The Beauty of Oysters

Frank Bruni, in the Diner's Journal, waxes poetic about the oysters at Wild Salmon and Aquagrill, and discusses the reasons why he often disobeys the "rule" that one is not supposed to eat oysters in months that don’t have an ‘r’ in them. We're with Frank on this one. We love oysters in the summer. The platter above was from a recent oyster happy our at P.J. Clarke's downtown. They were cheap, but didn't hold a candle to ones we've had at Aquagrill, Blue Ribbon or Pearl Oyster Bar.

We have recently received a copy of A Geography of Oysters: The Connoisseur's Guide to Oyster Eating in North America , by Rowan Jacobsen, and are looking forward to diving in to learn more about where that ludicrous rule came from, how to select and shuck our own oysters, pair them with wines, and find out about the top oyster restaurants, producers, and festivals across the country.

Where do you get your oysters -- any good happy hours out there? We've heard about Five Points but are always looking for more ideas.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Laren Spirer in Food on August 10, 2007 4:18 PM

Comments [rss]

guest

FISH on Bleecker has the red white and blue special at any time: six blue point oysters or six clams, on the half shell with nice shallot-vinegar relish on the side and a glass of white or red wine or a pint of PBR for $8. Unbeatable and always shucked fresh on the spot.

guest

The Wild Edibles on 3rd and 36th -- the one with the restaurant in it -- has incredible oysters. You can get six and a mini flight of white wine for 15 bucks.

guest

They're not cheap but can you ever go wrong with Grand Central Oyster bar?

guest

Black Pearl on 26th street has a great $1 raw bar happy hour and has some unusual varities like coromandels from New Zealand which I have to say are the most AMAZING oysters I have ever tasted.

Also you don't get sick most of the time from the actual oyster,you get ill because the oysters have loads of nasty stuff on the the shell and many places do not clean them properly and when you slurp them you get sick or when some of the ice/melting ice gets into your oyster, same thing.

ping

"The rule came from the fact that oysters and the heat of summer don't go so well together." Sorry, #3. Wrong. It's because most of the tidal waters where oysters flourish in the lower 48 get too warm, and subsequently cause malevolent bacteria to grow in shellfish. Oysters from colder waters rarely have this problem.

guest

got sick last saturday after a few dozen, then had some yesterday-yummmy

guest

love aquagrill for oysters...

have also had excellent oysters at 360 in red hook.

guest

Never eat them...too slimy

guest

The rule came from the fact that oysters and the heat of summer don't go so well together. Refrigeration has solved most of the issues but I still don't trust NY oysters in the summer. I've seen restaurant food baking in the sun on the sidewalk as it is delivered.

guest

ooo... you MUST read The Big Oyster by Mark Kurlansky... Its excellent. Part Oyster biology lesson, part history of New York. You will learn all about once reported dinner plate sized oysters (as reported by the Dutch) as well as some info about the numerous Oyster Houses that are no more.

Also, an interesting tidbit... every oyster in North America is biologically identical. Their size and flavor comes from the water they are grown in.