Oysters: Commando or No-Go?

Oysters: Commando or No-Go?

Novo [http://www.novooakpark.com/], a small and comfortable-looking restaurant that’s been open a little over a year, has long attracted us. It looked inviting. We finally had a chance to drop in.


After ordering, our server brought over an amuse bouche: a beautifully well-dressed oyster. It was one Hollywood oyster from Maryland, dressed with cider mignonette, smoked trout roe and a diced Gold Rush apple with chives. We liked this palate-perking first bite, but when I posted a picture on Facebook, many of my friends (some LTHers) responded with resounding negativity:

“Hmph”

“Nope”

“This picture upsets me. The texture of the cubes (daikon?) looks crunchy. Aside from masking the subtle flavors of a good oyster, textually it looks all wrong.”

“I'll sauce a cooked or grilled oyster, but lemon is the most I'd put on raw.”

Clearly, I had struck a verve with purists who forbid anything getting between them and their oysters.

Most of the oysters I’ve ever eaten have been raw. I like raw oysters. I understand, though, that an accomplished chef will feel the need to do more than just shuck the thing and serve it on ice. And why not? Much as I enjoy the unadorned oysters, this presentation at Novo worked very well: the roe resonated with the marine flavors of the oyster, the cider was softer than vinegar (usually used in mignonette, along with shallots and black peppers) and the cider echoed the apples and offered just a little sweetness that’s rare but worked well with the briny oyster. This little oyster also looked great, and you want the first bite to beckon you to more.

I'm guessing, however, that many share a trepidation about eating oysters with anything other than maybe crackers. That has always been my default as well, though I've come to like them dressed up, too.

It looks odd, but I'd have to try it to properly evaluate. Raw apple and oyster seems like a strange combo.

teatpuller wrote:Raw apple and oyster seems like a strange combo.

It is. However, now that oysters are becoming more "mainstream" (they used to be generally popular, then seem to have fallen out of favor, now are back on many menus), I'm predicting that we'll see more such unusual combinations of oysters with fruit, veg and even meat (bacon is an obvious choice, as in Devils on Horseback...in which bacon is the devil).

THE most decadent and delicious oyster I have ever eaten was at a Japanese restaurant in SF. I think they called it a "Gold Rush" oyster,
and it had all these "eggs" on top of it, plus some edible gold.
It was an explosion of flavor!
It was also the first time I ever ate Uni and liked it.
(I'd tried it before and had been either repulsed or not cared for it, but this time it was delicious)
It was also beyond beautiful.


P.S. I also LOVE raw oysters with just the teeniest squirt of fresh lemon.

I like raw oysters unadorned, and I also like them with cocktail sauce, lemon juice, and horseradish on a cracker. I'm fine, once in a while, with a mignonette sauce on an oyster too. Haven't yet had oysters Rockefeller or grilled oysters with barbecue sauce, but they're both on my list for this summer.

What I like about the particular oyster presentation you're describing, David, is the smoked trout roe. I can see that going well with a raw oyster. I could do without the chives and the apple chunks.

Oysters served any way but shucked, iced on the half-shell should be a choice, not a necessity. Anytime I see them prepared in any other manner, internal alarms go off for me. I'm not saying I don't enjoy a drop or 2 of mignonette every now and then but if an oyster needs it, that's not an oyster I want.

=R=

Oysters served any way but shucked, iced on the half-shell should be a choice, not a necessity. Anytime I see them prepared in any other manner, internal alarms go off for me. I'm not saying I don't enjoy a drop or 2 of mignonette every now and then but if an oyster needs it, that's not an oyster I want.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Anytime I see them prepared in any other manner, internal alarms go off for me. =R=

I used to be that way, too, and the first few times I was served a dressed oyster, my heart sank because I'd been expecting them unadorned. Now, I'm happy to seem them -- as I do every other dish -- as an expression of the chef's creativity.

Oysters have a delicate flavor, of course, and you want that to come into play, but roe has a delicate flavor as well, and adding it to a dish seems not, at least for me, to now or ever have set off alarms.

I think there's quite a difference between the presentation of a solitary oyster as an amuse bouche and an establishment dressing entire orders of oysters in a similar manner, unordered (which no one has yet claimed is going on here).

Kman wrote:I think there's quite a difference between the presentation of a solitary oyster as an amuse bouche and an establishment dressing entire orders of oysters in a similar manner, unordered (which no one has yet claimed is going on here).

True, my example is of a single order, but about a month ago I ordered a half- dozen at Homestead and they all came dressed. I liked them so much I'm working on a longer newspaper piece about them and will post the link here when it's published. I was, as I've mentioned, taken aback when I saw them but I ended up liking them quite a lot. I should say that on the menu, they were not advertised as "dressed," and I can certainly see how that might be a problem for some. It was actually kind of a problem for me, and I think Carolyn too, but I ended up being turned around by them.

David Hammond wrote:

Kman wrote:I think there's quite a difference between the presentation of a solitary oyster as an amuse bouche and an establishment dressing entire orders of oysters in a similar manner, unordered (which no one has yet claimed is going on here).

True, my example is of a single order, but about a month ago I ordered a half- dozen at Homestead and they all came dressed. I liked them so much I'm working on a longer newspaper piece about them and will post the link here when it's published. I was, as I've mentioned, taken aback when I saw them but I ended up liking them quite a lot. I should say that on the menu, they were not advertised as "dressed," and I can certainly see how that might be a problem for some. It was actually kind of a problem for me, and I think Carolyn too, but I ended up being turned around by them.

See now, that's a big difference IMO. I'm glad the result was found to be pleasing but there's a situation where I'd expect this to either be noted on the menu or for the server to mention this. I'm totally accepting of the fact that the kitchen's additions *could* make for a great flavor combo but my expectation when ordering oysters on the half-shell is that they be naked. If the kitchen sends out mignonettes and other various items on the *side* that's OK but I don't want someone adorning my oysters anymore than I'd want them to decide to pour ketchup on my steak.

Kman wrote:

David Hammond wrote:

Kman wrote:I think there's quite a difference between the presentation of a solitary oyster as an amuse bouche and an establishment dressing entire orders of oysters in a similar manner, unordered (which no one has yet claimed is going on here).

True, my example is of a single order, but about a month ago I ordered a half- dozen at Homestead and they all came dressed. I liked them so much I'm working on a longer newspaper piece about them and will post the link here when it's published. I was, as I've mentioned, taken aback when I saw them but I ended up liking them quite a lot. I should say that on the menu, they were not advertised as "dressed," and I can certainly see how that might be a problem for some. It was actually kind of a problem for me, and I think Carolyn too, but I ended up being turned around by them.

See now, that's a big difference IMO. I'm glad the result was found to be pleasing but there's a situation where I'd expect this to either be noted on the menu or for the server to mention this. I'm totally accepting of the fact that the kitchen's additions *could* make for a great flavor combo but my expectation when ordering oysters on the half-shell is that they be naked. If the kitchen sends out mignonettes and other various items on the *side* that's OK but I don't want someone adorning my oysters anymore than I'd want them to decide to pour ketchup on my steak.

I agree...but here's the thing. If it were indicated on the menu that the oysters were dressed, I probably wouldn't have ordered them. But I ended up liking them, so I can't say I'm glad the condiments weren't listed on the menu. It's a kind of conundrum.

Now, if the kitchen had sloshed on some cocktail sauce, mignonette, or even lemon...that would have been a problem.

David Hammond wrote:
I agree...but here's the thing. If it were indicated on the menu that the oysters were dressed, I probably wouldn't have ordered them. But I ended up liking them, so I can't say I'm glad the condiments weren't listed on the menu. It's a kind of conundrum.

Now, if the kitchen had sloshed on some cocktail sauce, mignonette, or even lemon...that would have been a problem.

Valid point. I just think that this is a situation that with a good waitstaff they proactively engage you in that conversation and describe their unique presentation and ask you to trust them, that you'll like it (perhaps offering up an initial smaller portion to minimize everyone's risk). If they end up being right you're even more likely to let them steer you to other potentially unique things with a greater trust for the kitchen. Sincerely not my point to beat this into the ground, just responding in the spirit of the commando vs no-no topic starter and how - given the initial response of those preferring a more purist presentation - I would expect/desire an establishment not adhering to the more traditional commando experience to inform their customers of what to expect. In a world where $3 oysters are the new normal I'd want to know in advance that I'm getting something different before I actually get it.

I really agree with kman
I want to know ahead of time if I'm not getting a classic
I'm always reminded of a disastrous dinner Frank and I had at Bobby's in Deerfield,
where the crabcakes came with spaghetti and cheese inside them
and the escargot were topped with mozzarella!
The server innocently told us they were
"Chef Augie's Special way"
Oh they were special alright.
specially awful
if my escargot are not garlic butter you better darn well tell me so on the menu.
and if you have the stupidity or the nerve to put something as ridiculous as spaghetti in a crabcake, you better tell me that too.
JMHO.

I'm always reminded of a disastrous dinner Frank and I had at Bobby's in Deerfield,
where the crabcakes came with spaghetti and cheese inside them
and the escargot were topped with mozzarella!

This sounds like the beginning of a new thread! Speechless....

"Chef Augie's Special Escargot"

"Doctor Clem's Down-Home Brain Surgery"

"Andy Dick Presents: Your First Skydive"

My Tribune piece on dressed oysters at Homestead on the Roof just went up. If you're in the No-Go camp, prepare to be pissed:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/restaurants/ct-oysters-homestead-eat-this-food-0329-20170323-story.html

My first-ever oysters (and I can still see, in my mind's eye, everything about the place and the night) were in Panama City, Florida, slid out of their shells onto saltines and and dabbed with cocktail sauce, lemon juice, and horseradish. I can have them other ways, but for better or for worse, that remains my baseline. I guess that's a variation on the Pizza Cognition Theory, which plays a role in so many discussions of what's "right" and "wrong" about certain foods and dishes.

Katie wrote:My first-ever oysters (and I can still see, in my mind's eye, everything about the place and the night) were in Panama City, Florida, slid out of their shells onto saltines and and dabbed with cocktail sauce, lemon juice, and horseradish. I can have them other ways, but for better or for worse, that remains my baseline. I guess that's a variation on the Pizza Cognition Theory, which plays a role in so many discussions of what's "right" and "wrong" about certain foods and dishes.

Not to be unkind to your fond memory, but I feel that Gulf Oysters (particularly those I've had in Florida) can use all the help they can get. Too frequently, they're flaccid (which may have something to do with the time of year they're harvested or the relatively warmer waters in which they live) and one-dimensional, without the brininess of the East Coast nor the minerality of the West Coast -- wrap them in bacon, double down on horseradish, douse them in cocktail sauce, and be happy!

Also, I'm a firm believer in the Pizza Cognition Theory, and I believe it indelibly screws people's perception of "authenticity."

Point taken. I did say "for better or for worse." However, if you consider that the Panama City oysters were the watershed between the never-ate-an-oyster and I-love-oysters parts of my life, I hope you can see why I forgive them any shortcomings.

Katie wrote:Point taken. I did say "for better or for worse." However, if you consider that the Panama City oysters were the watershed between the never-ate-an-oyster and I-love-oysters parts of my life, I hope you can see why I forgive them any shortcomings.

Totally, nothing to forgive...and for many years, the Gulf Coast was a primary oyster resource for the U.S.

I have one other strong memory about oysters.

I was in Washington DC to make a presentation on a research project I was working on, and I had yet to win the advisory committee over on the approach I was taking. I was sick with worry about this meeting for weeks before the trip and slept fitfully in the hotel when I got to DC. I had a free day to work on my presentation, and at some point during that day, I got a flash of insight about how to describe what I was doing and how to win the committee over. I suddenly felt very relaxed, after feeling tied up in knots for so long. I finalized my presentation and went to have dinner in Georgetown to celebrate. I took with me some Food&Wine / Saveur / Gourmet magazine to read. No doubt it was noticing that the magazine had an article about oysters that prompted my choice of restaurants in Georgetown.

So I settled into the booth, and here came my dozen oysters and glass of sauvignon blanc. I opened the magazine, and --- I am not making this up -- here is what I read:

“As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.”

-Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

Katie--

If this were FB, I'd have an emoji for you! But this isn't and so I don't. Hence, I must say:

SERIOUSLY LIKE

Geo