When I sat down at my computer at 4:00 am, I didn’t have any plans for the day. I didn’t know Peg and I would be going out to dinner. The email promoting Anthony’s Oyster Fest was delivered in the early afternoon.
We called Anthony’s at 4:15 pm to make sure there were tables available and soon we were welcomed by Melissa for an excellent Oyster dinner.
I think Melissa delivered wine for Peg and three Shirley Temples with lots of cherries for me and then we got our appetizers. The only disappointment for the entire evening was the Oyster Stew. Most Oyster Stew recipes call for cream . . . heavy cream . . . evidently Anthony’s has not read those recipes. Although there were four our five oysters and bacon, the flavor was left out and the stew was watery and devoid of cream. We ate the oysters (and the bacon) and had the bowl taken away.
Our taste buds were revived with golden brown fried oysters. Even though we both ordered fried oysters for dinner, you can’t really have an oyster fest without additional oysters. My fried oyster appetizers were excellent.
Peg ordered the Oyster Tonkatsu. Oyster Tonkatsu is a Japanese version of pan fried oysters. It consists of breaded, deep-fried/tempura oysters served on ginger slaw. I ate all of the ginger slaw from Peg’s plate. Oyster Tonkatsu taste like more.
For the main course both Peg and I ordered pan fried oysters. They were excellent. We had loads of lemon, and enough tartar sauce and cocktail sauce to delight even me. If we had the opportunity to re-order I think we both would have ordered the Oyster Tonkatsu.
There was one more slight disappointment. There were only two items on the dessert menu and neither used the magic words “cobbler or slump.” We can hardly wait until spring and summer for the better dessert.
On the way to our car a couple asked about the food. We told them how great the food was and recommended the Oyster Tonkatsu, but suggested passing on the oyster stew. However, we should have recommended Melissa as their server. It was a beautiful evening, which isn’t always that predictable in March.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
