Monday, monday...

Hi Moms and Pops! Well, the sun and spirits rose this morning after three straight days of downright miserable weather (see below). My weekend consisted mostly of hanging out at the fairgrounds, helping out with the Oyster Festival. Time was split between dispensing adult beverages and timing the Shuckers. I therefore didn’t get to observe any of the cooking aspect of the Festival, although I did taste some of the results. It’s amazing what people can think of to do with the humble oyster. Sometimes simple preps of simple food is a good thing – one of the entries in this year’s cookbook for instance has a recipe for “Cordoba Oysters over Lemon Scented Linguine”, with 15 ingredients. A nice dish probably, but maybe more to catch the judge’s eye than the consumer’s palate.

From the beer stand you can pretty much keep track of the attendees, and although numbers were held down by the miserable weather (see below), there were still more than we had feared. And, despite temperatures in the 40’s, the golden liquid poured from the taps almost continuously. Sam Adam’s Oktoberfest probably was the highest seller (only other options were Coor’s Light, Killians, and Blue Moon). Guinness was also available at another stand. I am always somewhat bemused by those customers who, upon finding that Bud Light is not available and only Coor’s is on the list, will turn and walk away. Discerning.

Being around the oyster shuckers (called “openers” in Europe) is always a fun experience. With a few exceptions, they are mostly the same set from year to year and they really enjoy themselves. Most work in raw bars, so if hands aren't holding an oyster knife, they probably are gripping a beer and/or cigarette. Very friendly folk. This year’s overall National Champion was Scotty O’Lear from Florida with a winning time of just over 3 minutes, resulting from actual opening time plus added penalty points for off the shell, cut, not completely released, or dirty oysters. I think he had just over a minute of added seconds, so the real shucking time was under two minutes. Try that at home with two dozen of the balky bivalves!

One of the experiences I will always remember from this year was standing at the back of a pickup truck with tailgate down, positioned behind the shucking stand, where the oysters are “prepared” for shucking (cleaning, knocking off doubles, etc.). It was bone chilling cold, the rain was coming sideways, we were in almost ankle deep mud, but we had freshly scalded oysters (propane cooker), hot sauce, crackers, and beer in plastic cups. Life can be good.

Left Turn

Another annual feature on Festival Weekend, is Tom Sietsema’s annual Dining Guide in the Washington Post Magazine. This year was the 10th edition and thank goodness it wasn’t centered on the economy, (value meals, early birds, etc.) but contains his 50 favorite restaurants. He also added another to the “four star” category, an Indian restaurant. The “four stars/superlative” are: CityZen; Komi; Rasika; Inn at Little Washington; and Restaurant Eve’s Tasting Room. All save Rasika (Indian) are “contemporary American” cuisine. Somewhat surprisingly, Michel Richard’s venues of Citronelle and Central garnered 4½ and 3 stars. Our old favorite Kinkeads didn’t even get listed. The ebb and flow of the restaurant world. Tom claims that over those 10 years, he has consumed 4000 restaurant meals. That’s more than one a day! Not sure the feeder is up to that level..

The Miserable Weather:



A busy week ahead, followed by yet another road trip!! Ee hah and an opportunity to

DFD