Hook, Table and Tourist

There is a cute slogan that floated around Louisiana a few years ago: “Eat oysters, love longer.” Having grown up in New Orleans, I have loved oysters for a long time. When my Dad was alive, he used to buy them by the sack and shuck them at home. Of course, as kids, we wouldn’t go near them. But as we matured and came to our senses (well, relatively speaking), we couldn’t get enough of those briny pearls.

As a teenager, I started cooking without really knowing what I was doing. My Dad and my uncles cooked all the time, so I just watched and copied their technique. Eventually, I became proficient with two dishes that became family favorites: oyster patties (in vol au vent shells), and oyster soup. Both contained milk, so they were at once salty and sweet. As my cooking became better, I learned not to overcook the oysters – to preserve their delicate flavor. Years later, I graduated into eating them raw – three dozen at a time on occasion.

My Dad had a fishing camp out on Highway 90, on Lake Catherine between the Chef Pass and the Rigolets. It was just a skinny sliver of land between two lakes adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico, with a sporadic juke joint interspersed here and there. We spent almost every weekend on the lake, and ate fresh, plentiful seafood – it was cheaper than meat. Those really were to good old days.

I’m feeling nostalgic because the oil leak has forced me to think long and hard about those oysters. In Louisiana, we’ve always taken seafood for granted – it’s a way of life and one of the foundations of our cuisine. I’m pretty angry at BP right now and I no longer take seafood for granted. It is a gift from the sea which must be protected, and I’m ready to fight for it.

While the majority of oyster beds remain safe, supply and demand is sending the price upward. The plate of oysters pictured here comes from Charlie’s Seafood in Harahan, Louisiana (a suburb of New Orleans). Chef Frank Brigtsen runs the place now, and they were absolutely delicious — crisp on the outside, and slightly creamy on the inside. A platter with side dishes fetches $15.95.

But the server told me that oysters may go off the menu soon because the price is going up as the supply goes down. Market economics are one thing, a man-made incident is another. I don’t know who is to blame, but it’s time to stand up  and say enough is enough. This is as much an economic issue as it is an environmental issue.

The environment creates the catch upon which the seafood industry depends. That harvest supports the chefs and cuisine of Louisiana, and that’s what brings tourists here.

Hook, Table and Tourist. That’s the ecosystem of the economy here.

Under-regulated oil production, under-performing governmental agencies, and corporate greed have all been exposed. Wake up and smell the brine, America.

I’m eating all the seafood I can right now. It’s comfort food for the soul.