S
ome people gaze at Morro Rock—which juts up out of the ocean up the coast from Santa Barbara—and think, Wouldn’t it be interesting to kayak around it? Not Clark Staub. The chef and entrepreneur behind Full of Life Flatbread in Los Alamos had long imagined a seafoodbased feast out on the water in the rock’s shadow. “I like to cook embracing what’s surrounding me,” Staub says. So when Outstanding in the Field’s Jim Denevan asked for suggestions for one of their artisanal farm-to-table dinners, Staub seized his opportunity. Last November, 118 lucky diners sat down at Outstanding in the Field’s signature long communal table, which had been placed not on seafaring vessels, but more prudently in the shelter of a dune on a pristine sand spit between the channel and Morro Bay. The spirit of adventure presided over the event all the same, beginning with the boat ride that shuttled guests to the venue and including the sensation of being in a wild unpopulated place exposed to the elements as the late fall weather changed from a sunny midday to a blustery late afternoon. OITF dinners are always about introducing guests to the farmers who provide the ingredients for the meal. In this case, the “farmer” was Neal Maloney, proprietor of Morro Bay Oysters. While Denevan gave his introductory remarks, Maloney, wearing vivid red-orange waders, was pulling up the crustaceans from the water and shucking them for appetizers on the spot. As the guests mingled, they also sampled Staub’s seafood sausage and artichokes stuffed with eggplant, and sipped a Tolosa rosé—the first of the sustainable, solar-powered winery’s vintages that were paired with each of the evening’s courses. Also on offer with the appetizers was a vodka from Paso Robles-based Re:Find, which distills its handcrafted spirits from spent grapes. The meal continued with dishes that evoked the tastes and sights of the sea, as well as other fresh, local products. The unusual salad was composed of foraged ingredients: “Purslane is a succulent,” notes Staub. “It literally grows
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