The Texas Department of Health closed the oyster season on Friday due to an algae bloom. The problem isn’t the potentially deadly vibrio vulnificus, but another organism called dinophysis, which is usually found in colder waters. The organism is often a problem in Scandinavia where it is responsible for mussel bed closings in the North Sea. [...]
Oysters Gihooley won several more converts yesterday. Mike Lavigne, a government relations consultant from Austin was in town to learn about the oyster biz. He liked the pecan-smoked barbecued oysters a whole lot. So did my buddy John Bebout. I couldn’t believe Bebout never had them before. At Lavigne’s request, we put together a rump council of the oyster industry in San Leon to discuss some of the political problems in the Texas oyster biz. It was a very interesting discussion. read more Oysters and Politics at Gilhooley’s »  
Preacher Pappy won fourth place in the oyster decorating contest at Fulton Oysterfest in 2009. I suspect that this Preacher Pappy Oyster Brew wagon was this year’s entry in the contest. I didn’t try any — not because I don’t believe in the medicinal value of oyster tonic. There simply wasn’t any thing ailing me [...]
While I was in New Orleans for the Louisiana Oyster Producers meeting, I joined Dr. John Supan on the annual oyster-eating tour he calls his “entourage.” We started with the charbroiled oysters at Drago’s in Metairie. These are prepared on a gas grill by dumping garlicky butter and oil on shucked oysters until the flames shoot up all around the bivalves and char the parmesan cheese and the oyster shells. The char is the key to the incredible flavor. As I reported in Sex, Death & Oysters, these are among the best grilled oysters on the planet. Drago’s didn’t even serve grilled oysters when it opened 40 years ago. read more Charbroiled Oysters at Drago’s »   Dr. John Supan Dr. John Supan, head of oyster research at LSU, is a visionary who is leading the Louisiana oyster industry out of the 19th century and into a brave new world of oyster farming. Supan built an oyster hatchery in Western Louisiana that would have revolutionized the leasing business, if it hadn’t been destroyed by hurricanes. Undaunted, he is building another hatchery on Grand Isle. He is also developing a Gulf triploid. A triploid is a sterile oyster that retains its sweet plumpness through the summer because it doesn’t convert glycogen to gonad. Dr. Supan, or “Soup” as he prefers to be known, invited me to speak at his annual oyster get-together in New Orleans last week. I asked Jim Gossen to come along and help me present a new idea in Gulf oyster marketing. I’ll write more about my talk and my modest proposal to the Louisiana oystermen over the course of the week. But first, check out what Supan is up to. read more The Wizard of Oysters »  
The first weekend in March is prime time for Gulf oysters. It’s also the date for the annual Oysterfest in Fulton. I spent the weekend in this tiny fishing port near Rockport along with a whole lot of tourists. Every year, tens of thousands of festival-goers eat several tons of raw oysters. The oysters here [...] 
photo by Robb Walsh In this review of Sex, Death & Oysters on the entertaining Eat Me Daily food blog, I make a convert: One thing this book did do, if nothing else, was inspire me to go out and try my first Galveston Bay oysters (though as of this writing we’re a bit closer to the [...] Canada’s National Post reviewed Sex, Death & Oysters in the April 3 issue in a book review titled Slimy, Salty and HIstorically Vital–in their format each review ends with the question “Buy It or Skip It?” Thank goodness the book got the “Buy It” verdict! Read the full review:
I had oysters for breakfast in honor of Ariel Barkhurst’s review of Sex, Death & Oysters in the San Antonio Express-News, which is headlined: “Writer Says Oysters Should Be Everyday Fare.” Here’s Ariel’s review:  |
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