One of my favorite food experiences has been traveling up Highway 1 from San Francisco to Marshall, California, or home of Hog Island Oyster Company. Located on the shores of the Tomales Bay is an oyster farm outfitted with picnic tables and grills so that you can eat as many oysters to your hearts desires.

So, I didn’t eat 50 oysters… that actually might be kind of gross… but I did eat a significant amount. 5 of us headed up there and ordered 50 of the medium oysters and then we chowed down. Lemon and/or tabasco and we slurped those things down. Of course, part of the experience is shucking them ourselves. We had a quick demonstration. First you put the oyster shell on the table and stick the shucking knife in and lift up until you hear a crack. Then you lift away the shell to reveal the oyster. Then stick the shucking knife under the oyster to cut through the muscle holding it to the shell. After that, it’s fair game to add your condiment and slurp.

In New York, there are several places to get wonderful oysters. The most famous being the Grand Central Oyster Bar. Located in the lower concourse, it’s been revered as one of best places to get fresh oysters. Another, much lesser known, favorite of mine is Fish, which is located in the West Village. Fish has a great special $8 for 6 oysters and a glass of wine or beer. One crazy night – a Sunday nonetheless – a friend and I went there and had 3 of these specials at 10pm. It was probably not such a great idea since we both had to work the next day.

If you haven’t tried raw oysters, I’d highly suggest going for the highest quality experience first. Don’t ruin your taste for oysters before you have had truly fresh ones!