Nick's Cove Restaurant, Oyster Bar & Cottages Welcomes Fall With New Menus And Chef's Table Dining Experience

August 30, 2012-Nick's Cove Restaurant, Oyster Bar & Cottages is celebrating Executive Chef Austin Perkins' first anniversary as top toque at the Tomales Bay destination with a new Chef's Tasting Menu and Chef's Table dining experience, in addition to a new daily changing menu format that showcases the best of the season as well as signature favorites.

The new Chef's Tasting Menu at Nick's Cove features a five-course menu created by Chef Perkins showcasing his creativity and using the freshest possible ingredients. It is available nightly upon request and prepared for the whole table. ($79 per person, plus optional $39 wine pairing.)

The Nick's Cove Chef's Table experience offers the Chef's Tasting Menu option for parties of six to eight who would like to celebrate a special occasion at the restaurant's highest vantage point, closest to the kitchen. From their front-row seats, guests at the Chef's Table can watch the bustling kitchen prepare their meal and interact with the chef, as well as enjoy the views of Tomales Bay for which Nick's Cove is known. Guests may order the five-course Tasting Menu, or arrange for a customized menu in advance (prices start at $79 per guest). To reserve the Chef's Table, contact events@nickscove.com or call 415-663-1033, x3.

Pastry Chef Gillian Helquist works with Chef Perkins to create the sweet course for the Tasting Menu each night and her dessert menu exhibits her passion for local and seasonal ingredients. The tempting late summer pastry options include Buttermilk Panna Cotta with wild blackberries and toasted walnuts ($9), Spiced Ginger Cake with Santa Rosa Plum and cr�me fra�che ($8; photo, right) and the Nick's Cove Hand-Crafted S'mores for Two, which can be roasted in the restaurant's fireplace ($20; $5 benefits Sonoma Marin Boys & Girls Club).

In addition to the new Tasting Menu and Chefs' Table, entrees for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch at Nick's Cove are now updated seven days a week in a new, daily changing menu with a selection Chef Perkins creates to reflect the local agricultural bounty and season, always grounded in his hearty yet refined approach to internationally-inspired coastal cuisine. One evening it might be Wood Fired California King Salmon with eggplant puree, Thai chili-braised black beans, enoki mushrooms, sweet corn and Thai green curry ($28), Seared Georges Bank Scallops with sweet corn arancini, County Line baby white turnips and red pepper beurre blanc ($26), or Espresso Marinated Flat Iron Steak with "pommes Anna," braised cabbage and red wine reduction ($28). For lunch, choices could include Albacore Tuna Melt with tomato jam, Spring Hill cheddar, arugula and Kennebec fries ($16) or Butter Roasted Petrale Sole, accompanied by rainbow chard, fingerling potatoes, sweet corn and red pepper beurre blanc ($25). The weekend brunch could include options such as Dungeness Crab Benedict ($19) or Laughing Bird Shrimp Enchiladas ($16).

The new daily menu format at Nick's Cove also offers an array of raw and cooked oysters for which the region is famous, including locally harvested raw Pt. Reyes Atlantic, Pt. Reyes Kumamoto and Marin Miyagi oysters ($3 each) and the Original Tomales Bay BBQ'd Oyster ($17 for six); Soups & salads such as the famous Tomales Bay Clam Chowder ($11) and Nick's Dungeness Crab Louis ($24); and Sides & Shares, offering popular, signature dishes such as Deviled Duck Eggs with house-made mustard and duck confit ($11), Dungeness Crab Mac & Cheese ($17; photo, right), or Rossotti Ranch Goat Meatballs ($14).

ABOUT NICK'S COVE
Located just a half-hour west of Petaluma and 50 miles north of San Francisco, Nick's Cove Restaurant, Oyster Bar & Cottages is a delicious, relaxing