Winter 2020 Newsletter

The French Connection

Happy December. It’s that magical time of year when all the best things come round: darkness, cold, flight delays, miracle births, gifts, saunas, oysters. From coast to coast, oysters are at their finest. And that includes the Atlantic coast of France, of course, home to some of the greatest oysters of all. Sore spot: While OysteRater is the ultimate repository for information and ratings on 300+ North American oysters, we have darned few ratings for French oysters. Come on, we know some of you are huitres veterans; let’s get some chatter to flesh out those pages. Maybe you’ve had Gillardeau, the so-called Rolls Royce of oysters? Maybe Utah Beach, Le Hipster choice. Fin de Claire? Belon? Maybe you’ve had another French oyster we haven’t loaded yet? If so, tell us about it here and we’ll fire up a page just for you.

Crassostrea VirGINica, Indeed

Tin Soldiers

Leave it to Island Creek to pioneer a pairing we’ve been celebrating for years: Oysters and tinfish. Oysters are the original tinfish anyway, but the ones with the aluminum shells are much easier to open. All share the same umami glory. All get even better with a little rye bread and butter. But we’re not talking supermarket sardines, here; the good stuff is on a whole different level. Island Creek has ferreted out some awesome razor clams and smoked mussels. For even more stocking-stuffer awesomeness, check out tinfish queen Haley Fortier’s offerings at haley.henry.

Where You Gonna Sheath That Thing?

Sure, sure, you and everyone you know already have more oyster knives than you know what to do with. But how many oyster knives have you lost because you set one down amidst the shucking craziness? Us: dozens. Problem solved by this Hama Hama Oyster Knife holster. Nice quality leather, made right in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. More important, it screams western outlaw oysterperson. (Tip: The knife takes 3-4 days to ship, unless you order a box of overnight-delivery oysters with it. Just saying.)