Documented by Romans in the 2nd century, there is no question that oysters are the classic aphrodisiac. While there is a lot to be said for their high zinc and iron content, which are important for sexual health, the real power of oysters lies in how they look and feel. Oysters look like some certain part of the female body, and when eaten raw, have a slippery, seductive feel in the mouth and throat.

It's also believed that oysters let a person experience both the masculine and feminine sides of love because some oysters change their gender from male to female and back again through their lifetime. I guess that'll work if you're spending Valentine's Day alone.

I know. For shame, for shame. I went to New Orleans and I ended up eating in places where Tony Bourdain would never go like Acme Oyster House in the French Quarter. So call me Rachael Ray for a day.

I don't mind because it was at Acme that I had my first taste of grilled oysters. I may not ever be able to go back to eating oysters raw again. If you've never had oysters prepared this way, let me tell you that it's quite deliciously obscene. First the oysters are drowned in garlic butter (I think), then suffocated under cheese. The oysters in the shells are thrown on the grill until the shells are charred to black and the oysters are screaming for mercy under the cheese. I couldn't help but throw a few splashes of hot sauce on there, too. Hey, they were already blasphemed with all that other stuff, so I didn't feel to bad.

• If you're in LA, you can watch the Super Bowl at a number of sports bars around town, and they aren't just doing your standard bar fare. Whiskey-marinated wings, anyone?

• In the kitchen, Amy Scattergood shows that sourdough isn't as hard as it sounds. All you need is a good starter. Russ Parsons celebrates oysters (Oysters roasted with fennel and cream, Oyster stew with leeks and prosciutto, Roasted oysters with chipotle butter) and picks kumquats and broccolini at the farmers' markets. Joan's on Third shares the recipe for its lemon bars.
• In the wine world, Slovenia is wild, and S. Irene Virbila picks 2004 San Vicente Rioja.

Our sister blog, Luxist, picked up the story of a Florida couple who received an unexpected year-end bonus, a rare purple pearl.

While enjoying some steamed clams at Dave's Last Resort & Raw Bar with his wife, Leslie, George Brock suddenly bit down on something hard. By now you've guessed that what stopped him midslurp was the aforementioned pearl. It's safe to say that the couple didn't expect anything from their $10 investment other than fresh seafood. Turns out they got much more than that: A gemologist's appraisal pegged the pearl's value at $25,000.

I'm no gemologist, but the last time I checked pearls, purple or otherwise, are found in oysters. I've eaten my share of oysters and clams both raw and cooked. Heck, I've had conch freshly plucked from the clear blue waters of Nassau, and I'm always game for giant clam at the sushi bar. Some might say that I've been lucky to have found only grit and stray bits of shell in my mollusks and not a nasty bug. However, the Brocks' purple pearl and the arrival of 2008 have given me hope. I resolve to eat more mollusks this year, if only for health reasons.

Lately I've found myself in the mood for raw oysters. This extreme closeup that I found today over on Chez Pim has made me crave them even more. I can almost taste the briny juices from this beautiful, ultrafresh specimen. I don't know about you, but I take my oysters neat, so as to better savor the taste of the sea. Tabasco and lemon only mask the flavor. Chez Pim took this shot at Paco Meralgo, a tapas bar in the mecca of tapas bars, Barcelona. Pim heaps much praise on the tapas at Paco Meralgo, but points out that the real star is the incredibly fresh seafood, including razor clams and langoustines. I've always known that there's a lot more to tapas than jamon, cheese and olives, but this whole fresh seafood thing takes it to another level. Enough tapas talk, I'm off to the nearest raw bar.

[via Tastespotting]

The secret of oyster opening, as revealed at the 2006 World Oyster Opening Championships this past week, is "a steady hand with the oyster knife," since competitors are judged on a lack of grit (from smashed shells) as well as speed. It may not seem like much of a sport compared to soccer or downhill skiing, but it requires a tremendous amount of dexterity and concentration. The contest has been going on for four decades and this year, for the 15th time, it was won by Irish restaurateur Michael Moran, whose father took the title himself nearly three decades ago.

The sport of oyster-opening should be combined with the sport of competitive eating. Working in pairs, one could open and the eaters could, well, eat. The question would be who to team up. Do you put Kobayashi with Moran, the new World Champion Oyster Opener, or should Moran be paired with an underdog to even the teams?

One editor and mom rejects "healthy" school lunches in of favor of a little fun.

Infused oils and flavored oils can go beyond the simple salad dressing: Grilled Blood Orange & Ginger Pork Tenderloins, Ensalada de Mango (Spicy Mango Salad), and Recipe: Chicken Braised with Tomatoes and Fig Vinegar.

Oysters and clams are still suffering through the last legs of summer. Shellfish producers can't wait for the cooler waters of autumn.

A new taste sensation, vine-dried raisins, might bring on a new breed of grape-snobs.

In drinks, Maximilien makes a French 75 (Cognac and Champagne), Sauvignon Blanc deserves some praise, and how to keep an opened bottle of wine "vibrant."

We've gotten the warnings about oysters from the Pacific Northwest, and we also know the old saying that we should only eat oysters in months that have the letter "R" in them (summer months), but thanks to FedEx, calendar be damned! Restaurants can ship oysters from colder climates to anywhere, even here, southern California. The Los Angeles Times' West magazine lists five places where you can kick back at the raw bar and enjoy the slippery little suckers.

• Ocean Avenue Seafood - 401 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica, (310) 394-566, www.oceanave.com
• Brophy Bros. Restaurant and Clam Bar - 119 Harbor Way, Santa Barbara, (805) 966-4418, www.brophybros.com
• Bluewater Grill - 630 Lido Park Dr., Newport Beach, (949) 675-3474, www.bluewatergrill.com
• Kendall's Brasserie - 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 972-7322, http://www.musiccenter.org/restaurant.html#KENDALL'S%20BRASSERIE
• King's Fish House - 100 W. Broadway Ave., Long Beach, (562) 432-7463, www.kingsfishhouse.com

We already heard about the warning against eating raw oysters from the Pacific Northwest, but the USDA has recently extended the warning to include clams. So far, 72 illnesses have been directly linked to the shellfish, with another 105 cases suspected of originating from contaminated seafood. All of the cases have been in Washington, Oregon and New York, where the oysters and clams from the Puget Sound area are widely available.

Symptoms include "diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, fever and chills, [and] usually start within 24 hours and last no more than three days." Cooking can kill the bacterium, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, that is linked to the sickness and the symptoms are unpleasant enough that you would be better off not taking any chances until the warning is lifted.

Health officials in Washington State are warning people against eating raw oysters that were harvested in Puget Sound. The warning came after 45 people reported violent illness - including two hospitalizations - in two weeks. Usually, there are only 20 such cases in an entire year. The oysters were contaminated with a bacteria strain called Vibrio parahaemolyticus and five oyster harvesting areas have already been closed.

The oysters from the Sound are often available in other parts of the Pacific Northwest, along the Pacific coast and in several other Western States (where a handful of cases have been reported already), so if at all possible, find out where the oysters are your market came from before deciding to down them uncooked. Health officials say that cooking the oysters to an internal temperature of 145F should prevent any health problems from the bacteria, in the event that your oyster is contaminated.

Summer heat (sans air conditioning) provides a great excuse to lie around the apartment and ponder. Yukari Rymar  feels the sweat bead on her forehead and thinks deep thoughts: "cold showers are great,"  "why hate on freon?" and "I wish it was winter," she murmers  The mercury rises, and deeper she slips, deeper into delirium....

 

 

"Winter in Tokyo , December '91.  I sit under the kotatsu in the living room.  Mama fixes a midday snack in the kitchen.  I watch the cartoon Chibi Maruko-chan.  A commercial for Cup Ramen starring Arnold Schwarzenneger--seriously--comes on the screen, and I turn my attention away in time to see Mama put a dish down on the table.

 

"The plate steams.  It's piled high with deep fried oyster croquettes.  Or as the Japanese call it--kaki fry."

 

 

By now, you've heard about San Francisco's Ferry Building marketplace, an enclosed public market located on the Wharf. It's been the subject of many food blog posts, newspapers articles, and conversation. The market opened after I moved away from the Bay Area, and though I have made several trips to SF and Berkeley since, my free time to wander and do personal fun stuff was limited.

I finally got to see the Ferry Building Marketplace on this last trip, and now you get to see it, too!

Er, at least the stuff that I was able to capture on digi-film.

With the opening of an exhibition about the tools used for eating at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Julia Moskin asks are we really afraid of flatware? (Of course not. We’re just saving it for a special occasion!)

The message to eat local, organic and avoid processed foods is at the core of a Berkeley nutrition professor's book What to Eat, which tells you how to shop for groceries and select the most nutritious foods.

An oyster zealot shares his passion along with the history and flavors of the oyster in the Northwest.

Foraging for wild plants in the woods is what really gets some chefs heated up in spring, though the seasonal ramps, ferns and bitter greens are not always the easiest sell to diners.

The minimalist, Mark Bittman, does a video preparation of grilled lamb with miso-chili sauce at the NY Times website.

Frank Bruni dines at August and gives it two stars.

[Image NYT]

We've been making our way around the sushi bar here at slashfood, and preparation for Valentine's Day simply begs for a study in bivalves - clams, scallops, and those ever-so-aphrodisiac-al oysters.

"Gai" is a general Japanese term that refer to most of the clams. I very rarely see the kind of smaller clams that we put into chowders or batter and fry on a sushi menu. However, mirugai and hokkigai are regular offerings. Oysters are called "kaki."

I've been a Seahawks fan since I was old enough to say "football," and couldn't be happier that my favorite NFL team is finally taking its rightful place in the Superbowl. But what matters more than a city's fortunes on the gridiron? Well, their food, of course.

This week, Sarah Gim and I will be comparing and contrasting the foods of the two super cities, Seattle and Pittsburgh. We'll be butting heads in an all-out food war. I may be a tad bit biased... but I think I know who's going to win.

Seattle is a city characterized by its position on the great Puget Sound, and as such the city's cuisine is based on the seafood available as near as the sound and as far away as Alaska. Thanks to the huge ocean-going vessels that come and go from the downtown ports, the city also is flavored by the rich food cultures of Japan and China.

When I think of Seattle, the first food I can taste, raw and salty in my mouth, is the oyster. I like to think it's what real seahawks would eat.