157 HIGH STREET | PORTLAND | MAINE 04101 | THETOPOFTHEEAST.COM MON-THU 2PM-11PM FRI-SAT 2PM-1AM SUNDAY 2PM-11PM DISCOVERY New Oyster It’s a Cult rising tide for Diving into Maine + In A Half oysters with Ostreophiles. Shell blogger Julie Qiu! “What’s BY SARAH MOORE happening s the sun dips toward the horizon not to, these sun-soaked gourmands only at the end of one of Maine’s bur- have eyes for one thing: fresh oysters served with Maine Anished summer days, like clockwork in the half shell with just a squeeze of lem- the bars, restaurants, and seafood shacks on or a drizzle of mignonette. The tang of scattered along Maine’s coastline begin brine delivers you back to the ocean in one to crowd with hungry visitors, their skin mouthful. Savoring the primal enjoyment of oysters is flushed and mouths parched from the heat eating raw oysters, it’s surprising to remem- and sharp sea breeze. Beer glasses are filled ber that only a matter of decades ago, a plate and refilled, sweating condensation onto the of the fresh shellfish would have been all but fresh & exciting.” JULIE QIU bar top. When it’s too hot to eat but too late of unheard of in Maine. SUMMERGUIDE 2 0 1 7 1 9 5 Taste Maine Oysters! 1 2 3 4 Nonesuch Basket Island Flying Point Winterpoint (SCARBOROUGH RIVER) * (CASCO BAY) * (FREEPORT) (WEST BATH) * These free-range oysters are Basket Island oysters have a crisp These plump oysters are planted Cultivated in Mill Cove Bay, Win- harvested from a tidal estuary. taste of brine and barley thanks on the hard-packed floor of the bay, terpoint oysters taste mildly sweet Nonesuch oysters are meaty and to what the grower calls a “perfect where they grow robust shells. Bright and possess a medium salinity. Firm retain a light, grassy flavor from the trifecta” of Casco Bay’s cold, salty, and clean-tasting, Flying Point oysters and up to four inches long, they are surrounding marsh. phytoplankton-rich water. pair perfectly with vinegar dressing. available year-round. 5 6 7 8 “The Damariscotta River is like the Pemaquid Glidden Point Otter Cove Napa Valley John’s River (DAMARISCOTTA RIVER) * (DAMARISCOTTA RIVER) * (DAMARISCOTTA RIVER)* (JOHN’S RIVER) * One of the briniest oysters in Maine, Planted in the Damariscotta River, Otter Cove oysters spend half Have you ever seen an oyster shell Pemaquids have an appetizing Glidden Point oysters are allowed their lives in the brackish river of shellfish.” as big as your hand? Look no further lemony flavor that complements to mature over four years, creating a and half submerged in salt water, than a Johns River oyster. These –Julie Qiu their light texture. firm, meaty oyster with a strong shell. creating a small, sweet oyster with oysters have a an appealing brininess a delicate mouthfeel. and a sweet, fruity essence. AWRENCE, EVENTIDE; 8-MEGAN DUNLAP; 9, 10, L 9 10 11 12 13 E Zo Weskeag North Haven Bagaduce Little Island Taunton Bay (WESKEAG RIVER) (PULPIT HARBOR) * (BAGADUCE RIVER) (BAGADUCE RIVER) (TAUNTON) * These three-inch oysters are firm and Sourced from a family fishery, North Buttery and sweet, these oysters With cups the size and shape of golf Tumbled with fresh saltwater twice highly briny. The versatile Weskeag Haven oysters spend the 3-4 years of come from the mildly salty waters of balls, Little Island oysters are best a day thanks to their native waterfall INT; 5 PEMAQUID; 6-MEGAN DUNLAP; 7- oysters are suitable in both hot and their lives hand-planted on the bed the reversing falls of the Bagaduce enjoyed on the half shell. A bright, habitat, Taunton Bay oysters have a O cold dishes. of a pond. These oysters are diver- River. Bagaduce oysters are consis- fresh, and mildly salty oyster. salty flavor that culminates in a mild harvested only. tent in their flavor, texture, and size. copper finish. INT; 4-WINTERP 14 15 16 17 18 O YSTERS; 2- ZAGAT; 3-FLYING P Ebenecook Gay Island Spinney Creek Wawenauk Dodge Cove O (WEST BOOTHBAY HARBOR) (MEDUNCOOK RIVER) (PISCATAQUA RIVER) (MUSCONGUS BAY) Pemaquid The waters of West Boothbay Harbor Submerged in saltwater until harvest, Deeply cupped shells encase the Densely textured, these oysters (DAMARISCOTTA RIVER) NESUCH have very little freshwater influence, so Gay Island oysters are intensely briny plump meat of Spinney Creek spend a year or two in a sandy river Full and firm, these oysters boast a O both the water and the oysters have a but sweet. oysters. The oysters spend time in a bottom before reaching their full light citrus flavor with a touch of brine. 1 - N high salinity and a briny quality. quality assurance laboratory before maturity. The meat inside is plump going to market. and salty but retains a lemony finish. *Julie Qiu Recommends Premium Plates Traditional Oyster Platter, $135 by Allison Evans. Robert’s Maine Grill in Kittery serves up an array of local oysters. Walnut oyster board, hand-carved by Paul Sampson of Oyster River Joinery, $150. WVILLAGE INN; 17-WAWENAUK; 18-MEGAN DUNLAP; O N; 16-SN O Antique Minton Majolica Oyster Plate, $475 on eBay. The history of the Atlantic oyster, or them or raise and farm them–they were when Delmonico’s was charging 50 cents a Crassostrea virginica, is a tale of boom and just there.” berry for out-of-season strawberries.” bust. As recently as the early 20th centu- But the insatiable hunger of growing ; 13-KEN’S PLACE; 14-JULIE QIU; 15-TRACKSIDE STATI O ry, a large number of bays, rivers, and estu- bundant and decadent, oysters were populations and effluent waste produced by aries along the Atlantic Coast were thickly an affordable luxury that transcend- large cities like Manhattan started to sour carpeted with wild oysters. “For centuries, Aed class divides. Oyster shells littered the oyster dream. Free-flowing sewage in- there was a unique and delicate balance of the sawdust-strewn floors of New York’s tav- fected oyster beds in areas like the once- natural oyster populations and native hu- erns. “From the time of the Revolution till abundant Long Island Sound in New York, man populations,” says Peter Smith of Ot- the last beds were closed in 1927, the price causing outbreaks of diseases like cholera ; 12-PANGEA SHELLFISH C ter Cove Farms. “Then we began to indus- [of oysters in NYC] barely moved,” says The among those who consumed the raw bi- O trialize rapidly, and cities began to Big Oyster author Mark Kurlansky in valve. To top it off, the infamous 1938 New expand. Oysters became a real an interview on NPR. “There was England hurricane and a shellfish parasite commodity in these urban areas. something called The Canal Street that decimated swathes of the Atlantic oys- They were so plentiful and ac- Plan, which was all-you-can-eat ter beds during the 1950s were the last nails 11-JP SHELLFISHRIGHT C HAND PAGE:cessible. JULIE QIU You didn’t need to hunt [oysters] for six cents, at a time in the coffin for oysters, according toScien - SUMMERGUIDE 2 0 1 7 1 9 7 DISCOVERY tific American. “Growing up, the old saying went that The Oyster Chronicles you shouldn’t eat oysters during months that don’t contain the letter ‘r,” says Lisa Carol Rose, a fifth generation waterman– International oyster expert Julie Qiu knows the term used in Chesapeake Bay to de- a great oyster when she tastes one. The New scribe an oyster fisherman. “The summer York-based ostreophile and founder of In A months are when algae blooms or ‘red tides’ Half Shell blog recently made a five-day trip to occur, spreading toxins that are then ab- sorbed by shellfish.” By this measure, wild Maine to indulge her passion for our oysters. oysters were firmly off the menu during -Va BY JULIE QIU cationland’s busiest months. In Maine, two generations of oyster eat- s an international oyster fanatic, I find it wise to be diplomatic when I’m asked, “Where do the best oys- ers slowly forgot such a delicacy even existed. Aters come from?” encouraging the asker to remem- They all but dropped from the menus of cel- ber that every oyster-producing region can grow exceptional oysters. I can rave over an oyster from anywhere, as long as it’s served in peak condition. But I’ve got a confession: I secretly favor Maine oysters over all other regions in North America. Maybe I’m biased from happy childhood memories of Acadia National Park and ro- mantic summer trips with my then boyfriend, now husband. Maine has always served us well In A Half Shell has part- as a place of relaxation and renewal. We even got married in Stockton Springs and toasted our nered with Maine Sea new life together with champagne and local oysters. Objectively speaking, I think the pristine Grant to develop the Oys- environment and bracingly cold waters of the Gulf of Maine make the oysters here taste a cut ter Trail of Maine, a program above the rest. You just can’t deny the crisp brininess and bone-broth savoriness of the oysters that aims to educate locals that come out of these waters. and visitors alike on local oyster Oysters aren’t that different from fine wines insofar as they are site-expressive, meaning their varieties and the growers, taste is shaped by the characteristics of their growing environment. Where wines have terroirs, purveyors, and restaurants oysters are defined by meroirs.“ ” Water salinity, temperature, the type of algae present in the that get them to you.