Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published October 15, 2007 The Waning Days Of Summer Because I frequently cross the Causeway, with its superb view of the horizon, I am aware of the rapid movements of time at this peculiar season. As we pass the equinox, sunrise and sunset change dramatically from one day to the next. The nights have been longer than the days for almost a month now. But we're only now feeling the weather change. Not only is it cooler, but the rainfall is somehow different. Changes in the weather affect our eating habits. Not only do our appetites change, but the availability of our food does, too. Some of this is due to the seasons of produce and seafood.  But chefs' moods change, too. I was talking to the chef at Cafe Degas at this time a few years ago and telling him how much I liked his vichyssoise. "It's a good thing you got that today," he said. "We're about to take it off the menu for the season. It won't be back until Easter." Maybe the summer of vichyssoise, and real summer, are over. But that's a joke in these parts. Lots of hot weather remains before us, even with the days shorter than the nights. Which makes it the perfect time to eat oysters. Oysters are not only back in season, but they're getting fat. The heavy summer rains kept the salinity of the water down. That, in turn, discouraged the oysters from spawning. As a result, they got fat. Gee. For me, it's always been the other way around. When I get fat, I don't spawn. But that's another story. Anyway, we have a lot of muscular but not very salty oysters out there, ready to cool your hot throat. Possibly after the son goes down, two hours earlier than what seems like just a few days ago. Ten Most Important Food Seasons In New Orleans 1. Soft shell crab. It has two parts: from about April through June, and then again from late August until about October. 2. Oysters. I don't really think oysters ever go out of season. But from July through August, they spawn, and for a couple months after that they're skinny and not very salty. Best months begin with the first cool snap and run through the spring. 3. Crawfish. Traditionally, Thanksgiving through the Fourth of July. Lately, much later on both ends. 4. Oranges. After being decimated by the hurricane, the Louisiana navel orange orchards produce only a fraction of what they once did. But they're coming back, if slowly. It starts appearing around October or November and runs out with the last of the cool weather in March. 5. Shrimp. These happen several times a year. Brown shrimp (the major species) are around from about April till about October. Then we get the subtler, smaller white shrimp in the fall. In the spring, sometimes the small, sweet river shrimp make their appearance, but they're rare. 6. Speckled trout. This season is legislated and therefore artificial. Starting November 15, commercial fishermen are allowed to take up to a million pounds until the season closes in May. In recent years, the laws have prevented all but a small percentage of that from actually being caught. Meanwhile recreation fishermen catch between seven and nine million pounds of the fish, all year long. 7. Satsumas. Satsumas hit the market even earlier than oranges (probably because they're smaller, and disappear faster. October or early November seem to be the perfect moment for these candy-like mandarins. 8. Pompano. Two seasons a year, as a large population of the fish oscillates back and forth along the coast. It passes us twice, going and coming. But when this actually occurs is a mystery to everybody, apparently. No two experts agree. It seems to happen around this time of year, though. 9. Courtyard season. Two or three weeks each in the spring and fall, it's warm enough and cool enough to dine outdoors in New Orleans. We're at least a month away from that. 10. Creole tomatoes. March through about June, although the seasons have sure been messed around with lately. © 2007 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com