Consolidated "Oysters - where to buy? Your favorites? Etc." thread
#18
Join Date: Nov 2007
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Being a native Southerner, and raised on tastes of oysters from the (pre-BP) Gulf of Mexico - those big plump but pale-flavored Gulf oysters - my first taste of CT Bluepoints in NYC as a young adult was a real surprise. This taste was vital, fresh as the open sea, bracing and yet voluptuous. It cried out for Sancerre or muscadet (as opposed to Budweiser with those Gulf oysters). Cold-water oysters have it all over those sourced from warmer waters for complexity of flavor when served on the half shell.
I wonder how much our differing opinions are infuenced by the freshness of the oysters we have been eating. The key indicator to me that an oyster is fresh is when the shell is filled with salt water. When you shuck an oyster and it drenches your hand with several ounces of seawater, you know it's still good. As the oysters begin to die, they discharge the seawater and are simply moist, but not immersed, inside.
#19
Join Date: Oct 2006
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I enjoy most oysters but my fave are East Coast, particularly Fisher Islands.
Enjoy the variety & for something completely different, head to NOLA and enjoy some charbroiled oysters from Dragos
http://www.nolacuisine.com/2006/03/1...oyster-recipe/
wishing you some good eatin'!
Enjoy the variety & for something completely different, head to NOLA and enjoy some charbroiled oysters from Dragos
http://www.nolacuisine.com/2006/03/1...oyster-recipe/
wishing you some good eatin'!
#20
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Join Date: Oct 2005
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First thing I thought of was kumamoto. I love the smaller, sweeter oysters from the west coast/Pacific, though the native oysters fromthe east coast are also delicious (Wellfleet and the likes).
I had some in OZ that were also fantastic, though I don't know what they were.
I had some in OZ that were also fantastic, though I don't know what they were.
#22
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Central Texas
Programs: Many, slipping beneath the horizon
Posts: 9,859
As long as they are fresh, I haven't found a raw oyster I didn't like....
I suspect many New Yorkers were surprised to find that there was something of an oyster shortage in/around the city during the oil spill harvesting moratorium. A Hell of a lot of Gulf oysters (source unannounced) are sold in NYC (and rarely is the burlap bag's label available for inspection by the "picky").
I suspect many New Yorkers were surprised to find that there was something of an oyster shortage in/around the city during the oil spill harvesting moratorium. A Hell of a lot of Gulf oysters (source unannounced) are sold in NYC (and rarely is the burlap bag's label available for inspection by the "picky").
#23
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Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: south of WAS DC
Posts: 10,131
down here on the Chesapeake, we have some oysters. most of what i consider the better ones come from small areas and are sold by place of final growth.
lynnhavens and chincoteagues come to mind. quite surprisingly, the oyster from the lower potomac river is a great oyster. not real salty, not readily available, but a very fine specimen.
oysters in the maritime Provence in france are pretty amazing. must be 100 varieties. each claiming to be the finest.
this guy has a lot of oyster info"
http://www.oysterguide.com/maps
and here
http://www.oysterguide.com/book/what...-eater-are-you
lynnhavens and chincoteagues come to mind. quite surprisingly, the oyster from the lower potomac river is a great oyster. not real salty, not readily available, but a very fine specimen.
oysters in the maritime Provence in france are pretty amazing. must be 100 varieties. each claiming to be the finest.
this guy has a lot of oyster info"
http://www.oysterguide.com/maps
and here
http://www.oysterguide.com/book/what...-eater-are-you
Last edited by slawecki; Sep 25, 2010 at 12:42 pm
#24
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Oregon (DL and Marr Lifetime plat. etc.)
Posts: 1,273
I've had good oysters in numerous locations, but by far the best I've ever had were at the Yaquina Bay oyster farm in Newport Oregon (ONP). I had had their oysters numerous times before, but this was the first time I had them freshly shucked right at the farm. They were outstanding, and being able to eat them on the dock with the salt air really added to the experience. So I would emphasize fresh fresh fresh, regardless of type or location.
#25
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Panama City Beach, FL
Programs: DL PM MM
Posts: 910
My favorites are Appalachicola oysters eaten at Gene's Oyster Bar in Panama City. Gene personally selects the oysters as they are unloaded at the dock. If they are not to his liking, he just closes for the day! I always call to make sure they are open.
The oysters are shucked in front of you, as you sit at the bar. There is no alcohol served....only Cokes in the old fashioned green bottles, which you help yourself to from one of those old Coke coolers with the bottle opener on the side.
The raw oysters are served on a plastic tray, with sleeves of saltine crackers, and homemade hot sauce made by Mrs. Gene. The heat in the sauce depends on whether she is mad at Gene or not.
After you have eaten all you want, they count the empty oyster shells and total your bill. Pure heaven!
The oysters are shucked in front of you, as you sit at the bar. There is no alcohol served....only Cokes in the old fashioned green bottles, which you help yourself to from one of those old Coke coolers with the bottle opener on the side.
The raw oysters are served on a plastic tray, with sleeves of saltine crackers, and homemade hot sauce made by Mrs. Gene. The heat in the sauce depends on whether she is mad at Gene or not.
After you have eaten all you want, they count the empty oyster shells and total your bill. Pure heaven!
#26
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#27
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: SEA
Programs: UA Plat, AS MVP, HH Gold, MR Gold
Posts: 1,848
I love a nice plate of cold water Atlantic oysters, with a gin martini or crisp sauv or fume blanc. Blue Points and Wellfleets are my favorites, though Matunuck and Watch Hill and several others here in RI are quite nice.
Oysters are part species, and part terroir (or merroir?). All oysters on the east coast (including the gulf) are the same species (C. virginica), with variations in taste and consistency based on local growing conditions; an overwhelming majority of them are farmed. Pacific oysters (C. gigas) are common around the Pacific Rim, but to my taste lack the minerality of the northeastern oysters I enjoy most; Pacific oysters have been at the center of my most disappointing oyster experiences. There has been talk of using gigas to clean the Chesapeake, but there are fears about introducing species. Kumamoto (C. sikamea) are farmed primarily in the Northeast; delicious, but hard to get around here.
Oysters are part species, and part terroir (or merroir?). All oysters on the east coast (including the gulf) are the same species (C. virginica), with variations in taste and consistency based on local growing conditions; an overwhelming majority of them are farmed. Pacific oysters (C. gigas) are common around the Pacific Rim, but to my taste lack the minerality of the northeastern oysters I enjoy most; Pacific oysters have been at the center of my most disappointing oyster experiences. There has been talk of using gigas to clean the Chesapeake, but there are fears about introducing species. Kumamoto (C. sikamea) are farmed primarily in the Northeast; delicious, but hard to get around here.
#28
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Portland OR Double Emerald (QF and AA), DL PM/MM, Starwood Plat
Posts: 19,589
...Oysters are part species, and part terroir (or merroir?). All oysters on the east coast (including the gulf) are the same species (C. virginica), with variations in taste and consistency based on local growing conditions; an overwhelming majority of them are farmed. Pacific oysters (C. gigas) are common around the Pacific Rim, but to my taste lack the minerality of the northeastern oysters I enjoy most; Pacific oysters have been at the center of my most disappointing oyster experiences. ....
Grand Central Oyster Bar (in Grand Central station) used to be fabulous for oyster but not in the past decade (sadly). In fact haven't had good oyster anywhere in Manhattan for many years now (Boston is better, but not by much). Southern Hemisphere seems to have all the good oysters now.
#29
Join Date: Feb 2006
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At Wegmans last weekend, they had an oyster sampling. Oysters from the VA tidewater area. Same species of oyster but some farmed in the river, bay and ocean. The difference in salinity was really marked. They were all delicious. I just need to be able to shuck them without piercing my hands!!!