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.
During the reception portion of the dinner while awaiting dinner to begin, most people warmed up with a libation, and there was complimentary seasoned popcorn for the table. I tried three cocktails. The Winter Break, with gin, allspice, pear, lemon, sparkling wine was my starter because I wanted to celebrate being around people with a little bit of bubble. Then I followed my friend Trinna’s choice of tropical getaway with Shore Dreams with rum, pineapple, coconut, ginger, orange, lime, basil. Finally, I enjoyed the cocktail Sails High with aquavit, lime, cane sugar, simple and effective flavors that was perfect after the fun of the Shore Dreams to prepare my palate for the crab. Merit Badge mixologist Matt always delivers tasty drinks.
Then dinner began. The first course was a Caesar-ish salad of mixed chicories, shaved fennel, pickled Black Futsu squash and toasted pepitas. I loved that it was a hint of Caeser but lighter and dressed just right while letting the chicories and pepitas shine with highlights of squash surprise.
The main event! A whole freshly steamed Dungeness Crab with melted butter & remoulade and Housemade focaccia per person. A whole Dungeness Crab just for me yessssss. Honestly it was so sweet and buttery already that I didn’t dip it in butter or remoulade because it was already perfect.
Dessert was a perfect ending of Passionfruit mousse, winter fruits, pomegranate jewels that was a satisfying creamy but bright cleanser and finish after the crab goodness.
Here are a few photos of the Brick Hall event space, though I am not sure whether the full moon dinner series necessarily takes place inside this private dining room. 
Depending on the locations and my speed of rallying a food friend, hopefully I can make it to one of the Tournant Moon series dinners in 2022. I already know one of the dates won’t work as the Strawberry Moon also happens to be a supermoon during minus tides, so I will head to the coast to enjoy the super low tides. If I can make one, I’ll share the experience here on the blog.
Do you have any plans to enjoy the full moon this year?
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