Oysters - A Personal Introduction

Dan's View

I don't recall the first time that I was introduced to the oyster.  Most likely it was sometime during my late teens when all sorts of passions were being awakened in me.  What I do remember is that when the meat of that first bivalve mollusk met my tongue, and it began interpreting the tastes it was sensing...well, it was love at first slurp.  My early experiences sampling oysters were rather limited and infrequent, since I was from midwest stock; born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago.  It also was generally not the standard fare for a young guy in the 1980's (pizza was the dominant attraction in those days).

A half dozen Pleasant Bay oysters

It was only after moving to Northern Virginia that I became an oyster connoisseur-in-training. The favorite watering hole for Cathy and me was Hank's Oyster Bar, located in historic Old Town Alexandria.  The primary attraction to Hank's -- besides the excellent seafood fare -- was their oyster happy hour, during which you can order three varieties of oysters at a buck apiece (the normal price is $2 per oyster).  There are large blackboards in the front and back of the restaurant, which have the night's six oyster selections scribbled on them.  Generally there are 3 from the east coast and 3 from the west coast (more on this east coast/west coast distinction later).  And 3 of the 6 options are happy hour oysters (indicated with an asterisk). When the server describes the different oysters to patrons, it is much akin to describing the characteristics of wines.  But instead of body, complexity, and fruitiness they are described in terms of brininess, creaminess, and mineral qualities.  Interestingly though both have a 'finish' attribute.

I loved living in the DC area.  I am a history buff -- especially American Revolution and Civil War history --  and enjoyed the many museums, memorials, and battlefields that were readily available to us. It should be no surprise then that I was more than a little apprehensive at the thought of relocating to Ann Arbor.  On top of that, we would be relocating to the Midwest where alas, we would be far from either coast and therefore likely to be living in an oyster-free zone -- or best case, much less opportunity and selection available.  Happily I was proven wrong.  Ann Arbor happens to be a cultural and culinary gem, and the availability and variety of oysters is plentiful -- both at area restaurants and local (and most excellent) fish markets.  I miss Hank's, but we can always go back to visit.  Oysters are a passion of mine, so I will have more to say on this subject later.

The end...of the beginning. 

We dine at Zingerman's Roadhouse -- again

Cathy and I started our usual routine for Saturday morning: a visit to some local discount stores with lunch at one of the many restaurants in the area sandwiched in between.  After acquiring a small treasure for myself at TJ Maxx (a potato ricer), we decided on Zingerman's Roadhouse (conveniently walking distance from the store).  We walked in and were seated immediately (see this post's Sleeps and Eats Tip).

Dan's View

This is one of my favorite places to have lunch because of the menu, ambiance, and service.  The moment you walk in the door you are greeted with warm welcomes from the hostess and person who takes you to your table. Their menu has a variety of fare, from adult mac & cheese (made from local cheeses), to collard greens, grits and barbecued pork and chicken.  Truly, the aromas coming from the smokers add to the overall experience.

Our server was a very pleasant young Russian woman, who took our drink orders within a couple minutes of being seated.  I ordered the Neapolitan Milk Stout, from a local brewery in Saugatuck.  This was a very hearty dark beer brewed with milk sugar, chocolate, vanilla beans, and strawberries...hence the name.  Our server said it was 'a beautiful beer', and I quite agree.

My Neapolitan Milk Stout

Zingerman's is unique in Ann Arbor for their wide variety of oysters that they offer - in fact, when you approach the front entrance, the recycled oyster shells provide the mulch for the trees on either side of the doors.  We decided to splurge this time and order a few Malpeque's, which were a particular favorite of ours at Hank's Oyster Bar in Alexandria, Va.  I say splurge because they are on the pricey side at $3.00 per oyster (ouch!).  Cathy had the first one -- with lemon, cocktail sauce, and horseradish -- and was not pleased.  Based on her reaction, I decided to have one naked (well, with a squeeze of lemon).  I thought it was great.  We figured out that it was the cocktail sauce was to blame, which was way too sweet for our palates.

For my entree, I had the two-piece buttermilk-fried chicken.  Awesome!   The breading, just right in texture and spiciness, gave way to very tender, juicy chicken which the spiciness had permeated.  It came with mashed potatoes yellow, slightly chunky, with peels and gravy that complemented the spiciness of the chicken.  The coleslaw -- chopped, not shredded -- was crunchy and mustard-based with a hint of garlic.

Our server asked if we wanted dessert, but alas our appetites were fully sated.  I did, however ask about the donuts and ice cream (yes, you read that right) dessert.  She then told us about how they are made at Zingerman's, taken from a 17th century dutch recipe with only one alteration in ingredient (I know which one, but I'm not telling).  We must have been sufficiently curious about it, because she then brought three donut holes to our table for us to enjoy on the house.  I'll take her advice and visit some afternoon or evening  to (only) order coffee and donuts.

Cathy's View
As Dan says, the ambiance and service are just a warm spot of the day. Reserving a table ahead of time beats the crush of cold people in the front.

As Dan writes, I was disappointed in the oyster. One should know we are PICKY about our oysters and sauce and horseradish. He's right that the issue was the cocktail sauce, not the oyster. Perhaps we're just so used to our east-coast hangout, Hank's!

For lunch, I ordered the cheese board. The cheeses are phenomenal and served with perfect bagel chips (thin, crispy, not overly flavored or full of fat) and the balsamic steeped grapes that make a fantastic set of bites. Nearly every restaurant meal is vastly more than I choose to eat, so having one of three wedges of cheese to take home was a really nice treat. Our wonderful wait person suggested we not only take home that wedge of cheese, but the leftover (awesome) bread and butter. We declined the butter because we had dogs in the car for their normal dogventure and that butter would have enabled complete decimation of all the food! Dan  mentioned the donut holes: I really like almost no sweet things so to say I wasn't impressed shouldn't mean much to anyone. I did like that she was so gracious!

We used the leftover bread for some SERIOUSLY awesome French Toast the next morning. This told me we needed to buy Zingerman's bread for our cool FT. This says something about Zingerman's service: by making sure we took home the bread pieces they would have thrown out, they opened a market! To me, this is the mark of a good local restaurant -- feed the beast!

Sleeps and Eats Tip: Being a local hot spot, you can expect to wait at least at least 20 minutes to be seated during typical lunch and dinner hours.  We have gotten into the habit of making reservations ahead of times, using OpenTable.  It takes a couple minutes, and will move you to the head of the line when you arrive (there is an OpenTable app for the iPhone, as well as other smart phones).