I am not a blogger

I discovered Oysters. Raw oysters. My girlfriend loves them, and while it may not seem lady-like to suck down a spineless blob of a crustacean, it's actually totally hot. I am an adventurous eater, I just hadn't had the opportunity at the right time. When she ordered some for herself, I couldn't be outdone by her, so I gave them a shot. Now we are both hooked.

First she made one up for me: put it on a saltine cracker, squeeze of lemon, dollop of cocktail, extra horseradish. But now that we are eating these upscale oysters, the only way to do it is the purist way, with nothing more than a squeeze of lemon, slurped right out of the shell.

And not just any oysters. The trend now is boutique oyster menus, where you order by the oyster from different regions. Not those fat grainy things from Louisiana (although I will say I had some smoked Louisiana oysters last week that were, well, smokin'!) I am talking about these smaller northern oysters, they have this amazing unique flavor, and every region and oyster seems different.

Now I like the most of what I have tried on the upscale raw bar menus. They usually run about $3 an oyster, not cheap. We usually see Wellfleet and Malpeques, which are from the east coast of North America. Very tasty. Prince Edward Island PEI's we'll order too. Bluepoints are common on these menus and we like them ok. But our Go-To oyster is Kumamoto. Nevermind that it took us about 6 weeks to remember what is was called (hamamosho? Hashimoto? Kamasutra?) We became the most acquainted with the Kumamoto during an oyster binge in Vegas. The Red Rock Casino oyster bar to be specific (which is a topic for another day, that place… whoa.) We did a sampler dozen, loved the Kuma's so ordered a dozen of those, then another. Then I DARED to suggest a 4th, she went for it, and we were swimming in them. And I kid you not, but we were still in the mood for them at lunch the next day and topped off another 2 dozen. Unreal.

What about this Kumamoto oyster is so good? I mean, it is like the Rolls Royce of oysters. Right after you eat it, the flavor-it's just like nothing else. I cannot explain it. Either you get oysters, or you don't. And if you get them, this oyster is out of this world.

I googled them when I got home, and learned that it was originally a Japanese oyster, not popular here at all. Someone brought some back, starting farming them on the West coast (Oregon maybe? Somewhere over there) and eventually they were harvested to extinction in Japan, so the only ones remaining are here in the US. And although they originally were not popular (probably because they are small), now they have taken off and are in high demand.

And although raw is the best, and healthy, I had fried oysters for the first time a couple weeks ago and there is just about no better fried food. I can't say I have a favorite between the 2, though it is a completely different experience. And six dozen fried are definitely too many!