“Under the sea, we got no troubles…”

Last night, I was invited to Legal Sea Foods’ Bivalves and Bubbles cocktail party to celebrate the wonderful Mister Oyster (and Mister Alcohol, natch). Even though I’ve been a long time lover of foods from the sea, it was only recently that I was introduced to this water dwelling mollusk - the slimy texture made me nervous and kept me at bay (literally) for the longest time.

When I arrived at the Legal Sea Foods - Park Plaza, I was ushered downstairs where I was greeted with a fully stocked raw oyster bar. I saw Mister Oysters from New York, Maine, Massachusetts, Prince Edward Island, and the Baja Peninsula all calling my name and waiting to be consumed. Call me the dunce, but I wasn’t even aware that so many varities of oysters existed in this world! My favorite was Mister Baja Peninsula – Kumamoto was his name – I felt his meat was sweet and plump, yet clean and fresh with a cucumber-y finish.


I also tried some of the cooked oysters – the simple but crispy fried oyster, pickled oysters, and Oyster Legal (baked oyster shells stuffed with spinach and cheese, then lightly breaded). Although I do appreciate innovation and different cooking methods for different foods, I do prefer Mister Oyster in its natural state – raw with a dash of lemon.

I washed down my oysters with the Deadrise Cocktail, a special concoction exclusive to Legal Sea Foods made with vodka, scented with cucumber and lime, and finished with grapefruit bitters. The bitter flavors were all quite strong – great for cocktail connoisseurs who prefer an earthy and brisk drink but bad for peeps that prefer sweet and fruity drinks.

I then visited the oyster shucking station where I ran into fellow bloggers Jacqueline Church (Leather District Gourmet), Richard Auffrey (The Passionate Foodie) and Dale Cruse (Drinks are on Me). Shucking oyster is not as easy as it looks, as I nearly shucked off a few fingers during my session!

Then a toast was given by Legal Sea Foods’ CEO Roger Berkowitz, who was flanked by Executive Chef Rich Vellante, and Master of Wine Sandy Block. Bringing out the big guns to the party. Excellent!

I had to peace out of the party a bit early so I could catch an advanced screening of The September Issue (awesome documentary – 4 stars!) with witty woman and fellow writer Megan Johnson. All and all, a very fun, filling, and fashionable Wednesday evening for the Finance Foodie!