Crawdads, a.k.a. crayfish, crawfish, or mudbugs, are tiny freshwater crustaceans built on the plan of lobsters. In the U.S. they are most associated with the Mississippi River delta, in Louisiana. 90% of the world’s crawdads come from Louisiana, but they are eaten worldwide, with Scandinavians especially fond of them. Not so many people know that California has a delta, but the crawdads know it. We traveled to Isleton in the heart of the Sacramento River Delta to sample a bucket of them.

Moylan’s Brewery and Restaurant is in Novato, just off the freeway less than an hour north pf San Francisco. My excuse for not having stopped there before is that it blends into the confusion of a large shopping center. We happened upon it around Christmastime. Who could resist bangers and mash with a tasty pomegranate wheat ale? No one I know.

The sign in the market pointed out that only the skin of the black watermelon was black, and that it was red inside. Good point. Last summer, black watermelons were in the news when a coveted densuke melon, grown only in Hokkaido at the northern tip of Japan, sold for the equivalent of $6100. Mine was 49 cents a pound, making it about $5, but I have some suspicion it differed in other ways as well.

Fried oysters are deservedly classic seaside cuisine. Just as marshmallows go with campfires, fried oysters go with harbors. Princeton Seafood does them as well as they can be done, fresh oysters with a crunchy crust. No too much batter, but enough to preserve the juicy oysters and to crunch well.