Cowgirl Creamery at Tomales Bay Foods

I love this place. The smell of cheese is hypnotizing and the service staff is incredibly helpful for all things cheese and virtually anything you can find on their curated shelf of products (e.g. chocolate). We only ordered the cookies this time, but we’ve easily walked away with armfuls of Mt. Tam cheese wheels, coffees, and grilled cheese. This is a staple for anybody passing through. Stop to eat in their outdoor patio, have a picnic on the lawn, or take it to go.

The BEST grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever had. I was so hungry after hiking the trail at Point Reyes and I voraciously gulped down the whole sandwich in one seating; recommend pairing with the housemade pickles. Really nice ambience at the picnic area as well. There was a cute market with some live music. Will definitely visit again once I’m in the area.

California is crazy for this brand, so we were excited to check out this company store on a Hwy 1 drive. It’s definitely good, but kind of a strange place. No dedicated facilities, so the first task for road trippers is to find the one public bathroom across town before settling into lunch. The store doesn’t have dedicated space for lunch, so we ate it at a park around the corner. After all this exploring to basically eat a decidedly delicious sandwich, soup and salad, we went back to the store at 4:02pm to buy some cheese and learned they had just closed for the day. Definitely a work to live move and can’t hate them for it. All said, the lunch was great but the experience a bit more of an adventure than planned. Easy to do as a couple but would involve a lot of wrangling with a larger family.

We came for some quick sandwiches and to check out their cheese options, of which there are plenty, including house made cheese from local dairy! We got grilled cheese and ham sandwiches and a box of three types of cheese and jam to go. The food was fresh and delicious and the 3 types of brie cheeses with jam were yummy, too. Minus a star because this appears to be a significant tourist stop yet there is no bathroom even for paying customers.

What a cool place! Grab some amazing food for lunch and eat it under the olive trees outside. Also, in case you are looking for one, there are no public restrooms.