Every oyster lover begins as a neophyte – or a spat, as baby oysters are called. Perhaps you find yourself at an oyster-centric work party. Or maybe you have a friend with a thing for bivalves. More likely, you’re on a Tinder date. Yes, Tinder oyster dates are a thing. Take it from Gary McCready, shucker at Philadelphia’s Sansom Street Oyster House and shucker about town for Garces Catering. “Tinder dates galore. Hello! I’ve been so many people’s cupid,” he […]

Categories: food & drink, on the water

Salty or sweet, every oyster evokes the waters in which it was raised. That makes hitting the oyster trail a fascinating and delicious experience. Each region has its very own gems, and with new oysters coming to market on the regular, the selection is ever-changing. Here, we zero in on the Mid-Atlantic region, where oyster bars from D.C. to Jersey celebrate local waters. Read more… Published 1/7/20

Categories: food & drink, on the water

AS THE AIR SHIMMERS AND THE HOLIDAYS NEAR, we gather with chosen or inherited families and feast. So, too, do the oysters. This time of year, bivalves load up on glycogen and amino acids, preparing for a long, foodless journey into spring. They binge on algae and plankton, their meats turning bright, plump and sweet. “The flavor is a little bit crisper than it might be in the summertime, when they’re coming out from a reproductive cycle,” oyster farmer Lisa […]

Categories: food & drink, on the water

Do your part to build and sustain our local seafood industry. For New Jersey fishermen and women, chefs and restaurateurs, part of the challenge is encouraging consumers to be aware of, ask for and buy the expansive bounty of fish caught in New Jersey waters. When visiting your local fishmonger or favorite restaurant, go beyond the more traditional, popular options (imported tuna, salmon, shrimp) and try some of NJ’s delicious but lesser-known varieties. Read more… Published in the High Summer […]

Categories: food & drink, on the water

Anyone who has shopped at Local 130 Seafood’s store in Asbury Park knows to expect a snapshot of what’s running in Jersey waters week by week. This summer, the business is taking a leap with the addition of a 6,000-square-foot, ocean-hued warehouse in Long Branch. Formerly home to D’Ambrisi Wholesale Foods— which has moved up the block—the space opens possibilities for a company that started with a single refrigerated truck and a vision. “We started the business to support New […]

Categories: food & drink, on the water

On a late-spring Saturday, dock manager Stephen Bardsley held a monkfish high overhead at the Point Pleasant Fisherman’s Dock Co-Operative in New Jersey. Its mottled skin mimicked the color of the ocean floor, and a fishing-rod-shaped antenna dangled from its head. Its sharp teeth formed a gaping subaquatic grin as a group of visitors pushed in. “Little fish swim up, and they can’t even see the difference in color,” explains Bardsley to his guests. Then the fishing-rod antenna becomes a […]

Categories: food & drink, on the water

You know you’re in the presence of a bayman by the way he guns his boat through a channel. That would be with confident speed, moderately alarming to a passenger in a landlocked trade. It’s hard to imagine how many times George Mathis has woven through the serpentine curves from Landing Crick out toward his aquaculture leases in Dry Bay, near Galloway in the Edwin B. Forsythe Wildlife Refuge. Thousands? Tens of thousands? Cutting the engine, Mathis pops one of […]

Categories: food & drink, on the water