During COVID, a group of people in our seafood industry and those that chronicle the industry and its workers came together to form a non-profit called chefsbrigade.org. Their first event was part of the Superbowl in 2024. It was an “Oyster Crawl,” with people visiting restaurants who had prepared special dishes featuring local oysters.
“Local “oysters means something different now than it used to a few years back. Traditional “Gulf oysters” meant P & J’s or oysters from the Croatians, but since the popularity of Alabama’s Murder Point oysters, a lot of little oyster farmers have begun to farm oysters, and such farms have multiplied, offering a very different product. Instead of the traditional accompaniments to the raw bivalves, these fancy oysters are likely to be served with a mignonette, a light sauce to highlight these delicate versions of the Gulf bounty. I have noticed mignonette on menus for a long time, and I often wondered why the changes in the way we eat raw oysters. These new versions of Gulf oysters are much more delicate, and the horseradish and lemon of the old days would completely eclipse the taste.
I learned all this when I talked to Troy Gilbert on The Food Show. Troy is one of the founders of chefsbrigade. What I learned from this conversation is that I need to pay more attention to oyster descriptions on menus. Traditional now means Wild Caught.
Right after the show I made a beeline for the Southshore to try some of these menus. The most intriguing to me was at Rosedale, and au gratin of oysters and eggplant. But when I called I was told you had to be on the official limo crawl to have it. Oh well. Apparently you can sign up to be squired around by limo to eat oysters.
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had already decided to stick with one area, though I did want to go to get the Baby Maker at Parkway. That’s their take on the Peacemaker, which Tom often spoke of but I had never tried. When I called to order it the person who took the order had no idea what I was talking about, which was a recurring theme.
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I got the small, which was plenty enough. It was also $25. About 6 inches long, it was stuffed with big fat oysters that had wilted from the heat. There were two slices of stiff and crispy good thick bacon and two slices of nice Cheddar. I asked for it dressed, though I believe they only offered a Remoulade sauce. I got the mayo version with this house Remoulade sauce on the side. Glad I did that because it was perky, to put it mildly. I had no intention of eating this large sandwich, but it was so good I couldn’t stop.
My next stop was Junior’s on Harrison, offering Angels on Horseback, the popular fried oysters wrapped in bacon. These were smallish, served over creamed spinach and artichoke with Herbsaint. This was a delicious dish.
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My final stop was R&O’s, to have the oyster soup, which I was told is always on the menu. With some crusty bread this would be sensational. I thought the $16 sticker price seemed high for two oysters floating in a sea of butter and cream. This soup reminded me of Tom’s prize-winning Oysters au Poivre from way back in the day.
The sandwich at Parkway filled me up enough to stop after three different and all terrific ways to enjoy our Gulf oysters.
The Oyster Crawl seems like a great idea. It’s a pity it only lasts a day. They seem to still be figuring out this event. It was first offered during Superbowl in February, and last year it was in September. They want to move it to warmer months to disavow people of the “R” advisory they grew up following, so this one was in May.
Stay tuned for the evolving version of The Oyster Crawl. It’s one to watch.