All Hail New Orleans Oysters!

Have you ever seen such an oyster?  A raw oyster so large, it engulfs the fork upon which it perilously balances?  An oyster so massive, it had to be bitten in two lest it choke the diner?  I believe one can only find the monstrous quality of oysters such as these in New Orleans, Louisiana.  

At the Acme Oyster House just one block off of the famed Bourbon Street on Iberville, there is almost always a line that crawls around the corner of patrons, both tourists and locals, awaiting the pearly flesh of oysters that have just been trucked in that day.  If you wait until your fourth meal of the day, just 15 minutes before it closes, your chances are great that there will be no line, as we had come to find.

There was a fleeting thought about the risk of eating anything from the Gulf, but no one seemed to harbor those same thoughts.  When I asked a local about it, he looked at me, trying not to roll his eyes, and said, "Girl, nothing is goin' to happen to you except that you'll miss out on some fine oysters..."  Okay then. 

A dozen raw oysters is a must.  This is WHY I decided to partake in a fourth meal.  I mean, it's not for my health, for goodness sakes.  I embark on these occupational hazards for you, my readers...

They were surprisingly meatier than any other oyster I have eaten in my life.  They were so delectable, I had a new understanding of oysters as aphrodisiac.  People who believe it's a myth has never had New Orleans oysters.  My dining companion actually closed her eyes when she ate them.

A dozen chargrilled oysters are a must.  This is WHY...  Okay, I didn't have these on my mind, but a quick trip to Yelp convinced me otherwise.  These are topped with garlic, butter, and cheese, then chargrilled.  The result is an over-the-top decadent luxury that borders on too rich.  I could only have 4 of them before I felt the butter coursing through my veins and getting trapped.

Last on the oyster list is the Oyster Shooter - an oyster dumped into a shot glass with a squirt of cocktail sauce on top and then filled to the top with vodka.  Skip this.  It's not nearly as enjoyable and I almost wanted to hurl.  I don't know if it's because I had already had too many oysters, but I don't really care.

At the end of the evening, we chatted with the staff who said that even though they are exposed to oysters everyday, they still love to eat 'em.  I know what they mean; I feel that way about working at a chocolate and candy company.