Totten Inlet Virginica
Totten Inlet, Puget Sound 🌎 See Oyster Map
One of the rarest oysters in the country, and the most sought after. TIVs are the Eastern oyster grown in the bay considered to make the most flavorful Pacifics. A fusion oyster, grown by Taylor Shellfish, TIVs have won many contests but supply is always extremely limited, due to the challenges of getting a virginica to thrive on the west coast.
- Species: Eastern
- Cultivation: Bottom Planted
- Salinity: Moderate
- Size: Large
- Region: Puget Sound
Totten Inlet Virginica (5 Ratings)
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I had these of all places, in Shinjuku Tokyo. I normally look for Irish oysters, but now I have a new favorite if I can get these all the time.
I was lucky to be at a function honoring Taylor Shellfish at Shaw’s Crab House, Chicago, into the “Oyster Hall of Fame”. John Rowley commented how lucky we were to be getting a platter of these transplants from the west coast. They were all #4’s and the first one I slurped was as big as my tongue! Clean, firm and that special kind of sweet, I still have the shell on my desk all these years later.
I was told about this oyster from a guy who worked the fish counter at Eataly in NYC as the best oyster he ever had. I finally bought some from Taylor Shellfish and they were fantastic but they no longer sell them because they give all of their production to their restaurants in Seattle. They do still sell Shigoku and Kumamoto and both are exceptional but not as good as the TIV!
One of the best named oysters ever—at a glance, you can tell it’s the Eastern species but grown on the West Coast! This barnacle-studded oyster may look rugged and forbidding, but they’re actually quite easy to shuck and you’ll be rewarded by a nice combination of Yankee saltiness and West Coast sweetness!
My favorite oyster, but you never see it anymore. It takes the firm/briny Atlantic thing and somehow injects that into the sweet/fruity Pacific thing. It brings it all together into one thing of beauty. If you can find it, you know what to do.