Oysters are one of those foods people either love or hate. Clearly, as the title of my post is oyster LOVE, I am on the love side. But no worries… if you haven’t yet been converted, let me share my top five reasons to love oysters!
1) What other foods yield precious accessories? A chicken burger? pfft.
2) Oysters are incredibly healthy: they are low in fat, cholesterol and calories (a dozen oysters are around 75 cals!) and high in essential minerals. Further, oysters are a great source of vitamins… A, B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), C (ascorbic acid), and D (calciferol) to name a few!
3) Oysters are an aphrodisiac! Actually, there is little evidence of oysters imparting sexual powers, but IMHO sexual prowess is in the mind. Eating a few oysters with someone you are trying to flirt with will certainly allow you (or him… or her!) to nudge the conversation in that direction…
4) They can be enjoyed in a panoply of ways: do you like them best roasted, rockafeller style, in soups, motoyaki style, or raw?
5) They just taste so darn good! You know how when you were eleven and had your first sip of wine, how disgusting it was? I hope that you appreciate wine now, so you can get my parallel example here (and so you can enjoy life a little bit more), but yes… back to my example: If you weren’t an immediate oyster lover, after a bit of perseverance, I have no doubt you will become an oyster lover!
If I’ve managed to pique your interest, jump for some oyster types to try out and location recommendations (Vancouver and San Fran) to taste test them!
Note: I prefer the smaller, more dainty oysters, to the larger scarier suckers, but it’s all personal preference of course!
Kusshi: these are teeny tiny (read: non-intimidating!) and pack a ton of flavour! they are delicate tasting and creamy.
Kumamoto: these have a sweeter flavour with a touch of brininess. I love the meatiness of these petite oysters!
Malpeque: these are more on the salty/ briny side with a touch of sweetness… a nice contrast to the kumamoto!
Hog Island Sweetwater: these are Hog Island Co’s “specialty” oyster in SF… these are also sweet, creamy, with a lightly salty finish… sooo good.
This list is NOT exhaustive and I am certainly no expert… all the more reason to keep eating oysters right? hehehe
As a poor food-blog editor, I really can’t splurge on oysters all the time. However, I am a foodtrotter and have managed to sleuth out ways to get an affordable oyster fix!
VANCOUVER
Whole Foods What? An upscale grocery store you question? Whole foods offers fantastic value for oysters… from as low as 60 cents to around $1.20 CAD, you don’t pay the premium you would pay at a restaurant for the same oysters. They also shuck your oysters and arrange them appealingly on a bed of ice… perfect for having an oyster party with some friends. Be sure to call ahead and ask what oysters they have… and to reserve some if you have a large order. Also, don’t forget your tobasco sauce, horseradish, lemon, lime, and mignonette!
Rodney’s Oyster Bar I tend to trust restaurants that have their specialty in their restaurant name. Rodney’s service is lacklustre (entitled beautiful servers) but the restaurant itself is very fun (hip atmosphere smack dab in yaletown — FYI, an “up and coming” part of Vancouver which is most certainly “up” already) and the oysters are great! During happy hour, they serve low-tide specials, where the oysters are half off… $1.50 each. Apparently they also have a location in Toronto! Visit them online here
SAN FRANCISCO
Swan’s Oyster Depot One of those “famous” places in San Fran, this is a great place to enjoy fresh, prepared-before-you seafood. The clam chowder is fantastic; I highly recommend trying it out. The servers are friendly and knowledgable… the only downside is that the restaurant is a bit fishy (read: dinky and hole-in-the-wall with a nautical twist). Think of eating in a fish market… but hey, that’s all part of the experience, no? See some yelp reviews here
Hog Island Oyster Co.
The best for last! I am super sad I didn’t manage to force anyone to visit Hog Island Bay with me in all the time I visited San Francisco (apparently when you drive out of the city, you can eat all-you-can-shuck oysters for something like $20USD!), but I certainly compensated as best I could by visiting Hog Island Oyster Co. in SF’s Ferry Building. Four platters of oysters, two bottles of white wine (something with an A from willamette Valley… oh how I long to visit more wine countries: Okanagan and Willamette Valley, I am coming for you!), and an upscale grilled cheese: mezzo secco-gruyere-fromage blanc between friends, that’s just a fantastic Saturday lunch. Visit Hog Island Oyster Co online here… and if in the Bay area, maybe you’ll get to visit them properly at their flagship store!
Final Notes: It’s a safe bet to eat oysters in months that end in R — September through December, but with modern day cooling techniques… you can be sure to ingest fresh, safe oysters all year round (in North America at least!) Happy eating!!
[Final Photo courtesy of HoodscopeSF
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Man I love oysters soo much. After reading this I’m totally craving some. Couple of weeks ago I managed to chow down 13 oysters. Would totally have had more if I weren’t eating other dishes at this buffet at the Hilton! If you search you can find some places that will do the 100 for $100…what a deal!
I LOVE oysters! I use to hate them, thinking that they were disgusting lowly creatures from the sea. But as I grew up and gained an appreciation for wine, I also gained an appreciation for the taste and texture of oysters. I also didn’t know that there were many varieties, each different in size, taste, and geography. I recently had a few dozen Malpeque oysters shipped from the east coast of Canada PEI. They were smaller than usual and had a sweetness of the sea. I can’t wait for my next batch of raw oysters.
I’m hitting up Rodney’s in Yaletown for their ‘low-tide’ aka Happy Hour today :)
Hey! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after browsing through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Nonetheless, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll be bookmarking and checking back often!