Matsugen: Summer Special

My sorority big sis, a rising jetsetter powerhouse, comes to New York City every so often for business and pleasure. This time, she had a huge craving for black cod with miso, so we decided to convene at Matsugen in Tribeca—the (nearly identical-in-appearance) successor of Jean-George's 66—for dinner. Their summer promotion was an elegant and indulgent five-course meal, tagged with a Restaurant Week price. More pics and meal details on the next page!

Happy National Oyster Day!

Happy National Oyster Day! To celebrate, I had some delicious Blue Point oysters poached in savory lobster broth, wrapped in braised leeks, and topped with American Sturgeon caviar at The Mermaid Inn UWS. This was one of their special appetizers for the day, only available on the UWS. I loved the crunchiness of the leek against the soft, squishy oyster. When cooked, the oyster's salty taste evolves into a rich, earthy deliciousness. The lobster broth and caviar were like the chocolate syrup and sprinkles on top of the sundae. This totally made my otherwise dreary and muggy day one worth remembering.

Oysters 360 Part 3Great NYC Shuck 'N Suck

Water Taxi Beach, South Street Seaport: the perfect scene for a 6,500 all-you-can-eat oyster free-for-all, a tag-team shuck 'n suck contest, and a series of short firms about the beloved bivalve. This was the stage for my third and final oyster adventure. The NYC Food Film Festival's premier event, "The Great NYC Shuck 'N Suck," was a multi-sensory homage to the oyster. However, the last time that such a quantity of oysters were in this location was probably in the late 18th century! An acoustic and strings folk band jived up the atmosphere, while I tried to get my hands on as many Beausoleils, Malpeques and Rhode Island Watch Hills as I could without looking like a massive pig. More pics and a special guest on the next page!

Oyster 360 Part 2Blue Island Shellfish Farm Tour

A few days after the Essex meet up, eight of us (lucky ducks) gathered in front of Penn Station on a Saturday morning with coffee and bags of food. We were bound for Sayville, a small town across from Fire Island, where we were to rendezvous with Chris Quartuccio, owner of Blue Island Shellfish Farm and longtime oyster enthusiast. Chris and his friends were gracious enough to give up a gorgeous Saturday in order to host our little party. Since the farm is stranded in the middle of the Great South Bay, we had to travel by boat. Before the main trek, Chris took us around the office, storage facility, and hatchery. More pics and stories on the next page!

Oyster 360 Part 1New York Oyster Lovers at Essex

Technically, it's not the best oyster-eating season anymore. But does the absence of an "R" in the month and eagerly spawning product stop me? Heck no! Since last fall, I've been charting an exciting edible journey across the world of oysters. A couple weekends ago, I took my obsession to the next level by attending a series of oyster-devoted events. It started innocently enough with a second New York Oyster Lovers meet up at Essex Restaurant. Then, a small cluster of us trekked out to the Great South Bay to tour the Blue Island Shellfish Farms with owner Chris Quartuccio. Finally, I attended the NYC Food Film Festival's Great Oyster Shuck 'N Suck party and met my hero, Liza of food.curated. By now, and thanks in part to Liza, most of you are familiar with my oyster log, but wait until you hear what I'm about to do next! More pics, stories and an exciting announcement on the next page!

Aquagrill

After the LUCKYRICE Talk & Taste cooking demonstrations, I met up with CT at The Cupping Room and we made a not-so-straightforward walk over to Aquagrill. After waiting for about 15 minutes, we scored a table outside on the elevated dining porch. I ordered six appellations that I haven't tried before and a cherrystone clam just for fun. CT also tried two oysters and had the truffle-crusted cod, which was absolutely amazing. The oyster tasting experience was more pedestrian than what I expected it to be from a place heralded as an "oyster heaven." While Aquagrill proved to be a great destination for seafood, I wish that they put a bit more care into their oyster presentation. More pics and oyster reviews on the next page!

Oyster Lovers Meet Up

Last Wednesday I decided to meet up with some fellow New York oyster lovers for an oyster feast at the Grand Central Oyster Bar. It was the first meet up for this group (and my first-ever meet up), and the turn out was surprisingly large. The group was as diverse as the NYC; there were other food bloggers, folks from the food industry, lawyers, artists and entrepreneurs there. Nellie, our fearless bivalve-loving leader is actually an oyster distributor for W&T Seafood. That was probably how she was able to hook us up with this sweet deal: 10 oysters (5 West Coast, 5 East Coast) and a glass of champagne for $20.

Lelabar

Lelabar is one of my favorite wine bars in the West Village. It also helps that it's just three blocks away from the office (can we say happy hour?) Convenience aside, I've also always enjoyed very good wines, foods and service there. Not to mention that on every Wednesday and Saturday, they also offer $1 oysters. They're known to serve Malpeques, but this time they had a local variety from Long Island (not Blue Point). When oysters aren't on the menu, I like to nibble on their cheeses and meats.

Oysters: Raw vs Fried

On a whim, my new officemate S and I decided to hit up the Mermaid Oyster Bar for their Blue Plate Special (Lobster Sandwich, Blue Point Toasted Lager, and Old Bay Fries for $20) on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, S got called into an end-of-day meeting that finished an hour after the special was over. Being the determined eaters that we are, we ordered the Lobster Sandwich anyway and were rewarded with heaping piles of juicy lobster meat between two burger buns.

Shucking Oysters with Laurence Edelman

On Thurday, I got a chance to learn how to shuck oysters with a true expert: Laurence Edelman, executive chef at The Mermaid Oyster Bar and The Mermaid Inn. Gaining hands-on experience with oyster shucking was one of the first things on my 2010 resolution list. Not only was this "birthday gift" super fun to learn, it's a gift that just keeps on giving. (Free agent oysters out there: you better watch out.)

The Mermaid Oyster Bar

After being "twersuaded" by @MermaidInnNYC, I spontaneously decided to check out the $1 oyster special at The Mermaid Oyster Bar on Tuesday night. However, I had no idea that my simple endeavor would turn into a comprehensive oyster and beverage tasting. Thanks to Jonathan, my fantastic bartender/oyster navigator, I was able to experience some delicious new appellations and compliment them to a wide range of drinks. I also chit chatted with Steve, the general manager, about the restaurant and the world of food. They were both exceptionally knowledgeable and friendly people.

Grand Central Oyster Bar

Armed with Rowan Jacobsen's A Geography of Oysters, which is now dog-eared and margin-noted several times, B and I walked into the Grand Central Oyster Bar on early Christmas Eve with eagerness. As our holiday treat, we decided to skip the fancy restaurants and go straight for the gold. Gold being oysters!

Hank's Oyster Bar

B and I are in DC this weekend. We're visiting his good college buddies D and W, a very wonderful couple who share a similar enthusiasm for food. Upon hearing about my oyster infatuation, they decided take us to Hank's Oyster Bar for a late brunch, which is a charming little seafood establishment in Dupont Circle. Since 2005, Hank's has been a fantastic neighborhood success by renowned chef Jamie Leeds. I had just completed Rowan Jacobsen's "A Geography of Oysters: The Connoisseur's Guide to Oyster Eating in North America" and have been very eager to try out my newly-enlightened palette on a fresh dozen.

An Ostreaphile's Journey

I have decided to take on a new challenge: to become an oyster connoisseur. I have enjoyed these delicacies for too long without understanding. It's time to get to know them on a deeper level. I suppose my curiosity started to bubble up when the subject arose during brunch with my college buddies, D and R. D also loves oysters, but she's afraid of the health consequences. Don't they have a lot of cholesterol? Aren't they kind of bad for you? I thought about the 24 Malpeques that I gobbled up a few days prior and wondered the same. So I decided to do a bit of research (aka Google).

Healdsburg

Before hitting up the wineries in Sonoma Valley, we decided to grab some lunch from a charming little town called Healdsburg. We were lucky enough to catch an arts and crafts fair, where they also served deliciously smokey BBQ oysters. They're lightly grilled and topped with a secret cocktail sauce. Then, I had an uber fresh avocado and turkey sandwich at a cute diner in the same area.

Hog Island Oyster Co.

If you're in San Francisco and happen to love oysters, be sure to check out the Hog Island Oyster Co. It's located in the back of the Ferry Building Marketplace, which is a great to explore in itself. B and I split a platter of 2 dozen oysters, four of six types. The one shown at the top is my favorite out of all of them: the Sand Isle Kumamoto. So plump and sweet, I think that the Kumamoto is an easy  "starter oyster" for those who are new to the delicacy. The second photo shows a bowl of savory steamers with beans and grounded meat.