“the oyster reigned supreme as the quintessential New York City food long before pizza, hot pretzels, bagels, and hot dogs were known to our shellfish-encrusted shores … the lower Hudson estuary once had 350 square miles of oyster beds and some biologists estimate that the New York Harbor contained half of the world’s oysters.”
So it was that John and I found ourselves on a quest for oysters in the oldest part of New York City, where the Pearl Street takes its name for having been paved with oyster shells. But as John explored the area near where the Fulton Fish Market used to sell all manner of water creatures, he failed to find one decent oyster happy hour. I similarly struck out searching Yelp and OysterHappyHour.com. Some of that could be the lingering effects of Sandy, which shuttered some businesses, but could also be part of the transition of the Wall Street area.
What happily hasn’t gone away is Delmonico’s, the legendary steakhouse that our bartender Amy proudly reminded us was the first New York restaurant, the first to have printed menus, the first to have tablecloths — really the inventors of going out to eat in our current way of thinking.
Again from the New York Public Library:
Delmonico’s, easily the vanguard restaurant of NYC and en vogue Francophiles, set the trend of serving oysters raw on the half-shell.
Delmonico’s is still doing it with oysters on the half shell
While I’ve mainly been on the quest for oyster happy hours, ideally $1 oysters, this was a pilgrimage to where it all began. And it didn’t come cheap. Delmonico’s was a splurge at $61, before tip, for one beer, one wine and one dozen oysters.
For $61 before tip, I had one Kono Sauvignon blanc, John drank a Blue Point toasted lager, which seemed the right pairing with our dozen Blue Points — probably the best known oyster name in the U.S. Ask someone who’s never eaten an oyster in his life to name a variety of oysters and he’d likely come up with Blue Points.
(Parenthetically, they’re apparently victims of imposters, too.)
The presentation matched the price tag. We got cloth tablecloths and refined china plates, and the cocktail sauce, horseradish and mignonette sauce arrived in a separate matched set of serving dishes. Like Mermaid Oyster Bar, they wrapped the lemon in muslin and presented the oysters with decorative seaweed. Delmonico’s oysters
I have to say, I didn’t love the oysters. They weren’t terrible, they just weren’t my taste — much as I prefer an Italian or California red wine to many French reds, and I love blue cheese as long as it doesn’t have an ammonia harshness, which some people dig. I’m looking for a better oyster word to describe the funky taste I associate with some bodies of water. Maybe it’s “musky?” Or minerality? I often hear terms like sweet, creamy and briny for oyster flavors, but this is different than brine, as I’ve never met a salt shaker I don’t love. There’s a certain edge that some oysters have that I need to define — so I can learn to avoid it. But sitting in the historic dark-paneled bar surrounded by men in their power broker suits, I felt I was at Delmonico’s as much for the experience as the oysters themselves.
And now I’m thinking I should have an oyster book club … anyone want to read “The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell,” by Mark Kurlansky with me?
It is almost forgotten that for all of its history New York was famous for its urban oyster beds until they were destroyed by pollution in the early twentieth century. This is the history of the city told through its most famous natural resource.
During Month of Oysters, I am eating a half dozen oysters every day at a different oyster happy hour. I’ll share my thoughts on the oysters, the service and the vibe, as well as observations on how I feel. I’ve read so many articles about the physical and emotional benefits of oysters and I’m curious to see if I notice anything in a month. Delmonico’s did not discount my oysters or drink … wow did they not discount my bill. They didn’t have advance notice of what day I was coming, I did not disclose I was doing a review until after I was served and Delmonico’s did not have prior review of the content of this post.
