Though I am not from the Pacific Northwest, I love my oysters and I love to down them raw. What are your favorite oysters from the Northwest?
Mine:
Taylor Shellfish (Puget Sound)- Shigoku- suspension grown and tide tumbled. Sweet, juicy, and just a hint of brine
Deep Bay, Vancouver Island, BC- Kusshi- similarly grown as Shigoku. Clean, delicate and sweet flavor. Kusshi means ‘ultimate’ in Japanese. Interestingly, the Taylor Shigoku box also says ‘ultimate’.
What other oysters/ producers do you like in the area?
Taylor is a multinational shellfish empire compared to Blau. Taylor has beds all over Washington and British Columbia (and a hatchery in Hawai’i). But Taylor had the good sense to site one of its beds and stores on Samish Bay–right across from Blau.
So I suggest you join… wait for it… Blau Oyster Cult.
If you don’t want to buy fresh from the source, you can enjoy Blau oysters at the Old Edison Inn in the big city of Edison, or at The Corner Pub & Grill in the Middle of Nowhere.
My favorite to date are oysters we ate at Hog Island Oyster Co. In Marshall Ca on Tomales Bay. Very different from the big Atlantic oysters we get here in Fla.
On the inside arm of the Olympic peninsula about half way between Shelton and Port Townsend is the little burg of Lilliwaup, home of the Hama Hama Oysters and Seafood Company. Definitely one you do not want to miss.
Here’s the southbound 101 view of the store prior to the addition of tables and an outside bar area and an aerial of the 600 acre flats at the mouth of the HH River.
