{"id":5842,"date":"2025-02-14T12:30:32","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T17:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/?p=5842"},"modified":"2020-02-09T12:19:53","modified_gmt":"2020-02-09T17:19:53","slug":"month-of-oysters-fort-defiance-red-hook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/month-of-oysters-fort-defiance-red-hook\/","title":{"rendered":"Month of Oysters: Fort Defiance, Red Hook"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oyster happy hour at Fort Defiance is one of many things about this Red Hook bar that’s a little off the radar.
\nRed Hook is a Brooklyn neighborhood that’s legendarily hard to get to. The closest subway stop is maybe a 15 minute walk and bus service can be spotty, even on a night when it’s not pouring rain on top of heavy fresh snow, creating giant slush rivers. But we’ve done it enough to know that MTA’s text service, in which you send your bus stop number and get back a real-time report of how far buses are away, is pretty accurate, so we aren’t daunted by the travel.
\n

\"Text
Text to find out when the next bus is coming, and you make it a little easier to get to Red Hook.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nMeanwhile, there’s no mention of oyster happy hour on Fort Defiance’s newly redesigned website<\/a>, featuring my husband’s artwork on the front. But if you’re a regular, you might have seen it mentioned on a sandwich board out front or heard it mentioned — $8 for six oysters 5-7 p.m. weekdays.
\nWe slogged through the snow, rain and slush Thursday because once a week, bartender Zac hosts the Sunken Harbor Club<\/a>, a tiki drink night at Fort Defiance. I ordered oysters and asked Zac for a tiki drink that goes with oysters. He paused to think about it, then went to work.\u00a0The result was the balsa raft<\/a>, an Aquavit-based drink with cucumber, celery, pineapple and lemon, garnished with mint and of course an umbrella. A tiki drink by way of Scandinavia.
\n
\"Zac
Zac made me a delicious drink called the balsa raft to go with my oysters.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nJohn opted out of oysters so I dined on Island Creeks<\/a> on my own. \u00a0From their website:<\/p>\n

Island Creeks hailing from Duxbury, MA\u00a0<\/b>With a highly segmented flavor profile, these are the quintessential East Coast oysters. \u00a0Strong salinity up front gives way to vegetal, mossy, buttery flavors of eel grass and seaweed which crescendo into a robust, sweet finish.\u00a0<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I definitely got the salinity, along with firm texture and a robustness. These were milder than the Blue Points at Delmonico’s<\/a>,\u00a0still with a bit of a fishy\/seafoody taste, unlike the light, clean\u00a0Shemogues at Blue Ribbon<\/a>.
\n

\"Fort
Fort Defiance’s on the DL happy hour offers six oysters for $8 5-7 p.m. weekdays.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nThey were served with lemons, some of the best mignonette sauce I’ve tasted, deliciously tangy, and fresh shredded horseradish, but no cocktail sauce. The stronger oyster flavor paired nicely with the intensity of the mignonette.
\n
\"Fort
So many tiki glasses at Fort Defiance<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n
\"Zac
Zac Overman is the tiki master behind Sunken Harbor at Fort Defiance<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nI’ve been at this for a week now and have yet to get saltine crackers with any of my oysters. They are so common in oyster bars in New Orleans, though I almost never avail myself of the bland white crackers, which always seemed a distraction. After several days of oysters, I’m getting the appeal of saltines. Last night after my bivalves, I came home and chowed on a bunch of crackers and toast to balance the rich protein in my belly. Tonight I scarfed fries and sweet potato fries, along with a veggie burger, at our favorite dive, <\/span>Ice House<\/a>. I’ve done the South Beach diet and I remember my stomach feeling acidic from all protein, no carbs, and that’s how I felt last night. A big pile of fries helped tonight, but when doesn’t it?<\/span>
\n\"Month<\/a>During Month of Oysters, I am eating a half dozen oysters every day at a different oyster happy hour. I\u2019ll share my thoughts on the oysters, the service and the vibe, as well as\u00a0observations on how I feel. I\u2019ve read\u00a0so many articles about the physical and emotional benefits of\u00a0oysters<\/a>\u00a0and I\u2019m curious to see if I notice anything in a month.<\/em>
\nFort Defiance did not discount my oysters or our drinks. We have gotten freebies at Fort Defiance before but not on this night. They didn\u2019t have advance notice of what day I was coming, and Fort Defiance did not have prior review of the content of this post.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oyster happy hour at Fort Defiance is one of many things about this Red Hook bar that’s a little off the radar. Red Hook is a Brooklyn neighborhood that’s legendarily hard to get to. 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