Oyster Geek.com

Low Country Oyster festival

What a party it was: 11,000 folks, three, four hundred kegs of beer, and 80 thousand pounds of steamed oysters. The event started at 10:30 in the morning and went till 5:00 or so.  Festivalgoers enjoyed buckets of steamed oysters for $10 and samplings from several of Charleston's local restaurants for $4.00 to $6.00.Beers, wine and soda were also available.  For entertainment there was live music on a main stage, an oyster-shucking contest and an oyster eating contest. There was also kids' play area, and sponsor booths to visit.

I apologize for not getting a photo of John Carson and Ryan Sellars, winners of the oyster-eating contest. Contestants were given three minutes to eat/drink as many 16 ounce cups of oysters as they could. As many oysters as I have eaten and as much as I like them, I don't think I could do it. John finished 6.5 cups and Ryan had 2.9. John was only 1.5 cups short of a gallon. That is crazy. Congrats to you both.  (Festival Photos)

Marco Gaspar (right) 1st place, (left) Chef Bill Drake 2nd place

photo by Alan Hawes- The Charleston Post Courrier

The shucking contest was rewarding as always. This year two of my former co-workers came in the first and second place, holding The Lobster Trap's four-year title of shucking champion of the Low Country Oyster Festival.  I won 2008/09, my son Kat won 2010 and Marco Gaspar is the 2011 winner with Chef Bill Drake coming in second. Way to go fellas. Marco shucked 45 in three minutes while Bill hit 2nd place with 37. Neither Kat nor I participated.

(Right) Cathy Milliken, 1 st place,(left) Lisa Bellamy, 2nd place

Photo by Tres Hundertmark

The girls were a little more exciting this year; their heat ended in a shuck-off.  The shuck-off was between two sisters, Lisa Bellamy and Cathy Milliken, both of whom have won the national woman's shucking contest three times.  The girls tied at 39 oysters for the first three minutes. Then they stepped it up for the two-minute shuck-off with Cathy's 35 just edging out Lisa with 34.

  Marcus Oystrillius Found

And it’s not a festival unless something freaky happens.  On our second bucket of oysters, we found him, Marcus Oystrillius, or at least his likeness. Marcus is the Roman guard who placed the rag dipped in vinegar in Christ's mouth as he hung on the cross. It is now thought that the rag was dipped in a mignonette used for pickling oysters.  This specimen has been banded and placed in my freezer.  It will be placed on EBay next Monday, so Oystergeek friends get a first chance to bid on this truly unique piece of oyster history.

Likeness of Marcus Oystrillius found in a scalded oyster at "The Low Country Oyster Festival" in Charleston, SC. photo by Tres Hundertmark

Custom Oyster Tables

Even though the event has many similarities from year to year, I always see something cool and new at the Low Country Oyster Festival. The gem of the show this year sat in the back of a pick up truck on my way out of the festival. It was a custom oyster table by Tina Councell of Iron Maiden Studios in Asheville,NC. These metal tables are built to suit. They contain rods for towels, spaces for condiments, slots for oyster knives, cup holders and a hole in the middle for the shells and trash. The table is easily sprayed down for cleaning. If you have a couple roasts a year this table is an essential part of your outdoor cookout area. You can check out a few photos in the photo gallery or lots more on Iron Maiden studio’s facebook page .

Custom Oyster Table in action (photo-from Iron Maiden facebook page)

Oyster Bar Hopping in Charleston

Besides the oyster festival, Charleston is a great town for strolling through the streets and alleys while oyster bar-hopping.  We discovered a new raw bar, Amen Street fish & raw bar.  We sat at the bar with Nate and Chief at Pearlz, and Pearl introduced me to Hank's.

Hank's seafood restaurant & raw bar  (photo from Hanks website)

Hank's, at the corner of Church and Hayne St. was the first low country oyster bar we visited. Actually Pearl was making this call. She had been here on business several years back and remembered a wonderful dinner at the bar and wanted to share.  Back then she had taken the advice or two other parties at the bar and had the Low Country Bouillabaisse, a dish Hank's is know for.  No sense trying to reinvent the wheel.  I expect all kinds of things when I order Bouillabaisse out at restaurants.  Right down to the rouille on the croutons, this stuff was spot on.  The large broth-filled portion of fish, mussels, clams, shrimp, and scallops shared with the beet salad and bubbles made for a great late dinner on Friday evening.  Hank's oyster bar serves gulf oysters, however we did not have any there, having shared a dozen Virginia oysters and NC clams on the half shell back at villa that afternoon for happy hour with our Pearly Gates.  With a kumquat tree in the courtyard it did not take long to get some in a glass with a little liquor.  A long time tradition in the South is a happy hour of cocktails and snacks enjoyed in the afternoon prior to supper in order to soothe the activity of the day and excite your appetite, for the evening ahead.

What's a Pearly Gate, you ask?

Pearly Gate (Pearl pomegranate vodka, cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, club soda, kumquat halves) photo by Tres Hundertmark

While the beverage is heavenly, it gets its name for the gate you have to walk through to get into the courtyard of the villa and the kumquat tree.  A pearly gate as it is the gateway out into an oyster filled weekend in one of my favorite Southern towns.  (Photos)

Amen Street Oyster Bar (photos)was the new discovery this trip.  Enjoying a mixed dozen of oysters and clams at the bar with a glass of wine and beer, taking an afternoon load off.  They were not the first oysters of the day, as we walked off our lunch at Husk (photos).  Had I bothered to even look at the menu at the time I would have noticed that Amen St. serves both gulf and specialty oysters that are listed on the daily special sheet.  Amen St. has a large bar, nice casual feel, friendly service and some very cool oyster shell chandeliers.

Next time I think I will have to try their famous shrimp corndogs and both the crudo and flounder ceviche looked to be right up my alley.  I got a chance to chat with Charles Hayes for shucker profiles,  he was kind enough to share some of their oysters shooters with us. Thanks Charles

Charles Hayes- Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar  photo by Tres Hundertmark

After a little more walking we found ourselves back at Pearlz, my usual spot for oysters when in Charleston. I visit Pearlz every time I attend the Low Country Oyster Festival and have had a chance to make a few friends over the years.  This particular night Nate and Chief were behind the oyster bar.  I ordered a mixed dozen and a bowl of crab soup, and  Nate hooked us up with an order of their wasabi citrus oysters too(photos). As we enjoyed the oysters, Nate told me about the oysters that they are bag-raising. I can't wait to follow up on that story. 

Tulley Alley photo by Pearl

I have already put Charleston on my dance card for next year.  I look forward to getting back into the shucking contest, strolling through the streets and alleys with Pearl looking for new places to eat oysters and catching up with friends at the old favorites. I also hope to create a new kumquat libation to celebrate the  great southern tradition of the happy hour while enjoying the courtyard through the pearly gate at the end of Tulley Alley.  Hope to see you there.

"The most important things in life aren't things"

                                                                                  J.O. Wintzell

Have another oyster

 2 dozen Delicious gulf oysters

So before the year ended I just had to finish out the year beating the oysters eaten in one sitting at The Lobster Trap in Asheville.  There just are not too many places you can get a $6 dozen of oysters any more. I had shucked thousands at the trap on Tuesday nights over the years so it was fun to sit down to .50 cent oysters on Tuesday night at the Trap.  The current record was 11 dozen and one oyster. I stopped at a twelve dozen, ordering the last five so the guys could get out of the kitchen.  I think I could have easily eaten three more to get on the wall of fame at the Acme in New Orleans.  I also enjoyed several Oyster House beers with my oysters.

Grand Central Holidays

 Pearl at Grand Central Oyster Bar Thanksgiving 2010

At the recommendation of the Oyster Geek himself, I decided to pay a visit to the Grand Central Oyster Bar on my annual Thanksgiving visit to Manhattan.

I ventured into Grand Central on the day after Thanksgiving and, as expected, it was teeming with travelers making their way into and out of the City. If you’ve never been to Grand Central Station, besure to stop and take it all in as you arrive. Then head down to the “Dining Concourse” to find the Grand Central Oyster Bar………….. Read about all of Pearl’s visit to GCOB in oyster stories and check out all the photo’s she took in the gallery.

Winter Oyster Events

 Kat after winning Low Country Oyster Festival Shucking Contest Jan. 2010

A little less than two weeks to go for both the Low Country Oyster festival in Charleston, SC and the Sun Wine Fest shucking  competition at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncastle, CT.

Then the Schlafly’s Oyster and Stout festival in March the week after the shucking contest at the International Seafood Show in Boston.

 Champion East Coast Star Shucking Team w/ The Schlafly's Cup

(Below) Tres (above) Paul, Greg, Pat (not shown) Bimbo & Minola

Best Coast Star Shuckers

What's new on Oystergeek.com

Oystergeek is now on facebook. Come like the page an share it with our oyster loving friends.

New Oyster Knife in the geeks friends.  Check out the whole Deglon line ofoyster and shellfish knives.

Check out the winter oyster events coming up. Hope to see you there.

“It is harder to be a good winner than a good loser.  One has less practice.”                                                                                                     J.O. Wintzell

Thank you, Senator Landrieu

            Certainly happy to be a winner on this one, we all need to raise a glass to Louisiana’s Dem. Senator Mary Landrieu for her persistence on including language in food safety bill S.510 that limits the FDA authority on the treatment of post harvest oysters. 

            Long story short, the FDA is trying to require post harvest treatment of gulf oysters that are harvested from April through October. California has banned the sale of gulf oysters all together.

            For the sake of all oyster eaters I would encourage we all band together. For the sake of all oysters I would encourage everyone to consider what future ramifications may be if it were allowed that any oyster anywhere be classified as unfit for its shear potential to be unsafe. For further investigation read Landrieu

Wellfleet Oyster Festival Shucking Great Time

William (Chopper) Young & Tres (Oyster Geek) Hundertmark

            I have had the pleasure to attend many different oyster festivals. There are many things that they have in common and things they do differently. One thing that I really liked about the Wellfleet festival is the number of raw bar locations.  While many festivals have one center area for raw or steamed oysters, at the Wellfleet festival they are scattered throughout the event area, and are operated by the folks who grow and harvest the oysters. I had the pleasure of shucking for Chopper Young, winner of the 2008 world shucking championship and just about every shucking contest he enters. Working a table with my son Kat, the two of us shucked 4,400 of Wellfleet’s finest in roughly ten hours over the two day event while the booth sold a little over ten thousand oysters by 3:30 on  Sunday afternoon.

            The shucking contest was a great deal of fun; being able to make it to the second round and shucking on the second day against my friend Antoine from The Union Oyster house in Boston was a treat. Not a good enough treat to claim any of the prize money this time out, but to be able to compete with this crew makes you feel pretty good.  Shucking shellfish and the ability to do so is a way of life in Wellfleet. Congrats to Kyle Morse who was the winner of the 2010 Wellfleet contest and good luck in Maryland next year.

Brilliant

The road to Galway, the Guinness world shucking championship

Mike Martin 2010 NationalOyster Shucking Champ

            Competitive oyster shucking has been a wonderful way to meet a great deal of folks from diverse walks of life all over the country.  This was the first year in the last five that I did not attend the National Shucking Contest since it occurs on the same weekend as the Wellfleet festival. However, thedistance between the events did not keep us from being there in spirit.  2010’s National Oyster shucking champion is Mike Martin from Dusty’s Oyster Bar in Panama City, FL with a shucking time of 2min. 04 sec. for 24 oysters and an adjusted time of 2:41 with penalty assessments.  While this will be Mike’s first trip to Galway, Dusty’s now brags two national champions behind the oyster bar. Scotty O’lear, the general manager, has made the trip across the pond four times. Friend Dusty's on facebook and tell Mike "Congrats"

Ancient Oysters

              As part of the Wellfleet oyster festival I was asked to do a cooking demonstration. It was not hard to decide that the perfect oyster geek recipe to do would be something a little old school, ok really old school. The recipe came out fantastic and had a wonderful flavor with the brininess of the Wellfleet oysters.

Roman Oyster Sauce

It is a recipe from Apicius De Re Coquinaria, the first cook bookin recorded history from 4th century AD

Makes sauce for 24 oysters on the half shell

Ingredients

1/8 tsp. black pepper

2 Tbl. sp. Lovage, chopped (celery leaves can be substituted)

1 Tbl. sp. ver jus (sherry vinegar may be substituted)

1 Tbl. sp. garum (nauc maum) fermented fish sauce

1 Tbl.sp. wine wine

2 each egg yolks

6 oz. olive oil

Procedure

{This process is very similar to making Bearnaise sauce}

Place all ingredients in a sauté pan except yolks and oil. Reduce till half the volume. Allow to come to room temperature. Mix ingredients in stainless steal mixing bowl with egg yolks. Place over heat and whisk till doubles in volume(may wish to use a double boiler). Remove from heat, slowly add the oil in a steady stream while still whisking. The finished product will be the consistency of mayonnaise.

What’s New on Oystergeek.com

*     Lee & Rick's Oyster bar in Orlando was added to the oyster bars to visit area, thanks to Ryan White. Friend them up on thier facebook page. Check them out when you are in town.

*     The Roman oyster sauce has been placed in the oyster recipes archive.

*     Three new albums have been added in the photo gallery.

“Better be ready and not go, than go and not be ready."   ~J.O. Wintzell

Oystergeek.com

       My name is Tres Hundertmark, and I am the oyster geek. I created this website and blog to share my passion for oysters and oyster-related topics.  I offer it in hopes that those who enjoy it will feel free to add their knowledge and experiences in order to help create a source that all will find entertaining, be able to use as a tool to assist when traveling to find oyster bars and oyster farms, to discover new products and links to promote expanding knowledge and contacts, and to share oyster and oyster-related activities and events. 

One of the Original Oyster geeks

J. Oliver Wintzell

            I will not show Oliver’s photo on every blog post, but I will begin each with one of his many quotes.  If you have ever been lucky enough to have been in any of the many Wintzell’s  oyster houses you would have noticed the thousands of signs on the walls donning the many quotes that can be found in his book, Oysters and Politics and Bits of Wit and Wisdom the signs in Wintzell’s oyster house.  Oliver(1905-1980) was the quintessential shucker. He loved oysters, knowing all about them, shucking them chatting up his customers, and sharing with his community. You can learn more about Oliver in the ShuckersProfile section of Oystergeek.com

Let's go to an Oyster Festival

            If you live on the East coast, you are within driving distance of an oyster festival on the weekend of October 16th and 17th with both the Florida and North Carolina state oyster festivals happening.  If you can make it to St. Mary’s County oyster festival in Maryland you can watch the country's top shuckers compete for a trip to the world shucking championship in Ireland to represent the USA at the National Oyster shucking championship. You can also watch competitors in the National oyster recipe contest.  A little further north you can experience dozen after dozen of true blue point oysters in Oyster Bay LongIsland, New York for their oyster festival, or you can spend the weekend on Cape Cod for Wellfleet’s annual event. Regardless of which festival you choose, you are guaranteed to have a wonderful weekend of live music, wonderful seafood treats, cooking and shucking contests, cooking demonstrations, and oysters, oysters, oysters. Find out the details of these events and other fall festivals and bivalve celebrations inthe Oyster Event section on oystergeek.com. 

The Little Easy shucks the Big Easy

A helping hand

            I feel very fortunate to have an opportunity to become part of the community in my new home of Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Since I moved here in the spring I have had a chance to meet and work with a group of great folks whose kindness and generosity have made me feel welcome.  I left New Orleans to come to Cape Cod just a few days after the oil spill in the Gulf began and while I was excited to begin my new oyster adventure I knew that the oyster future in the Gulf was going to be bleak. 

            I am proud to work for an organization like Mac’s Seafood who, when huge companies like Red Lobster are running from Gulf oysters, a small family business in Cape Cod is looking for a way to aid fellow fishermen and seafood industry employees on the coast. Mac’s has pledged a percentage of the oyster sales from their restaurants, fish markets,and seafood wholesale business to seafood industry employees in the Gulf.

            Mac Hay is not the only one either. As a fishing and oyster community, the town came out to the Congregational church on a rainy Monday evening for a fundraising event. “Benefit the Bayou” brought New Orleans’ own Henry Butler to our town to support a foundation that will allow Wellfleetian’s to restore a mile of Louisiana wetlands. These are efforts that will not only help restore the coastline but also provide oysters with a better habitat in which to thrive. You can learn more about how to aid Gulf coast oyster industry employees by enjoying Wellfleet oysters on my home page at oystergeek.com.