Oyster Bar - Oysters at Oyster Bars

Oysters At Oyster Bars

The better oysters bars will shuck (open) your oyster only once you have placed your order. Washington Post food critic Eve Zibart argued in 1995 that "A first-class raw bar should be set aside from the rest of the restaurant, a place where you can sit right at the counter facing the ice bed and watch the shuckers work."

Oysters should be eaten raw only while live, or they should be eaten cooked. No dead oyster should be eaten raw. A live oyster will have a smooth, plump body and briny smell, while a dead oyster will smell of sulfur. Oysters from Europe should be eaten within two or three days after harvesting (since their shells do not retain large amounts of liquid), while all other oysters may be stored up to a week before being eaten. Many oyster shuckers will leave the oyster attached by its muscles to the shell, believing this keeps the oyster alive and fresher-tasting until it is consumed by the patron.

Many oyster bars carry a wide range of oysters, but believe that regionally-obtained oysters (which tend to be the freshest) taste best. Generally speaking, smaller oysters have more intense flavor and are prized by oyster afficionados, while larger oysters are more bland but praised as a better value for the money spent.

Oysters taste best when they are "in season", which is when they are not in their reproductive cycle. This is usually in the winter months. Oyster eggs (or "roe") are red in color and contained in a small membranous sac next to the female oyster's body. Consumption of oyster roe generally does not change the flavor of the oyster. Oyster roe is commonly left attached to the oyster in France, but is usually removed elswhere in the world. Male oysters produce a milky white reproductive fluid called "spawn". Male oysters in spawn taste foul, although they may be eaten without causing illness.