Oyster Bar and Restaurant was the place to be on October 3 as dozens of people gathered for the annual celebration of the mollusk. I watched the shucking contest, which involved ten professionals trying to shell the most oysters in two minutes. Two competitors who caught my eye were Deborah Pratt and John Bil; she was the only female in the race and he was the only one who didn't wear gloves. (Both of them were eliminated in the first round.) After the contest was whittled down to two people, defending champion Luis Iglesias faced off against Marco in the four-minute finale. Both men needed two trays to present their handiwork after time was up, but it was Luis who walked away with the $1,500 prize.
Realizing that I'd rather eat oysters than shuck them, I checked out cooking demonstrations by Aaron Bashy and Fabio Trabocchi. The Pershing Square chef used the bivalve to make soup with bread, while the Four Seasons chef mixed it with chopped greens and olive oil before having it topped with caviar and served on ice. I enjoyed both appetizers, but they're not dishes I'd eat on a regular basis. Perhaps they would've tasted better if I'd washed them down with alcohol.
On that note, a "beer shucking" contest was held to see who would be the first to open all the bottles in a case of Blue Point Toasted Lager. Ivan from Mexico (on the right) blew away the other nine competitors, opening 24 bottles in 33 seconds. His quickness was appreciated by the audience, who got to drink the beer. (I passed on the temptation, figuring it was better to stay sober for the eating contest.) The hostess, Shelli Sonstein of Q104.3, kept things moving by asking trivia questions about oysters and sports; I won an Oyster Bar and Restaurant apron for correctly guessing which player left the New Jersey Devils on October 1. (The answer was Brendan Shanahan.)
The oysters I ate earlier proved to be a disadvantage in preparing me for the eating contest. When I took the stage with the other twelve contestants to see who would be the first to finish their plate, I'd only managed to put three of them in my mouth before a winner was declared. Eloisa from Queens finished her plate in 13 seconds, landing her a Q104.3 t-shirt and gift certificate from the restaurant. I was happy to see a woman emerge victorious at the end of the day, especially since females were underrepresented at the event (as professionals and competitors).
Win or lose, the Oyster Frenzy was all about having fun. In New York, you can't ask for anything more.
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