The Duck Club is the upscale restaurant at the Bodega Bay Lodge and Spa, and is one of the most romantic -- and least-known -- dining spots in Sonoma County.

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The Duck Club buys a whole pig each month from the nearby Gleason Ranch. This is pork grown under optimal, low-stress conditions without antibiotics or hormones. Chef Tafoya lists seven small plates using this pork on his "Tasting Menu," any of which can be ordered a la carte to go with main courses. They include bacon and egg on toast, braised pork and pear ravioli, barbecued baby back ribs, pork butt confit sandwich, grilled pork loin, and the following two small plates:

Tenderloin Paté and Pistachio Liverwurst ($11 ) is for the liver lovers among us, as the liverwurst is quite aggressive in its pork-liver flavor. It comes in a small pot covered with roasted pistachios. By contrast, the paté is mild and meaty. Also on the plate are small cubes of aspic, pickles, whole grain mustard and grilled slices of bread.

Plum Glazed Spare Ribs ($14 ) consists of two pork ribs that have been roasted and coated with a plum sauce mixed with cayenne and cloves to give it two kinds of spice -- the kind that warms the mouth and the kind that tastes like, um, cloves. The flavor is unusual and fun. An accompanying daikon radish slaw provides more spicy heat, and a little mound of curly fries on top is hard to eat but worth the effort.

While the food is important at The Duck Club, the atmosphere makes every visit special. On a recent night, you could hear the low moan of the Bodega Bay foghorn through the filtering fog. Light from inside the restaurant fell through the big plate-glass windows and illuminated the lawn outside, where a fat raccoon waddled by. When it's still light outside, the view across the salt marsh to the ocean is a classic seascape, complete with waterfowl winging purposefully on their way to somewhere.

Inside, the restaurant is classy. A huge stone fireplace fills one end of the room. Soft ochre-yellow table linens and napkins and thick carpeting underfoot add to the luxe feeling. Service was good, although it's been better in the past. And the wine list of Sonoma County selections is more than adequate. Some choice bottles include the 2006 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir for $85, 2006 Gary Farrell Chardonnay for $65, 2005 Longboard Syrah for $55, and 2004 Jacuzzi Sangiovese for $52.

The menu listed one dessert, "The King's" Sandwich ($9 ). Caramelized slices of banana and caramel-bacon ice cream (perhaps the oddest flavor of ice cream I've ever had) are sandwiched between peanut-butter sandies.

To sum up: The perfect venue for a romantic, ocean-view meal. Excellent ingredients, many from nearby farms and fisheries, enhance the experience. Not every dish approaches perfection, but many do.