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Katrina and oysters

JB avatar
Beach Fanatic
9,134 views
Well, we are almost to October. Normally, the time of year when I start eating as many oysters as I can get my hands on. Problem is, the oyster beds in Louisiana are, for all intents and purposes, gone. I know Acme at baytowne wharf still gets their oysters from Lousiana (or at least they did before Katrina).

With the Bon Secour beds also destroyed, and with red tide in Appalachicola, are there any decent oysters around? If so, where are they coming from?

Replies

39
Beach Comber
#2
I eat some oysters last Monday that had come for Texas and they were
wonderful.
Beach Runner avatar
beats on hood
#3
I wonder if it's okay to eat oysters at the Taste of 30-A event this Friday. BTW is Taste of 30-A worth going to?
Smiling JOe avatar
SoWal Expert
#5
I wonder if it's okay to eat oysters at the Taste of 30-A event this Friday. BTW is Taste of 30-A worth going to?
I guess that depends whether TS Rita becomes Hurr Rita and ruins the party.
Beach Runner avatar
beats on hood
#7
Thanks for the link!
Please! Let's just hope the current models don't change.
aquaticbiology avatar
fishlips
#8
OK, here's the straight dope on oysters. They are filter feeders, so that means they suck in whatever is in the water along with their food. Imagine an organic aquarium filter in dirty water and you've about got it. Add sewage and you get a tasty oyster. I will not eat gulf oysters until next year at the earliest. Find a place that has Atlantic Oysters, since Ophelia didn't hurt their environment too badly.

Edited

Beach Runner avatar
beats on hood
#9
OK, here's the straight dope on oysters. They are filter feeders, so that means they suck in whatever is in the water along with their food. Imagine an organic aquarium filter in dirty water and you've about got it. Add sewage and you get a tasty oyster. I will not eat gulf oysters until next year at the earliest. Find a place that has Atlantic Oysters, since Ophelia didn't hurt their environment too badly.
Thanks for the advice. I don't think I'll eat any until next year AND I get the hepatitis A vaccine, just to be safe.
aquaticbiology avatar
fishlips
#10
most of the resturants up here have switched to atlantic oysters already (joe's crab shack, etc). they're a little more 'bright' tasting than gulf oysters
Dabell avatar
Beach Fanatic
#11
Does The RED BAR have cooked seafood?
shakennotstirred avatar
Beach Fanatic
#12
Yes. If my memory is right, a fish of the day, shrimp & crawfish with pasta & of course crab cakes.
Miss Kitty avatar
Meow
#13
Yes. If my memory is right, a fish of the day, shrimp & crawfish with pasta & of course crab cakes.

Remember...crab cakes on Fri/Sat night only!!
Beach Comber
#14
To Shaken Not Stirred...

Your Steeler logo caught my eye...Would you by any chance own the house by the same name in Seacrest? I am a Gateway High School graduate from Monroeville, now living in Atlanta....own Happy Hour in Seacrest Beach North.
I'm older than dirt and actually was at the game with the Immaculate Reception. Oh, how I long for the days of Myron Cope on Sports!!!
shakennotstirred avatar
Beach Fanatic
#15
To Shaken Not Stirred...

Your Steeler logo caught my eye...Would you by any chance own the house by the same name in Seacrest? I am a Gateway High School graduate from Monroeville, now living in Atlanta....own Happy Hour in Seacrest Beach North.
I'm older than dirt and actually was at the game with the Immaculate Reception. Oh, how I long for the days of Myron Cope on Sports!!!

I wish I owned some property there ...... maybe someday!

Atlanta has a lot of former Pittsburghers there.

That would of been awesome to see the Immaculate Reception in person. I don't believe that game was even televised. I miss Myron as well - he retired recently & is no longer announcing the games.
picky
#16
I'll tell you another culinary fallout from Katrina! We went to a big festival on Saturday night called The French Market. The Catholic church down the street from us, St. Joan of Arc parish, throws this bash every year and all the food is French and Creole. It's fabulous! One of the most popular items for dessert are the beignets. They're always a sell-out.

This year a sad sign: "NO Beignets Due to Katrina." They get the mix, you see, from Cafe du Monde in NO. :bang:
beachmouse avatar
Beach Fanatic
#17
You can probably still find boxes of the mix in stores like World Market/Cost Plus and Publix if you really want a beignets fix.

As far as oysters go, Apalachicola Bay is probably far enough away to not get Katrina-related polluted waters.
Smiling JOe avatar
SoWal Expert
#18
You can probably still find boxes of the mix in stores like World Market/Cost Plus and Publix if you really want a beignets fix.

As far as oysters go, Apalachicola Bay is probably far enough away to not get Katrina-related polluted waters.
I hear talk of Red Tide, not to be confused with Crimson Tide, in the area of Apalachicola. It may just be talk, so check it out for yourself.
Rita avatar
margarita brocolia
#19
I eat some oysters last Monday that had come for Texas and they were
wonderful.
:welcome: Dirtdaddy - interesting name :idontno: care to explain? Just got me curious.
JB avatar
Beach FanaticAuthor
#20
You can probably still find boxes of the mix in stores like World Market/Cost Plus and Publix if you really want a beignets fix.

As far as oysters go, Apalachicola Bay is probably far enough away to not get Katrina-related polluted waters.

Apalachicola Bay is closed to oyster harvesting due to red tide. That was exactly the point of my post - there are simply no gulf oysters available.

http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/12576817.htm

Edited

DD avatar
SoWal Expert
#21
:eek: My husband ate oysters Sat. nite from Galveston--said they were great-(I don't touch 'em). I hope that twitch he's developed isn't related! :eek:
JB avatar
Beach FanaticAuthor
#22
:eek: My husband ate oysters Sat. nite from Galveston--said they were great-(I don't touch 'em). I hope that twitch he's developed isn't related! :eek:

I'm sure they were fine. Unless one already has a compromised immune system, you really don't have to worry. Normally, the Texas beds don't open this early, but they may have been forced to do so because of the shortage everywhere else.
Beach Runner avatar
beats on hood
#23
I'm sure they were fine. Unless one already has a compromised immune system, you really don't have to worry. Normally, the Texas beds don't open this early, but they may have been forced to do so because of the shortage everywhere else.
But you never know if you have a compromised immune system. My sister was training for a marathon, and she got CMV from overtraining. She wasn't even allowed into the Gulf after Hurricane Dennis. So even well-trained, presumably healthy athletes can have compromised immune systems from overtraining and not know it.
DD avatar
SoWal Expert
#24
I'm sure they were fine. Unless one already has a compromised immune system, you really don't have to worry. Normally, the Texas beds don't open this early, but they may have been forced to do so because of the shortage everywhere else.

I'm sure they were too..I was just kidding. He had them last week too in a different restaurant, we asked where they were from--again, Galveston. The bartender showed us the "tag", said they have to keep it at the bar while they are serving the particular bag from whence they came. I never knew that :idontno: ..interesting--good idea I guess.
DD avatar
SoWal Expert
#25
"He was a bold man that first eat an oyster."--Jonathan Swift
Smiling JOe avatar
SoWal Expert
#26
"He was a bold man that first eat an oyster."--Jonathan Swift

Probably not so bold as hungry. Maybe the first person to eat a raw oyster lost a bet. I wonder how many people died from eating them before they finally determined how to properly handle them.

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