while much of the world watched Purdy, Kelce, and Usher. Oakland Yard is no Pelican Inn, but it is a place of respite, a modern tavern where you can leave the rest of the world behind. Samuel Johnson once said, “As soon as I enter the door of a tavern, I experience oblivion of care, and a freedom from solicitude. There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn.” This coming cold and rainy Saturday, come take advantage of our hospitality and cozy space, taste four dry, full-bodied red Bordeaux, and maybe you too will be transported for a moment to the west coast of France.

But first, TONIGHT...THURSDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS: Spanish whites & Italian Barbera
Taste whites from Galicia, Rioja, & Catalunya, and three different Barberas from Piedmont, and I’ll bet Pablo will be happy to present the whites in Spanish if you desire a virtual Iberian jaunt.
2021 Carballal Cepas Viejas Albarino
2022 Ostatu Rioja Blanco
2022 Celler Frisach L'Abrunet Blanc
2021 Ercole Barbera del Monferrato
2020 Carussin Asinoi Barbera d'Asti
2021 Oddero Barbera D'Alba
Flights $15 from 5-9 and wines by the glass until 9pm

SATURDAY 2/17: BORDEAUX ROUGE FLIGHTS
2019 Château la Rame Bordeaux Rouge
2020 Château Renaissance Bordeaux Supérieur Rouge
2016 Château Moulin Canon-Fronsac
2015 Château Trapaud Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Flights $18 from 2-6pm and wines by the glass until 9pm!

Cheers,
Max