Toby's Feed Barn is a small little market that carries a lot of items that can be found elsewhere,…read moreexcept for the items which were too specific to have wider appeal. Many of the totes, tea towels, etc were all Point Reyes branded and if they had just had California branding on them or even no branding at all I likely would have purchased a few of them as gifts. But most people won't love a gift that showcases a non-famous city they've never been to, so sadly I had to pass. Overall I'd recommend the West Marin Culture Shop in terms of gifts and pantry items and probably list Toby's Feed Barn as a skip if you're limited on time.

Love this little market! So many cute items and snacks! They have a fun selection of cards too!…read more Staff are always friendly and love the asthetic. Come check it out!!

Palace Market is the spot I ended up getting lunch from after the local restaurant fell through…read more They had so many wonderful pantry items and I went hog on some of their olives and other veggies that were in sealed small bags for snacks for the honey. I think you can never have too many pantry snacks for emergencies. Lunch-wise I was able to pick up a reasonably priced cobb salad, some cumin-free hummus, as well as a few berries for dessert. The service was friendly and prompt, and they had utensils you can grab for your meal. All in all Palace Market saved the day and I would absolutely come back!

Review is purely for the soft serve: PSA they no longer serve buffalo milk soft serve :(…read more They have valley ford creamery's soft serve which was good but not the same as the rich flavor from buffalo milk!

This is an absolute local gem. On weekends it can be a complete tourist nightmare. The staff are…read moregenerally pleasant, kind, and helpful. Their patience is tested weekly by folks expecting instant gratification. If you go, please bring a spirit of kindness and cooperation because these guys serve up the best quality local fare for a decent price. From salads, soups, killer burritos, burgers, falafel, sandwiches, fish n chips, sushi, Thai food, etc. every dish is delicious. For sit down check out the super casual Tap Room next door. No matter what, PLEASE be kind and tip generously. We love these guys and want them around for years to come.

Our kayak guide recommended stopping in here for lunch and we're so glad that we listened to him!…read moreFirst the market is awesome with a really good mix of natural, specialty, and conventional food and beverage products. The deli was really good - an extensive menu including sandwiches, burgers, burritos, etc. Highly recommend the cheesesteak and deviled eggs. Only hiccup was a burger that we special ordered... Kitchen got it wrong twice and then seemed mad at us when we asked nicely to remake it.

Sip, savor, and enjoy the incredible flavors of the cheese Trail…read more The California Cheese Trail features 46 artisan cheesemakers in 24 counties who welcome visitors to their farms, cheesemaking facilities and retail shops, offer farm tours, cheesemaking classes and events. Before you embark on a cheese adventure, download the latest Cheese Trail Map, and pick 3-4 stops. These are my favorite three cheese makers. But honestly - I love all the cheese! Every cheese shop offered wonderful service. - - Marin French Cheese Co. offers classic, delectable cheeses, local wines and ample lunch options which you can enjoy in their beautiful picnic area. Nicasio Valley Cheese offers a delightful variety of handcrafted cheeses and local wines. Wm Cofield Cheesemakers offers a beautiful selection of handcrafted artisanal cheeses, local wines, and perfect charcuterie lunch boards.

The Cheese Trail has been a fantastic gift to send during the holidays. The Grilled Cheese, Please!…read moreAnd Cows & More Cows have been the favorite hits. It comes with a kooky cow tea towel that makes the experience complete! The cheeses are fresh from the farm and feel like a unique gift of love rather than a box of something I can pick up from Costco. Plus, it felt good to support small businesses who were hit hard with Covid. You can put your mind at cheese. Thanks for the smooth ordering and delivery Cheese Trail. Nothing gets feta than this!

ONE THING YOU NEED TO KNOW: Is that you need to order at the counter first pand pay. They will give…read moreyou a snazy number sign that you take to a table of your choice. They will bring you your drinks and food. It helps to know this so that there are no misunderstandings or unpleasant experiences that get in the way of enjoying your food and the casual vibe. Fortunately for me, I already know this. But I didn't know about this on my first visit. This time I tried the falafel. It was a different experience than I'm used to. It was served as an open faced sandwich, a different take on a salad presentation. I found that it was a fun experience. You taste every bite that way, and you can sop up the excellent hummus with the pita bread. The staff is always friendly here, and the vibe is easy going casual with excellent food.

Side Street Kitchen had such high reviews we were really excited to sit down and enjoy a meal…read more We walked up and stood in line, when another customer came up and asked if the people ahead of us had ordered. We said no, we're just waiting in line. They walked around us and went inside. The hostesses came out and speaks only to the people directly in front of us. I heard, "you're in the wrong area, you can order inside." Neither my husband or I are acknowledged, given an eta, or menus. So we wait for the people ahead of us to move and they do nothing but look at their menus. We wait a bit more, nothing. So we walk up to the menu on the wall to decide what we want. The people are still standing there, so we assume they don't know what they want yet and go inside to order. The hostess walks up to us and anxiously tells us there's a line. I let her know we were in it and the people in front of us weren't moving. She tells us to wait outside, and again no eta or menus are given to us. So we go back to our spot in line and look at all the empty tables and decide that the system feels disorganized and there appears to be only one waitress for 10+ tables. After waiting a bit more, we leave. At the end of the day, Side Street could have had proper signage for the line. The hostess could have addressed everyone and handed out menus. The restaurant could have even gone fancy and had an ordering tablet. But as it currently stands, Side Street Kitchen's service isn't great and its structure needs some work, so we don't see ourselves returning.

The "Pioneer" digestive enzymes Eden sells and recommended for my post-food poisoning (binge) and…read moreindigestion TOTALLY healed it in 1 day! (she has also sold me some salve she herself makes and given me great free consultations!) (re: review below, I got great results from ear candles!--)

This is a fun little herbal shop in Point Reyes Station. The selection of herbals and botanicals…read moreis incredible with a ridiculous number of herbal teas and extracts and every kind of organic, homeopathic cure for what ails you. Being totally clueless to what helps what, the owner Eden is incredibly knowledgeable, helpful, and very patient in answering any questions you may have. They've also got some nifty little stuffed animals and books about herbs too, so you can learn yourself all about herbs. Now, I'm not a huge herbalist, but my date is and was digging the whole experience. Right after we left the store, Eden chased after us because we forgot to buy the tea bags for the herbal tea, she made an extra $3, I was out another $3, and my date was happy. One could call that some superior customer service right there.

Great walk on the dairy farm with Sammy learning about their sustainability. Newborn calves…read moreeverywhere, but the 'extra' was talking to Danny, the horticulturist who entertained our inquisition as he tried to work....beautiful groundswork!

Most of us know that happy California cows make better cheese, but until I visited the Robert…read moreGiacomini Dairy in nearby Point Reyes, I had no idea those same happy cows made the pungent smelling moldy looking cheese known as blue cheese. Mostly because of its odor and yes, I'm admit those funky blue and green veins bothered me as well, blue cheese had always been the one cheese I had stayed away from. That is until this opportunity to tour the dairy and cheese plant came about. So armed with packets of Lactaid this lactose intolerant individual decided this would be my chance to finally toss aside my fear of blue cheese and confront it face to face once and for all. On our itinerary was a tour of the cheese plant, the farm, a visit with the happy cows, a cheese tasting followed by lunch featuring what else, grilled cheese sandwiches. The Robert Giacomini Dairy sits high on a hilltop overlooking the beautiful Tomales Bay. I was a bit nervous sitting in our big luxurious tour bus as it maneuvered its way up a steep, narrow and winding road to the visitors center at this huge 714 acre farm, but at the same time I was excited seeing literally hundreds of cows grazing on the hills beside the road. The new visitors center completed in 2010 is called The Fork. Once inside the building we were greeted by members of the Giacomini family. We were led out to The Fork's beautiful patio to assemble and admire our beautiful surroundings. We donned protective plastic covers to slip over our shoes as to not track anything harmful into the cheese plant. Robert Giacomini and one of his four daughters, Jill, introduced themselves and gave us an overview of the dairy farm and cheese plant. After a brief welcome we were led into the Tasting Room where we viewed a short video showing the main steps in the production and aging of the farm's signature blue cheese which is sold under the brand name, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. The Robert Giacomini Dairy has been in operation here since 1959, but in 2000, the family decided to add a signature product to their dairy line. Their first blue cheese was born in August of that year, and to date they are the only blue cheese maker in California. It takes about a gallon of milk to make a pound of cheese. Combining fresh raw milk with cultures, enzymes, kosher salt and mold the resulting curds are formed into wheels weighing about 6-1/2 pounds each. Each wheel is conditioned by hand and aged in a temperature controlled room for up to 6 months. Once inside the actual cheese plant we viewed production workers behind huge glass windows going through the final process of packaging and labeling the blue cheese in entire wheels and wedges. All the work is done by hand. We exited the cheese plant to learn more about the farm. Most of the 300 cows on this farm are Holsteins. The female cows are often impregnated in order to produce more milk. The cows at the Giacomini Dairy average 9 gallons of milk per day with some producing as much as 16 gallons. They are milked twice a day at 2 AM and 2 PM with each session lasting about 4 to 6 minutes. A healthy cow on this farm can produce milk for up to 5 years. Milking is discontinued on pregnant cows about 60 days prior to the day it will give birth. At that time those cows are given a special diet and are paid regular visits by veterinarians. Milk not used in the production of cheese is sold directly to commercial dairy, Clover Stornetta Farms. We walked out to meet the cows then learned about their diets which consists of 100 percent organic feed. The farm, by the way, is certified organic and kosher. They recycle their water, produce their own methane gas and even produce their own electricity using cow manure to keep operations costs lower. After meeting with all the momma cows we were led out to the nursery to meet with the shy baby calves some as young as one day old. Meanwhile back at The Fork, our cheese tasting was set to begin. We sat down to ice water, tart lemonade and a plate of five cheeses created by the family farm. On our plates were the Original Blue, a Mozzarella created on the previous day, the Toma, a mild white cheese, The Mountain available only to farm visitors, and the New Blue which is less pungent than the Original Blue. While I'll admit the odor wasn't very appealing I found myself liking the two blue cheeses very much. My favorite, however, was the Toma. For somebody who takes part in lots of farm tours this tour was easily one of my favorites. Thank you to the Giacomini Family and their farm staff for their hospitality. I'm no longer afraid of blue cheese thanks to you. I've posted a pictorial history of my visit in the photos section. To learn more about events at The Fork, please visit www.theforkatpointreyes.com.