Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published November 20, 2006 Click here for the current edition Oysters R Expensive The Louisiana oyster beds bounced back with amazing quickness following the storm, and the quality and quantity of oysters during the year following the hurricane was pretty good. Until about a month and a half ago. Then, a combination of big rainstorms followed by long dry periods with a persistent lack of oystermen and oyster boats conspired to knock the oyster business into the weeds. It got so bad that Bozo's Restaurant in Metairie--always one of the best places to eat oysters, raw or fried--stopped serving them completely for about a month. "We couldn't get anything I wanted to serve," says Chris Vodonovich, owner-chef at Bozo's. He says that they oysters are pretty good now. However, that jerked the market up a bit. You will see retail prices for oysters about twenty to thirty percent higher than you may ever have seen them when you go to buy your ration of the bivalves for your Thanksgiving oyster dressing. On the other hand, the supply and quality are good now, with the advent of cooler weather. And even at the top of the market, oysters remain the best bargain, dollar per pound, of any seafood out there. I don't like oyster dressing myself. So I fool everybody by making some classic baked oyster dish instead, and pointing to it when people ask me where the oyster dressing is. This year, I'm thinking of making an oyster, crabmeat, and artichoke casserole, in the style of oysters Mosca. © 2006 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com