I was off shortly after 10:00 this morning to meet NICKIE and Jim for a tour of the USS Alabama in Mobile, AL. It was about a 53 mile drive for me to get there.
We had decided to meet at the Original Oyster House for lunch before touring the big battleship. I plugged the address into Jack in the Box (my GPS), and off I went. Well, good old Jack took me on quite a journey which included driving right past the Oyster House. When I could, I did a U turn, parked in the lot, and waited for my friends to arrive.
The first thing Nickie and Jim asked was if I was going to order oysters. I told them that I hadn’t been able to convince myself to do that yet. Then I got up to take a picture of the view out of the surrounding windows. That’s the Mobile skyline in the distance.
When I got back to the table, this was at my place. They had ordered one raw oyster on the half shell for me to try. The waiter gave me instructions on how to eat it, and made a special sauce with horseradish, ketchup, and another ingredient that I can’t remember at the table. He also suggested I try my first raw oyster ever on a cracker. The picture is blurry because I was a little nervous about doing this.
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He told me to dip the oyster in the sauce and then put it on the cracker…
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and then shove the whole thing in my mouth. I can’t believe I did it. You know, it was very tasty! This is one giant step forward for a gal from the meat and potatoes Midwest! Wahoo! What a shock it was to find I enjoyed this experience. I suppose those of you who have grown up eating raw oysters can’t understand what a milestone this was for me.
I thoroughly enjoyed my plate of fried shrimp, crab claws, fries, and a wonderful cole slaw. Thanks to Nickie and Jim, I had a memorable experience even before we went on to the battleship. I’m thinking I’ll save the pictures of that excursion for tomorrow’s post. What a fun time, and the adventure had just begun.
Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later, Judy
Posts
You are such a good sport! I've never eaten an oyster since I was a kid and was forced to try oyster stew (probably very light on the oysters). I don't think I could do it.
ReplyDeleteJudy, you're braver than me. My Midwest taste buds don't stray for from steak and potatoes.
ReplyDeleteI'm proud of you Judy. I will never be that proud of me for sure. hahaha
ReplyDeleteBBQ, Po'Boys, and now oysters on the half shell! We're going to make a Southerner of you, yet.
ReplyDeleteLove those pictures of you eating the oyster! Good for you. I ate a raw oyster once...I didn't have the benefit of sauce or cracker. That was the first and last time I have tried that. I liked the looks of your dinner plate though.
ReplyDeleteA year or two ago, my nephew and his fiancé came out to California to visit. They were interested in the Napa/Sonoma wine country, and Merikay arranged a great tour of several vineyards, followed by a fancy food/wine-paired lunch at a nice restaurant. Somewhere near the middle of the courses there was a raw oyster with some accompaniments and wine. My nephew Adam had to look good for his lady despite never having seen a raw oyster before, so he manfully put it in his mouth and started chewing. Covert glances among Merikay, his friend Stephanie and me established that we all felt this was an important moment in his culinary life. He chewed, and chewed, and chewed some more. Finally, just about when I was considering noting some interesting feature of the ceiling, he swallowed and gave us all a sheepish smile before having at the wine. At his point I knew the overall trip was going to be a success.
ReplyDeleteYou are definitely a braver woman than me. Raw oysters were popular when we lived in Japan too but I couldn't get past the slimy part although I have eaten my share of sushi. Lots of firsts for you lately.
ReplyDeletehttp://travelinglongdogs.blogspot.com/
you are a braver person than me!..RAW oysters..eww!!
ReplyDeleteNever tried oysters, don't know that I ever will.
ReplyDeleteThis Nebr. girl has never eaten raw oysters either. Or cooked ones, for that matter. I thought I did really good when I ate the escargot at our women's club "French" dinner Christmas party one year. I thought they were pretty tasty but one of our group just couldn't force herself to try one.
ReplyDeleteYou are either braver than me or more a sucker for a bet. :)
ReplyDeleteHooray for you! Love the photos! I really like oysters on the half shell, and would like one right now!
ReplyDeletebeen there, done that... it was okay until in the middle of the night ~ not gonna do it again!
ReplyDeletewe drove right by that place and the battleship last fall!!!
Never had one - I don't think I'd want to try one. They look too slimy. But I'm glad you tried them and liked them. Good for you!
ReplyDeleteYou're braver than I am ... I just can't even think about eating a raw oyster without gagging!
ReplyDeleteNope! Not gonna do it, not now, not ever! But good for you for trying them! That's good enough for me that you ate them! :-)
ReplyDeleteAre you sure you didn't really sneak it under the table? Good Job!
ReplyDeleteJust BS!(Bob and Sue)
I love the series of expressions on your face. I could almost taste that oyster myself! By the way, oyster po'boys are really good, too.
ReplyDeleteI prefer to leave anything that lives in the Sea......in the Sea!!
ReplyDeleteI loves me some oysters and clams and blue crabs and lobsters and escargot and about anything from the sea except fish. But mostly scalloped or fried in butter. Mmmmmm. Good for you for taking a chance, even if you never do it again. Love the pictures of your experience!
ReplyDeleteLife is full of new experiences!
Never seen an oyster, never hope to see one. But I'd rather see than be one! Change the word see to eat, and that's me. Oysters hold no attraction for me. Different strokes, as we all like to say. But good for you to have taken that bold step!
ReplyDeleteWas it Ogden Nash who asked, "What kind of a noise annoys and oyster?" ()You have to say that one aloud.)
Like you from the midwest and never had one. It's on the bucket list down low.
ReplyDeleteI was brought up on English cooking - boiled or baked and with very little seasoning. When I got to Louisiana as a teenager, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. But I didn't get into raw oysters until I was celebrating getting my first master's degree from LSU. Now I just can't eat one dozen and once ate five dozen.
ReplyDeleteIt's very hard to beat the commercial food in Louisiana.
YEA JUDY!!! What a trooper!! I had my first raw oyster in Key West..our youngest daughter shamed me into it..I had mine on a cracker with chili sauce and it was instantly love!! Try them deep fried..that's a touch of Heaven too!!
ReplyDeleteWe are midwesterners too (Iowa and Missouri) and yet we both love raw oysters. We have added the oyster house to our list of places to eat at. Now just try an oyster po'boy :-)
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is YUKKK, cannot imagine eating a raw oyster!
ReplyDeleteI think we midwesterners have trouble getting past the raw thing. I still haven't gotten myself to try oysters or sushi, one of these days I'll get brave and do it, now that you've inspired me.
ReplyDeleteAh, the finer things in life. Now you'll have a new craving!
ReplyDeleteYUM! A mouthful of ocean. With some luck you’ll soon become acquainted with He who once ate 7 dozen in one sitting. :-)
ReplyDelete“As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.”
Ernest Hemingway, ‘A Moveable Feast’
I love raw oysters. Paul tasted them for the first time in December. We were in Galveston. He is now hooked. ~wheresweaver
ReplyDelete"made a special sauce with horseradish, ketchup, and another ingredient that I can’t remember"...Worchestershire Sauce, a dash of Louisiana Hot Sauce, and a twist of lemon juice. I prefer my oysters raw with no crackers...you can eat more, lol. Oysters are not slimey.
ReplyDeleteAnd then there's the story of my brother offering TEN DOLLARS to my son, who was about ten at the time, to eat a raw oyster. This was about 1990 and we'd just moved to the south. That kid really wanted that tenspot, he drooled over the $$ (NOT the oyster). He hemmed and hawed. In the end, he looked at my brother and said, "No way." He's 32 now and I don't think he's ever tried a raw oyster. Some things just aren't too important!
ReplyDeleteHad a fun day with you at the battleship.
Howdy Judy & Emma,
ReplyDeleteI bet Emma would have liked one, too, also!!! My teeth are so bad I can hardly chew anything, BUT I CAN SLURP THEM RAW OYSTERS DOWN AIIEEEEEE!!!!
It's the shrimp and crabs I can't eat no more!!! Judy, I'm so proud of you!
Yeah, leave off the crackers, they take up oyster room, next time use some Louzanna Red sauce!! laisee bon temps rouler!!!!!!