It takes great habitat to make great oysters, so when you taste a really superb one, you can take pleasure in knowing that you are tasting the untamed health and beauty of nature… An oyster tastes good because at one spot in the natural world, something went right. – Rowan Jacobsen

There is nothing quite so perfect and enjoyable to me as a succulent oyster on the half shell. Just a quick dip in a mignonette, then a dollop of cocktail sauce and some good quality horseradish, and I have readied myself for gastronomic bliss.

There is that ephemeral moment when the briny oyster passes my lips and hits my taste buds that transports me immediately to times spent ocean side, feeling ever so decadent. For the past several years we have been spending our summers in Maine and one of the must have delicacies, aside from lobster, is oysters. My favorite are oysters from Glidden Point but I’m not too picky or discerning when it comes to these treasures from the sea.

This past year, I was fortunate to enjoy oysters at Mine Oyster with my “Oyster Buddy,” Kevin…

And aboard the Damariscotta River Cruise with my mother…

And I even introduced my daughter to oysters…

She enjoyed them so much, that she ordered her own plate of oysters on our final night in Maine.

Now I know that some of you may turn your nose up at the thought of a raw oyster but this quote from Rowen Jacobsen sums up my thoughts about these oceanic gems:

I was twelve years old when I discovered that oysters were the best food on earth and not, as I had assumed, the most disgusting… I climbed onto a barstool next to my father, lifted to my mouth an oyster on the half-shell, gave a few half-hearted chews, and left childhood behind.

When I eat an oyster it is one of the few times I don’t miss my childhood. I embrace my mature palate and eagerly await the next time I can enjoy a “Buck A Shuck” night in Maine.