Jump to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.

Surly Horns

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.

Oysters and their bivalve brethren - the finominal filterers

Featured Replies

  • Author

Hats off to the first Neanderthal who popped one of those suckers off a rock and said “Here, hold my fermented groul, y’all watch this.”

20 hours ago, thrillhammer said:

if you're in Austin, go to deckhand.

 

Edited by Cousin Strawberry
Double Post

20 hours ago, thrillhammer said:

if you're in Austin, go to deckhand.

They ever run a special on them?  Salt Trader just down the road on Barton Spings does dollar oysters on the weekends.  Yeah, I know its only $4/dozen difference but why pay it? Does Deckand have better oysters?

9 minutes ago, Cousin Strawberry said:

They ever run a special on them?  Salt Trader just down the road on Barton Spings does dollar oysters on the weekends.  Yeah, I know its only $4/dozen difference but why pay it? Does Deckand have better oysters?

I doubt deckhand's are better than salt trader.   interesting you have both so close to each other down south.  I have the same situation up north.  salt trader is just a couple of exits up i35 from deckhand.   

dollar oysters sound pretty good.  didn't know they were doing that.  it was either drink.well or foreign and domestic that had an oyster happy hour also. 

  • Author

Last time I was in Houston- pre covid- I met a client for an early dinner at Eunice.

They had a pretty amazing happy hour special on appetizers and their raw bar was included.  It had a great selection of oysters from various places and we partook generously. 

I don't think I have any pics but fired up the grill on Friday to chargrill a few dozen oysters I got from Quality. Took the Weber to around 600, shucked them and placed on the grill, added a nice dollop of butter, garlic, chives, etc. Then sprinkled with some shaved Parmesan before taking off to devour. First time turned out well.

I should cook up some mussels. I have butter, olive oil, shallots, garlic, red pepper flakes, white wine, and fresh parsley. All I need are the mussels and some crusty bread for sopping up the sauce. 

Braved COVID on a trip to WF looking for oysters to do some grilling cause this thread gave me the jonesing.  They were out of fucking oysters.  Settled for crab cakes. 

 

tenor.gif?itemid=5548725

Edited by Anastasis

IMG_7881.thumb.jpg.46087a8cf836270211a8057118f7bed4.jpg

 

An appetizer of a half dozen Old Salts at Merroir, coolest oyster bar on the Rappahanock River in Va.  All tapas sized offerings, outdoor seating, dogs welcome.

The other place is the Boat house south of Petersburg , Va's harbor on the James river, what a view looking up river, great flash fried oysters.

IMG_6436.jpg

IMG_7412.jpg

Edited by Onboard 2.0

On 6/26/2020 at 2:00 PM, Reagan1k said:

Whatcha' got?

 

I got the honor of giving you your 1,000th +rep. That’s what I got. 

Edited by ImissWallyPryor
Username checks out, too.

Hoping I will be ordering some Wellfleet and other local oysters on Cape Cod later this month.  Fearing we Texans are about to be banned, though.  

Edited by DDD Dad

13 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:

Hoping I will be ordering some Wellfleet and other local oysters on Cape Cod later this month.  Fearing we Texans are about to be banned, though.  

Buddy of mine flew up to his place in Marblehead over the weekend, said there are any restrictions in Mass. for Texans.  Yet.

Edited by CycleTex87
qualifier

Just now, CycleTex87 said:

Buddy of mine flew up to his place in Marblehead over the weekend, said there are any restrictions in Mass. for Texans right now.

Correct.  I just keep checking the state government page daily for there and NH.  Supposed to fly into BOS 7/17.

On 6/26/2020 at 8:32 PM, Kyrie Eleison said:


i’d ride bitch with you next time if’n you want; even buy the gas and we’d come back with two sacks.

 

On 6/26/2020 at 2:10 PM, SimonBolivar said:

I was a huge oyster fan until I found out last year that I'm deathly allergic to them. Raw with a hint of lemon and a dab of hotsauce was all I needed. The best part is that you can eat them all day since they're about 8 calories each.

 

 

 

Fate is a cruel mistress.

Sad times

32c905ef090db6743814892ad1c9ca76.jpg
Stopped by Paganos in Norwalk, CT and picked up a dozen CT Blue Points that everyone can find in any Whole Foods or CM but these from Pickle Point CN were exceptional.

4b4a22d1a79afa9577458bad322d9bd1.jpg
Also these shrimp are bad ass.

29 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

IMG_7881.thumb.jpg.46087a8cf836270211a8057118f7bed4.jpg

 

An appetizer of a half dozen Old Salts at Merroir, coolest oyster bar on the Rappahanock River in Va.  All tapas sized offerings, outdoor seating, dogs welcome.

The other place is the Boat house south of Petersburg , Va's harbor on the James river, what a view looking up river, great flash fried oysters.

IMG_6436.jpg

IMG_7412.jpg

Last fall, the wife and I grabbed our daughter and grandkids and headed there for a late lunch ... closed.  So, we continued on to NN Hamburgers in Kilmarnock.

Planned on getting to Old Salts this spring.  COVID put a damper on that .. for now, at least.

1 minute ago, VirginiaLonghorn said:

Last fall, the wife and I grabbed our daughter and grandkids and headed there for a late lunch ... closed.  So, we continued on to NN Hamburgers in Kilmarnock.

Planned on getting to Old Salts this spring.  COVID put a damper on that .. for now, at least.

Bummer. It's such a great place to kill a few hours, damned dangerous to.  Why yes, please please bring us another dozen oysters.  How was NN Hamburgers ?  Haven't hit that yet.  I've got 2 jobs down that way now so I get to do lunch about once every couple weeks.

1 minute ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Bummer. It's such a great place to kill a few hours, damned dangerous to.  Why yes, please please bring us another dozen oysters.  How was NN Hamburgers ?  Haven't hit that yet.  I've got 2 jobs down that way now so I get to do lunch about once every couple weeks.

NN is your basic greasy spoon hamburger joint.  They’ll make your hamburger how ever you want it.  They have a decent beer selection, also.  But, being with the grandkids, we chose milkshakes which were very good ... also with a sizable selection.  You won’t leave hungry.

https://nnburger.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/FINAL-2020-SUMMER-MENU-onsite.pdf

1 hour ago, CenTXpony said:

32c905ef090db6743814892ad1c9ca76.jpg
Stopped by Paganos in Norwalk, CT and picked up a dozen CT Blue Points that everyone can find in any Whole Foods or CM but these from Pickle Point CN were exceptional.

4b4a22d1a79afa9577458bad322d9bd1.jpg
Also these shrimp are bad ass.

I'm in.  Could eat my weight in those two items.  What's in the sauce cup on the oysters tray?  Not the standard red sauce w/ horseradish we have in Texas.  Also, seems to be six oysters missing?  I didn't know they came in less than a dozen, or multiples of a dozen.

Looks like a mignonette sauce.  Vinegary flavor with scallions. Excellent when done correctly, terrible when mixed by someone who doesn't know what they're doing.

2 hours ago, CycleTex87 said:

I'm in.  Could eat my weight in those two items.  What's in the sauce cup on the oysters tray?  Not the standard red sauce w/ horseradish we have in Texas.  Also, seems to be six oysters missing?  I didn't know they came in less than a dozen, or multiples of a dozen.

 

4 hours ago, CenTXpony said:

32c905ef090db6743814892ad1c9ca76.jpg
Stopped by Paganos in Norwalk, CT and picked up a dozen CT Blue Points that everyone can find in any Whole Foods or CM but these from Pickle Point CN were exceptional.

4b4a22d1a79afa9577458bad322d9bd1.jpg
Also these shrimp are bad ass.

Did you eat the shrimp raw?

(asking for me and our mutual friend)

I'm in.  Could eat my weight in those two items.  What's in the sauce cup on the oysters tray?  Not the standard red sauce w/ horseradish we have in Texas.  Also, seems to be six oysters missing?  I didn't know they came in less than a dozen, or multiples of a dozen.

Those six were just the Pickle Point oysters. The CT Blue Points were not pictured. The sauce I made was a mignonette sauce. Red Wine Vinegar, shallots, cracked pepper, salt, and rice vinegar.
Did you eat the shrimp raw?

(asking for me and our mutual friend)

8bd22cbbf056664b6c03d77fca5cf1f0.jpg

 

51dd31892385b06f83a2e7e383337cb8.jpg

 

Nah, mixed it into a pasta and enjoyed dinner on the deck.

On 6/27/2020 at 3:09 PM, Reagan1k said:

Last time I was in Houston- pre covid- I met a client for an early dinner at Eunice.

They had a pretty amazing happy hour special on appetizers and their raw bar was included.  It had a great selection of oysters from various places and we partook generously. 

Great place. I hope they make it back. 

Gulf oysters have no taste.  So grill em til the shells start to separate.  Split them.  Then spoon on some scallion-oil for it to cook just a tad bit more on the grill. 

Delicious.

In coastal France I always try to find an oyster bar for some raw ones with a chilled Chablis.  Unbeatable autumn combo

Gulf oysters have no taste.  So grill em til the shells start to separate.  Split them.  Then spoon on some scallion-oil for it to cook just a tad bit more on the grill. 
Delicious.
In coastal France I always try to find an oyster bar for some raw ones with a chilled Chablis.  Unbeatable autumn combo

Nice humblebrag
14 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Looks like a mignonette sauce.  Vinegary flavor with scallions. Excellent when done correctly, terrible when mixed by someone who doesn't know what they're doing.

had it a bunch of different ways, made it myself even, and just flat prefer a homemade cocktail sauce - ketchup, tabasco, lemon, horseradish, maybe a little black pepper, and there you go.  

Just now, thrillhammer said:

had it a bunch of different ways, made it myself even, and just flat prefer a homemade cocktail sauce - ketchup, tabasco, lemon, horseradish, maybe a little black pepper, and there you go.  

Yep cocktail, horseradish heavy is my go to (don't forget the worstcheseshire sauce), but a well prepared Mignonette is a nice change of pace sometimes, keep the cocktail sauce handy though.

Cocktail sauce needs its own thread. I've had some great ones at restaurants, but I've never made one myself that really was special. Please post your recipes!

And on thread topic, raw clams on the half shell are better than oysters much of the year.

my go to for raw clams is your mother's house. 

I'm okay on a mignonette every now and then, but in truth, my favorite part of that is dipping a crusty bread into it, giving the bread a vinegary bite.

I like my oysters with either just a squeeze of lemon, or just a bit of a good cocktail sauce with a nice bite to it.  I remember last fall, I had a morning oral argument at the 5th Circuit.  Our flight out wasn't till 3:30.  So GOLL and I hoofed it over to Felix's to park a the oyster bar for a few hours.  Our shucker started his shift right when we got there, and we watched him mix several batches of cocktail sauce.  One of them was fire -- lots of horseradish, lemon, some worcestershire sauce, and I think a splash of louisiana hot sauce.  It was great.

We each tipped him $20 up front, and told him to keep them coming.  He just kept stacking oysters straight onto the bar.  We drank beer and ate oysters...we each added a dozen chargrilled sometime during the afternoon.  We lost count, but think we each put down around 5-6 dozen over the few hours we were there.  In the meantime, we updated the client on how things had gone, and listened to our shucker unload his life story: short version, he had one son heading to serve a long stretch at  Angola, and another heading to Tulane on a full ride.

Felix's was founded in NOLA the year before my mother was born in NOLA.  My family has been eating there since then.  It is one of my happy places in this universe.

10 hours ago, Sam Lin said:

Cocktail sauce needs its own thread. I've had some great ones at restaurants, but I've never made one myself that really was special. Please post your recipes!

And on thread topic, raw clams on the half shell are better than oysters much of the year.

Ya know, you started off with a nice little post here. Cocktail sauce recipes (the secret is extra horseradish and Worscestershire  sauce).  Then you swerved into ridiculous land.  Clams, chewy little nuggets that don't have the flavor a great oyster does.

2 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Ya know, you started off with a nice little post here. Cocktail sauce recipes (the secret is extra horseradish and Worscestershire  sauce).  Then you swerved into ridiculous land.  Clams, chewy little nuggets that don't have the flavor a great oyster does.

But I do love an order of fried whole clams, with bellies -- new england style.  Really, I love all the bivalves.  Gimme some fried or steamed clams, gimme some mussels in garlic white wine sauce, gimme oysters about 5 different ways....I'm happy.

I'm okay on a mignonette every now and then, but in truth, my favorite part of that is dipping a crusty bread into it, giving the bread a vinegary bite.
I like my oysters with either just a squeeze of lemon, or just a bit of a good cocktail sauce with a nice bite to it.  I remember last fall, I had a morning oral argument at the 5th Circuit.  Our flight out wasn't till 3:30.  So GOLL and I hoofed it over to Felix's to park a the oyster bar for a few hours.  Our shucker started his shift right when we got there, and we watched him mix several batches of cocktail sauce.  One of them was fire -- lots of horseradish, lemon, some worcestershire sauce, and I think a splash of louisiana hot sauce.  It was great.
We each tipped him $20 up front, and told him to keep them coming.  He just kept stacking oysters straight onto the bar.  We drank beer and ate oysters...we each added a dozen chargrilled sometime during the afternoon.  We lost count, but think we each put down around 5-6 dozen over the few hours we were there.  In the meantime, we updated the client on how things had gone, and listened to our shucker unload his life story: short version, he had one son heading to serve a long stretch at  Angola, and another heading to Tulane on a full ride.
Felix's was founded in NOLA the year before my mother was born in NOLA.  My family has been eating there since then.  It is one of my happy places in this universe.

The airplane shitter must have been a hazardous waste site after that.
7 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:


The airplane shitter must have been a hazardous waste site after that.

You know, oysters are my natural sustenance (my mother ate them by the gallon when she was pregnant with me).  They sat just fine with me.  As did the couple of airplane whiskeys for dessert.

8 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

But I do love an order of fried whole clams, with bellies -- new england style.  Really, I love all the bivalves.  Gimme some fried or steamed clams, gimme some mussels in garlic white wine sauce, gimme oysters about 5 different ways....I'm happy.

I love fried seafood of all types perfect delivery device for a great cocktail sauce I'll still take Fried oysters or  raw  over clams any day

8 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

I love fried seafood of all types perfect delivery device for a great cocktail sauce I'll still take Fried oysters or  raw  over clams any day

Yeah, I'd probably take fried oysters over clams.  But man, at Newick's seafood in New Hampshire, like nearly 20 years ago, driving between depositions, I had a combo platter of fried clams with bellies and fried scallops, and it was glorious.  If you'd have added fried oysters to that, it would have been one of the best meals of my life.

Again, I love all the bivalves (can't believe I forgot scallops above -- those are the wife's favorite).

44 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Yeah, I'd probably take fried oysters over clams.  But man, at Newick's seafood in New Hampshire, like nearly 20 years ago, driving between depositions, I had a combo platter of fried clams with bellies and fried scallops, and it was glorious.  If you'd have added fried oysters to that, it would have been one of the best meals of my life.

Again, I love all the bivalves (can't believe I forgot scallops above -- those are the wife's favorite).

Similar memory from the Lobster Shack at Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth, ME.

that second plate is a lot better than the first.  those poor things aren't plump at all. 

that second plate is a lot better than the first.  those poor things aren't plump at all. 

First had better flavor though and may be my new favorite.
29 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:

Bigger does not equal better.

Whatever you need to tell yourself to sleep better at night.

1 hour ago, CenTXpony said:


First had better flavor though and may be my new favorite.

interesting

1 hour ago, DDD Dad said:

Bigger does not equal better.

usually the plumper ones are full of glycogen. 

5 hours ago, DDD Dad said:

Bigger does not equal better.

tell Vic that.

 

but yes as a general correlation, agreed. 

\

12 hours ago, elfenix said:

that second plate is a lot better than the first.  those poor things aren't plump at all. 

That's not what makes an oyster good. Oh, and take the sock out of your pants...

  • 1 month later...

87ec7df87243e806300240da9ab0f4c2.jpg
Half the oysters from yesterday.

Pickle Pt PEI
Daisy Bay
Savage Blonde
Raspberry Red
Naked Island

were what I had with the Reds being my favorite.

87ec7df87243e806300240da9ab0f4c2.jpg
Half the oysters from yesterday.

Pickle Pt PEI
Daisy Bay
Savage Blonde
Raspberry Red
Naked Island

were what I had with the Reds being my favorite.

One of my neighborhood buddies works for a restaurant supply. I get a bushel or two every week or so from mid-October through the end of March. I buy what his usual route doesn't pick up, and have them delivered to my door. We eat oysters any way they can be eaten.

CHIEF

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.