Raw Passion: Oysters Once, Oysters Twice

I'll eat them any time of year, but to my mind raw oysters and winter are a perfect pairing. And I'm not fussy about the beverage to accompany them, whether white, bubbly, pink, hoppy or of the cocktail persuasion…Bloody Mary, anyone? So during these cold(er) months I'm dedicating myself to uncovering some of Portland's better places to slurp some bivalves, both the well-known and those that are more under-the-oyster bed.

Counter-clockwise from 1 o'clock: Seacow, Kumamoto, Chelsea Green, Petites, Cape Breton, Malpeque.

When it came to picking the first spot to start this odyssey with my equally bivalve-obsessed friend, Michele, we settled on EaT, An Oyster Bar on North Williams Avenue. Dedicated to the seafood-bejeweled culture of New Orleans, EaT is known as a mecca for the fresh product and seemed like the right place to lay the foundation for our explorations.

We sat down to ponder the offerings over their very cute 12-oz. mugs of beer, the perfect size to sip over a dozen mollusks. Lucky for us there were six oysters on the board, two from Washington, two from Oregon and, oddly, two from Eastern Canada, which just the right amount to sample one apiece and compare notes.

• Seacow (Washington): Medium-sized, tender but with a sweet, meaty chew. Nice and briny.
• Kumamoto (Oregon): Small and sweet with a creamy texture that still had some chew to it. A longtime favorite.
• Chelsea Green (Washington): Tiny (smaller than Kumamotos!), briny and sweet, these were impressive. Like the Seacows, they have a meaty texture. Definitely the winners on the board.
• Petites (Oregon): Medium-sized with a super mild flavor, meaty texture and good brininess.
• Cape Breton (Nova Scotia): Super briny/salty, but with a lingering sweetness. A tougher texture than the others, we wondered if it was because they came from so far away.
• Malpeque (Prince Edward Island): Like the Cape Bretons, very briny but a little less chewy. Nice if you like salty. Also not as plump as the NW oysters…again, true to type or too much travel?

Since we were there to taste the oysters themselves, the proffered lemon wedges remained unsqueezed. We came to the conclusion that we need to come back soon and have a dozen Chelsea Greens each during EaT's happy hour when oysters are a buck apiece, a truly great deal.

Details: EaT, An Oyster Bar, 3808 N Williams Ave. 503-281-1222.

* * *

It just so happened that a day or two after the sampling at EaT, Dave and I decided to pause during what we euphemistically call The Running of the Errands to have a beer at Interurban on North Mississippi. Their list, though not long, is very well-curated and the cozy, log cabin-like bar feels just right on chilly winter days.

From left to right: Denman Island, Pearl Bay, Buckley Bay.

Dave's fondness for raw oysters rivals my own, which is yet another stitch securing the quilt that is our marriage. So while the Olympic Provisions hot dog, onion rings and other items on the mid-day menu were tempting, when we saw the fresh oysters our decision was made. There were just three on offer that day, all from British Columbia, and while we've been known to scarf down a dozen apiece and hanker for more, a half dozen seemed an adequate sampling on this day.

• Denman Island: Medium-sized like its siblings, its frilly shell gleaming and pearlescent, we found these sweet and meaty with a fresh brininess.
• Pearl Bay: Also sweet, this oyster was creamy more than meaty, practically melting on the tongue.
• Buckley Bay: Much like the Denman Island, though slightly brinier than the other two.

All were excellent and provided an intriguing view of the tastes intrinsic to the individual waters from which they came. Tasting notes online suggested that these oysters tend to have a lingering melon or cucumber finish, and we found this to be true as well.

As for the beers, my Boneyard Beer IPA proved an excellent counterpoint to the richness of the oysters, clearing my palate between bites. But I was grinding my teeth over not ordering Dave's pick, a glorious pint of darkness, the CDA from Hood River's Pfriem Family Brewers. Roasty, medium-bodied and with a dry hoppiness, it's the ideal foil for raw oysters (or, in my opinion, just about any food) and definitely worth going in to have while its still on the list.

Details: Interurban, 4057 N Mississippi Ave. 503-284-6669.

Briny Beginnings

Last night we were invited to dinner at the home of friends and, as usual, I asked what we could bring. "Oh, maybe an appetizer. But nothing fancy," was their reply. Now, they were serious about the "nothing fancy" part, but I know this particular couple loves a good starter and so I was mulling over the possibilities.

It's not yet tomato season, so a caprese bruschetta, one of my own top-of-the-list apps, was out of the running. And Asian chicken wings sounded tasty, but might be a little much since steaks were on the menu for dinner. A fava bean and mint spread would be seasonal and appropriate, but the farmers' markets were already over for the day.

Then it hit me: fresh oysters! Light yet wonderfully flavorful, totally seasonal and local, and relatively inexpensive yet classy. And though Dave and I aren't big on complements other than the occasional drop or two of lemon with our bivalves, a mignonette seemed like a fun addition.

There are at least two sources of fresh NW oysters in town, Dan & Louis' Oyster Bar and Newman's Fish Co. in City Market, with prices around $12-$18 a dozen or so, depending on the variety. Dan & Louis had Pickering Pass oysters from Washington for the lower price, so we dropped by and picked those up on the way to dinner. I'd whipped up a slightly esoteric ginger lemon mignonette, which was wonderful with the creamy, briny little oysters and got some nice props for my choice from the hosts.

If you're looking for something a little off-the-beaten path for apps this summer, I'd recommend giving oysters a try. And let me know if you've got a fave supplier in the area…more sources are good!

Lemon Ginger Mignonette

Adapted from Epicurious

1/3 c. rice vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. fresh ginger, minced fine or grated
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. green onion, minced (optional)

Combine vinegar, ginger, lemon zest and salt in small bowl, stir, then allow to steep for 10 min. Strain and add green onion, if desired, before serving alongside fresh oysters.

Taking a Break

You know how Saturdays go. If you have small kids, there are the inevitable soccer-baseball-football practices or horseback-riding lessons, not to mention the housecleaning-dishes-laundry that's been piling up all week at everyone's house (including mine, even though I work at home), plus walks for the dog or trips to the grocery store. You catch my drift.

The perfect martini

But yesterday I decided to jump off the conveyor belt and take a couple of hours to ride Max out to the Expo Center with a couple of friends and listen to Michelle Kaufmann (see post, below), architect and green building advocate. Afterwards, it being 4 pm or so, we were in need of conversation, food and libation, and rather than heading to our respective homes to dredge up something for dinner, we had the bright idea to go together to (you guessed it...) a bar.

Clockwise from bottom: Salutation, Nootka, Chef's Creek. Not shown: Kumamoto and Fanny Bay

I hadn't been to the Alberta Street Oyster Bar & Grill since it had closed due to the owner's financial difficulties and reopened when the chef took it over and arranged new financing, keeping much of the previous (and excellent staff) intact. And am I glad we did. We started with an excellent Hendrick's martini and a dozen-and-a-half of the freshest, most lovely oysters I've had in a long time.

Mignonettes (clockwise from bottom): champagne; cucumber-horseradish; black pepper; orange fennel

The exotics were the Salutation Cove oysters from Bedeque Bay on Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, that had been described as creamy and briny. While excellent, they were a bit bland compared with the Northwest representatives, though we scarfed them all down in no time, completely ignoring the lovely and tasty plate of four mignonettes, any of which would be great on a salad with some nice olive oil.

Beet salad

We followed those, at K's insistence (don't you hate friends like that?), with Alberta Street's terrific fries and spicy aioli along with a salt-roasted beet salad with candied almonds and smoked duck. The fries were crispy and not at all greasy, and as for the salad, what's not to like about a combination like that except that it doesn't come with free refills?

Mussels

Last but not least we had a big bowl of their blue mussels with pork jowl, black mustard and beer. Needless to say, the mussels were perfectly steamed and much sopping of broth was done by everyone. It was a little scary to have this much fun playing hooky from household chores, but we may just have to do it again sometime. And soon.

Details: Alberta Street Oyster Bar & Grill, 2926 NE Alberta St. Phone 503-284-9600.

A Date with the Best Oysters in Portland

"A raw oyster was not designed for our pleasure. Appreciating it is more like catching a glimpse of a fox in the woods: The experience lasts only a moment but leaves us in a fleeting state of grace. Oysters are not easy or obvious, but few foods so exquisitely balance sweet, salty, savory, and mineral. Few foods so reward our efforts."

From 'A Geography of Oysters' by Rowan Jacobsen

We don't do date nights very often. We tend to go out with friends, or stop at the pub on the weekend for a beer. And I know, you parents of little kids are saying, "Oh, my God, you are so lucky!" And so we are. Our "kid" is 23 and all grown up, and waves us out the door when we leave. He can even feed the pets if need be.

So when we heard a story about slurping raw oysters on NPR last week, we were compelled to make a date to eat some of those briny delicacies. Having slurped our way through various oyster spots around town, our favorite (and the best deal we've found) is in the little pocket bar at Dan and Louis Oyster Bar down by the river. For just under $19 you can get a dozen of the freshest, liveliest little bivalves imaginable. Then, when we got there, we found that we'd just missed their happy hour, where from Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 pm you can get a dozen of three kinds of selected oysters for only $9.95. $9.95 for some of the best oysters in the country? Now that's what a happy hour should be about!

But, since we'd missed that crazy deal by an hour or so, our first dozen was the sampler, a selection of the day's offerings. Clockwise from top left are three each of Gigamoto, Kumamoto, Quilcene and Netarts. The Gigamotos are the smallest, with shells only about 1 1/2" long, with the tiniest oyster I'd ever seen inside. It takes nearly five years for them to reach even this diminutive size, and they have a delicate and slightly sweet taste with a salty tinge. The Kumamotos are long-time favorites, with their tiny size, meaty texture and salty goodness. The Quilcenes were good, but weren't as flavorful as the Netarts which, despite their larger size (only about an inch-and-a-half long) were light and had a fresh, wonderful ocean-y taste.

And, as any Northwest oyster lover knows, the delicate, fresh-from-the-sea flavor of our oysters don't need to be covered up with no stinkin' cocktail sauce, and even lemon overwhelms their loveliness. So, at least in our case, condiments are to be eschewed at all times.

Our choice for a beverage to accompany raw oysters is, ideally, a dry gin martini with olives. If you must have beer, while we are all about drinking super-hoppy IPAs with a burger and fries, a nice Mirror Pond Pale Ale is a much better choice in this instance. Which, come to think of it, is one reason we didn't go to Dan and Louis for so many years. Believe it or not, they actually didn't serve alcohol until just a few years ago, hard to believe when oysters and a beer are practically a requirement elsewhere.

Oh, in case you're wondering, the second dozen was six each of the Kumamotos and Netarts. We would have gone for a third dozen (these things go downlike popcorn) but somehow we pulled out of the briny vortex and vowed to come back during happy hour. Soon.

One caveat at this place: It is best to avoid anything else on the menu. If you must, you can try the oyster stew or the clam chowder, but to delve any deeper into their offerings is to court disappointment in the form of a truly mediocre meal.

Details: Dan and Louis Oyster Bar, 208 SW Ankeny. Phone 503-227-5906.