Quote:/font1h,121b,121Kilpatrick or Natural. b, 21b, 21A well known restaurant here in Melbourne hosts an "Oyster Frenzy" annually. All you can eat oysters and all you can drink champagne. The last time I went they had around 16 different varieties of oyster. I ate about 65. b, 21b, 21h,121
font class="post"1b,121b, 21Dude! Sign me up! That is exactly the sort of debauchery I'll gladly fly across the world for. Endless oysters and champagne? img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sn.gif" alt="" /1
With lemon juice is great, but my favourite version has got to be...b, 21b, 21Tempura battered on top of some medium-rare, aged Sirlon with japanese mayo. b, 21b, 21No need to eat for a few days after that.b,121b, 21/font1
Quote:/font1h,121b,121A well known restaurant here in Melbourne hosts an "Oyster Frenzy" annually. b, 21b, 21h,121
font class="post"1b,121b, 21I played a gig in Bluff the same day as The Bluff Oyster Festival this year... we were hosted by the local Iwi (Maori Tribe), Ngai Tahu, who sent out a boat specially for us. Suffice to say, we ate ourselves sick.b, 21b,121For those who've never been to NZ - Bluff Oysters are the biz. Huge, fat, juicy things. The locals are nuts for them... scary bunch, it must have been 2 degrees and these guys are walking around in bare feet and tank tops sculling beer and downing oysters by the dozen.
Quote:/font1h,121b,121Where's the best place for oysters in the bay area? b, 21b, 21h,121
font class="post"1b,121b, 21You used to be able to buy fresh up in Point Reyes, but I believe the spot has been closed down in favor of a sea lion sanctuary.b, 21b,121 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /1b,121b, 21There's plenty of other spots round Tomales Bay, tho.
Quote:/font1h,121b,121/font1Quote:/font1h,121b,121b,121Sort of random but my father-in-law - an avid fisherman - was telling me about his yearly trip to Alaska for a week where the fishing boats throw out shrimp pots, yank 'em up, and then butcher those suckers so fresh that they're still wiggling when you eat them. b, 21b, 21b, 21 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/breakface.gif" alt="" /1 b,121b, 21h,121
font class="post"1b,121b, 21When I was about 12, my parents took me on a vacation to the most amazing stretch of France's Atlantic coast just below Ile d'Olleron. Easily amongst the top 5 things my parents ever did for me... I've sinc ebeen back numerous times and can't wait for my next visit, it's been way too many years already. The place is magic and it's called "Cote Sauvage". The beach is just incredible. It's the same region where the Fines Claires Oysters come from which are amongst my alltime faves. I think even the Oyster bar at NYC's Grand Central normally offers them). The water there is beyond pristine. The gulf stream hits jus about there and Ile d'Olreon and the other two islands around it (Ile d'Aix is a very rewarding daytrip) direct superfresh and 100% unpolluted towards the coast. The beach is only accessible on paths that are banned for motorized traffic and it takes you a good 30 minutes of a walk to finally reach the water. It's insane. The aroma... you smell the pine trees and then the wild herbs which grow inbetween the two dunes and then the etheric smell of fresh seawater, plankton and algae hits you with a surprising freshness. It is the etheric components of those small life forms that float in truly pristine seawater that make up the taste of an oyster. An oyster sits on a rock for decades. All it does day in day out is filter small particles and life froms out of the sea water. Thus an oyster is the essence of the water it grows up in, if the water is murky, the oyster will taste accordingly. An oyster out of clean, pristine water is like a drop of perfume, it's an essence, a miracle and a microcosmos. A treasure that should not be touched before consumation. Just a few drops of lemon juice is all you need. You add them and you see the animal react to the acid: A sure sign that it's still alive. You then slurp it and bite it (the Frabch call this "killing the oyster" which in fact is exactly what you do). Slurping and swallowing would be wrong and for your taste buds would mean to miss out on moist of the sensation.b, 21b, 21Most people who don't like oysters don't like them because they had nasty tasting experiences with low quality oysters. Try the Finnes Claires or Scottish Rock Oysters (they also enjoy the benefit of the gulf stream). It's a whole other thing. I would never recommend anyone to try Louisiana oysters in the half shell... they're muddy tasting, just try and imagine the nastyness in the water they had to filter themselves through before they ended up being washed with tab water, fried and thrown on a Po-Boy (I love Louisiana food and Po-Boys but not what they do to oysters).b, 21b,121Big cosign on live, fresh cought shrimp... it's a bit disturbing at first to have them wiggle in your mouth while chewing but the taste is phenomenal. b, 21b, 21h,121font class="post"1b,121b, 21Please elaborate.
YUMMERS!b,121b, 21raw:b,121vodkab, 21horseradish or raw thai chilib, 21lemonb, 21touch of white pepperb,121b, 21cooked:b,121smokedb,121either on some fancy bread with a spicy coriander pasteb, 21orb,121with pasta, olive oil, dash of lemon, hardly cooked garlic, parmesan and parsley
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
Of course this Louisiana boy loves some oysters. b,121b,121When I was a kid whenever my step-grandfather (originally from Detroit) came to town, he'd take me to the Visko's oyster bar and start making bets with the locals over how many oysters I could eat. b,121b, 21And yeah...lemon juice, horseradish, and ketchup for me.b,121b, 21Loved it in high school in Houston when a good friend of mine took a summer job working on an oyester boat. He'd bring me freezer bags stuffed with fresh, shelled oysters. b,121b,121Oysters are a must in seafood gumbo...at least if you are going full tilt with it.b,121b, 21Oyster stuffing is good every now and then with turkey.b, 21b, 21And fried oyster po-boys are the lick as well.
Quote:/font1h,121b,121HOT SAUCE on OYSTERS??? b,121b,121h,121
font class="post"1b,121b, 21Straight up dude. A dash on raw oysters, plus a squeeze of lemon = img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jeigh.gif" alt="" /1b, 21b, 21Part of it is that most hot sauce has a vinegar base which helps balance the salinity of the oysters; the acid in the lemon serves a similar purpose.
It just seems those spices will kill all the delicate flavours that come WITH the salinity.b,121b, 21I like them raw, MAYBE with lemon, but I guess I'll have to try this hot sauce thing then... b, 21b, 21b, 21the next time I'm in America and can actually get any of the kinds of sauce you're about to recommend.
Quote:/font1h,121b,121It just seems those spices will kill all the delicate flavours that come WITH the salinity.. b,121b, 21h,121
font class="post"1b,121b, 21To each their own. I like oysters without the hot sauce too. It can give it a little bite, the same way other people like a vinegrette on their oysters instead.
I have yet to taste a cooked oyster that has bested a freshly shucked raw one. I am a simple man, oyster w/ lemon juice and sometimes tobasco. My pet peeve at oyster bars are the way the lemons are cut. The seeds and white pit should both be removed. Not doing so is just lazy on the restaurant's behalf.b,121b, 21There is a place for cooked though, most notably w/ the bigger ones that have the green sack of mush in it. Those def need to be cooked.
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
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Quote:/font1h,121b,121 My pet peeve at oyster bars are the way the lemons are cut. The seeds and white pit should both be removed. Not doing so is just lazy on the restaurant's behalf.b,121b, 21b, 21h,121
font class="post"1b,121b, 21 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/841.gif" alt="" /1
i need to try some good fried oysters again. maybe they weren't high quality enough but i have the reverse problem as the dude upthread:b,121b,121raw = amazingb,121fried = what's the point? kills off most of the flavor. i don't get the point of fried scallops either..b,121b, 21but again i'm comparing gr cental oyster bar/aquavit quality raw to church fair parking lot fried.. not really a fair comparison
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
So y'all seem to be painting a picture of oyster bars as upscale. b,121b, 21Really?
Quote:/font1h,121b,121So y'all seem to be painting a picture of oyster bars as upscale. b, 21b, 21Really? b,121b, 21h,121
font class="post"1b,121b, 21Depends on where. Oyster bars have definitely become a feature of "upscale" spots but I usually don't like shelling out the mark-up price for what they charge. Personally, I like to hand-shuck - there's something satisfying about finding that sweet spot in the shell and slicing through the muscle (non PETA friendly though). The problem is that the only place I'd really feel trustful about the quality of their whole oysters would be some place like Tomales Bay Oyster Co. It's as low-rent as you can go (and the prices are reflective, so it's a win-win). Hog Island gets high marks from others but they charge significantly more and I'm too cheap/lazy to want to put the extra 20 min drive north to get to them. Never been to Johnston Bay but I hear good things about them too.
Quote:/font1h,121b,121I am a simple manb,121b, 21h,121
font class="post"1 /font1
Quote:/font1h,121b,121My pet peeve at oyster bars are the way the lemons are cut. The seeds and white pit should both be removed. Not doing so is just lazy on the restaurant's behalf.b,121b, 21h,121
font class="post"1b, 21b, 21I'm a pretty simple guy too. Although my peeve is when the ice cubes aren't carved into miniature animals. Not doing so is just lazy on the restaurant's behalf.
it's a restaurant, they're providing a service and charging a markup as a result. By paying for that service to have oysters shucked, it is usually at least double the cost of buying oysters and shucking yourself.b,121b, 21cutting the white pit out in the middle allows the lemon juice to be squeezed onto the oyster, rather then it squeezing out all on the side and landing on your shirt. Also, nobody wants to swallow a seed when they're eating.b,121b, 21all the better restaurants I have worked at do this. The ones that don't do it are lazy, that is my opinion. Y'all can spin it into some foo foo shit if you want, but this is commonly done in the kitchen.
Quote:/font1h,121b,121So y'all seem to be painting a picture of oyster bars as upscale. b, 21b, 21Really? b,121b, 21h,121
font class="post"1b,121b, 21it is an expensive ingredient, most oyster spots sell varieties from east to west coast, and from France. Shipping by air is not cheap.b,121b, 21time to step outside of your "local experience" and look at the bigger picture.
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
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Quote:/font1h,121b,121/font1Quote:/font1h,121b,121So y'all seem to be painting a picture of oyster bars as upscale. b,121b, 21Really? b,121b, 21h,121
font class="post"1b,121b, 21it is an expensive ingredient, most oyster spots sell varieties from east to west coast, and from France. Shipping by air is not cheap.b, 21b, 21time to step outside of your "local experience" and look at the bigger picture. b,121b, 21h,121font class="post"1b,121b, 21No thank you.b, 21b, 21img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ZbI9KwNXuYc/SKtbY1YpwfI/AAAAAAAAHfU/nqcEiqxzfsA/s320/IMG_3948.jpg"1
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