In mid-December 2021, I and food friend (and incredible eye for photos) @trinnadeleon on Instagram and libation friend Niki Sudssuster on Instagram snagged tickets to the Tournant Cold Moon Crab Feast. It took place at new location in wine country Dayton at Brick Hall, an 1886 brick church. You say dungeness crab, plus oysters, caviar, cocktails by Merit Badge and more? So in.
I have been a fan of Tournant for many years and enjoyed their seafood spreads at events and and oyster socials and marveled at their outdoor farm to fire cooking that that has forever raised the bar on open kitchen and adaption to the natural environment and showcase of the artistry of food preparation visually and aromatically before tasting it. They are about to launch a Full Moon Dinner Series in partnership with Westward Whiskey, a dinner series whose tickets go on sale this weekend! The series promises food, fire, nature and togetherness with the full moon in locations around Oregon’s wine country.
The full moon series takes place for the following full moons:
- Pink Moon – April 16, 2022
- Strawberry Moon – June 14, 2022
- Sturgeon Moon – August 12, 2022
- Harvest Moon – September 10, 2022
So how was my experience with Tournant Cold Moon Crab Feast? First, it’s essential you set an alarm for when the tickets go on sale because they will sell out fast. For the Tournant Cold Moon Crab Feast we were lucky that they opened up a second communal table (other tickets were for tables of 4 or 6 seats – great to keep the dining table to your quarantine bubble), and it was in such demand they even expanded to a second night of Sunday and that sold out too. So be ready – sign up for their mailing list and follow them on Instagram so stay in the loop.
When you purchased the ticket, it was for the prix fixe of 3 courses, but there were also additions you could purchase as add-ons that included seafood platters or towers and caviar service in advance, and during your meal you could additionally order cocktails, wines, oysters, Louisiana blue crab cakes, and fries. Trinna and I were 100% on the same page that of course we needed a seafood platter and caviar service. The difference between the platter and tower was the number of people they served, both offered Pacific oysters on the half shell, poached prawns, chilled mussels, crab claws, salmon tartare, lemons, mignonette and sauces. Caviar service was 1 oz Siberian Sturgeon caviar with special accompaniments of toast, potato chips, and yum those little potatoes.
