Tag: nice

Above: A no. 2 oyster, probably a Charente Maritime, dressed with a dash of vinegar at Le Gambetta

And I had my first oyster. Now, this was a truly significant event. I remember it like I remember losing my virginity – and in many ways, more fondly….

I took it in my hand, tilted the shell back into my mouth as instructed by the now beaming Monsieur Saint-Jour and with one bite and a slurp, wolfed it down. It tasted of seawater…of brine and flesh…and somehow…of the future. Everything was different now. Everything. I’d not only survived – I’d enjoyed.”

Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, 2000

Anthony Bourdain credits an oyster tasted in France when he was ten years old for propelling him toward a lifetime obsession with flavor. While this Virginia Beach native loves oysters now, it certainly was not love at first swallow. I didn’t learn to enjoy them un-fried or un-Rockefellowed until late in high school.