Aphrodisiacs or not, here’s where to get the best oysters in North Jersey
Esther Davidowitz/ NorthJersey.com
Christopher Cannon, owner of Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen, a four-restaurant compound housed in a stunning 1917 mansion in Morristown, doesn’t hesitate to tout the purported aphrodisiac powers of oysters. Every year, he posts the following on social media: “Eat oysters, love longer.”
“Everyone talks about oysters and sex,” Cannon said. And, he noted, “sex sells.”
Casanova claimed to have eaten 50 oysters for breakfast every day and swore that they were the reason for his super-charged libido. Something to keep in mind with Valentine’s Day coming up.
I won’t weigh in on whether these bivalves help in the boudoir. But I will stand behind their uniquely refreshing, wonderfully intoxicating deliciousness. They are lovely little packets of culinary joy that taste like the sea — a little salty, a little fishy, a lot awesome. And they are admittedly sexy to eat: all that slurping of succulent, savory meat.
“I love them,” said Russell Stern, owner of Stern & Bow, a casual but elegant restaurant in Closter. “They’re so refreshing. There’s nothing like an oyster.”
If you’ve never had one, you’re in for a treat. No silverware needed. Just put your lips up against the shell — and slurp the oyster and the precious liquor, the oyster’s natural and sublime juice.
Whether you dunk the meat into some cocktail sauce, sprinkle a bit of mignonette (a classic sauce made with minced shallots, cracked pepper and vinegar) or drizzle a few drops of fresh lemon juice is completely up to you. And whether you bite it once only, chew it lots, or swallow it whole — that too is up to you. But watch out: like chips, it’s often difficult to stop at just one.
Stern reports that every month or two, a local six-year-old girl comes in with her family and proceeds to devour 50-plus oysters. “I’ve never seen anything like it. She just crushes it.”
If you’d like to taste what many consider to be the most divine bivalve the sea has to offer, here are North Jersey restaurants that serve fresh, delicious (and mostly) raw oysters.
Seafood Gourmet, New Milford
John Ciravolo, owner of Seafood Gourmet, a longtime seafood market and BYOB restaurant, sells and serves oysters that he says are fished out of the sea the previous day. That is, oysters farmed in nearby waters. None from the West Coast.
“They are super fresh,” Ciravolo said. “One day they are in the water, the next day on your plate.”
He loves the sweet-tasting, mildly brine-y oysters of New Brunswick, Canada, called Beausoleil, clean-tasting Malpeque from Prince Edward Island in Canada, Big Rock oysters from Massachusetts, and meaty, plump Blackberry Point oysters from the Chesapeake Bay. He serves them with fresh horseradish, lemon wedges and homemade cocktail sauce.
“We’ve never sold as many oysters as we are selling now.” He attributes oysters’ rising popularity to the increased consumption of seafood in general and to the increased demand by young diners. “The younger generation are all big oyster lovers,” he said.
In addition to serving oysters raw, Seafood Gourmet offers lightly fried, broiled in a Cajun bacon butter or, as a special, baked in a rich sauce of butter, parsley and bread crumbs, also known as Oyster Rockefeller. “Even if it’s not on the special menu, we can always make it,” Ciravolo said.
As for how he eats oysters? “The little cocktail ones I just slurp. The bigger ones, I give them a bite before I send them south.”
103 W. Pleasant Ave., Maywood; 201-843-8558, seafood-gourmet.com.
Stern & Bow, ClosterWhen Stern & Bow opened two years ago, owner Russell Stern hired an “oyster sommelier,” Kevin Joseph, who calls himself a mermmelier, to present a one-of-a-kind oyster omakase, an extravaganza in which Joseph served a variety of oysters in a variety of ways (cold smoked, with caviar) until the recipient said “stop.” Joseph is no longer at Stern & Bow, but frequently consults, and Stern has three oyster shuckers trained to not only clean and cut open oyster shells but offer omakase.
The restaurant features from eight to a dozen different oysters from the West Coast (kusshi and kumamoto are Stern’s West Coast favorites) and East Coast (Beausoleil is his favorite). The oysters are served with homemade mignonette, shaved fresh horseradish and a couple of lemon wedges. The oysters cost anywhere from $3.50 to $4.50. More if you’d like one topped with caviar.
“A great combination is cold-smoked rainbow trout caviar on top of an oyster,” Stern said.
Great too, he said, is oysters with vodka or a nice Muscadet.
171 Schraalenburgh Road, Closter; 201-750-3350, sternandbowrestaurant.com.
Mama Dag’s Seafood & Pizza House, West Orange
When it comes to oysters, Anthony Dagastino, owner-chef of Mama Dag’s, goes against today’s culinary fashion. He eschews local.
“I like to bring Lucky Limes and Pink Moon from Prince Edward Island, Canada,” he said — two oyster varieties that tend to be on the smaller side but “they pack a big punch,” Dagastino said. “Guests love them because they’re a lot brinier and saltier than locally grown oysters because they come from cold water. Oysters in this region — where the water is warmer — grow larger but are less flavorful.”
In fact, Canadian oysters are so flavorful, “you don’t need to slam on sauce,” Dagostino said. “The oyster is delicious on its own.”
To get the oyster’s true flavor, he advises oyster newbies eat their first oyster naked, without even a drop of lemon (“lemon begins to cook the oyster,” he said). Then, if you’d like, squirt lemon or some sauce. Perhaps Mama Dag’s mignonette sauce, which is interestingly made with a bit of gin.
Each oyster costs $2.50; a plate of six, $18.
Mama Dags : 410 St. Cloud Ave., West Orange; 862-233-7557, mamadags.com.
