Sex, Death and Oysters: A Half-Shell Lover's World Tour [Paperback]

Robb Walsh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 22, 2009

When award-winning Texas food writer Robb Walsh discovers that the local Galveston Bay oysters are being passed off as Blue Points and Chincoteagues in other parts of the country, he decides to look into the matter. Thus begins a five-year journey of discovery into the culture of one of the world’s oldest delicacy, and adventure that takes him from oyster reefs to oyster bars and from corporate boardrooms to hotel bedrooms in a quest for the truth about the world’s most profitable aphrodisiac. On the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts of the United States, as well as the Canadian Maritimes, Ireland, England, and France, the author ingests thousands of oysters—raw, roasted, barbecued, and baked. He also carefully considers the merits of a wide variety of accompanying libations, including tart white wines in Paris, Guinness in Galway, martinis in London, and tequila in Texas. Sex, Death and Oysters is a record of a gastronomic expedition—a fascinating collection of the most exciting, instructive, and just plain weird experiences on a journey into the world of the most beloved and feared of all seafoods.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best of the Month, January 2009: Once called "the Indiana Jones of food writers," Texan Robb Walsh has developed a cult of devoted readers who have ridden shotgun with him on his obsessive culinary adventures--from the quest for the perfect cup of coffee, to barbecue battles, to Dr. Pepper bootleggers. Who better then to take a five-year quest in search of the perfect oyster, "the world's most profitable aphrodisiac," than the James Beard Award-winning author, who hangs his hat as the restaurant critic for The Houston Press and has written several books, including Are You Really Going to Eat That? and The Tex-Mex Cookbook. Sex, Death, and Oysters: A Half-Shell Lover's World Tour chronicles a global culinary road trip that takes Walsh from his local Galveston Bay to the coasts of North America, and off to Ireland, England, and France. Fact-filled and laced throughout with his wry humor, Walsh recounts the hundreds of oysters shucked and prepared in myriad ways, and offers a fascinating history that goes beyond the expected, revealing coastal rivalries, recipes, shucking tips, and what to drink with your oyster. --Brad Thomas Parsons --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Food writer Walsh (Tex-Mex Cookbook) catches the oyster-eating bug while on a reporting assignment in Galveston Bay, Tex. Writing at first about the Texas coastal environment, he seeks to understand the bacterial risks of eating fresh raw mollusks. En route, he becomes a lover and defensive champion of Crassostrea virginica, the great American oyster, which is harvested primarily on the eastern and Gulf coasts. He works his way from New Orleans to New York City, comparing differences in oyster quality and flavor from water to water and—importantly—season to season. Broader species sampling requires traveling the Pacific Northwest, then crossing the Atlantic to Ireland, England and France. Along the way Walsh covers molluscan history, trade and aquaculture. Ample oyster facts, figures and literary lore flesh out a book that at times discloses surprising and complex economic and social connections between mollusk supply and demand and at others is a slightly by-the-numbers food history. He lists the oyster bars visited in the course of the book—along with a several recipes—which will whet the appetites of aficionados. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Counterpoint (December 22, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582435553
• ISBN-13: 978-1582435558
• Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 5.8 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #687,858 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Food writer Robb Walsh is the T.R. Fehrenbach of Texas culinary history. While Fehrenbach has chronicled Texas history, Walsh's books--The Tex-Mex Cookbook, Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook and The Texas Cowboy Cookbook--honor the state's food traditions with recipes and revisionist accounts of how our Lone Star staples came to be. Many of the articles he pens for the Houston Press--where he's been head restaurant reviewer for almost 10 years-- have been nominated for James Beard awards.

-Jennifer Lizt, Texas Magazine

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Hit for Robb Walsh January 27, 2009

By B. Robison

Format:Hardcover

Robb Walsh's latest book, "Sex, Death & Oysters," confirms my growing conviction that he is the Bill Bryson of food writers. Funny, informative, full of insight and personal adventure, the book is, as its subtitle states, a "half-shell lover's world tour." Walsh, the restaurant critic of the Houston Press and author of "The Texas Cowboy Cookbook" takes us to the great oysters regions of the world -- Galveston Bay in Texas, Apalachicola Bay in Florida, the Pacific Northwest, the coast of Louisiana, Galway Bay in Ireland, England's Thames Estuary, Cancale, France, among others.

Everywhere he travels Walsh approaches his molluscan subject in the manner of his previous work, be it Texas barbecue, cowboy cooking or Tex-Mex. That is, food in the context of a region's culture, its identity and social history, as well as the food itself and how to prepare it. He visits with restaurateurs, he talks to experts and people in the business of oyster culture, he goes to festivals, he rides on oyster boats (he was on an oyster lug in Galveston Bay when it got raided by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for harvesting violations). The result is a captivating mix of biology and ecology, history, cantankerous personalities, love story and personal odyssey.

His girlfriend and later wife, Kelly, accompanies him on many of his travels. Walsh diplomatically discusses the valdity of the claim of oysters' aphrodisiac power. (Walsh tends toward the belief that they are an aphrodisiac, but concedes that further "undercover" research is needed.) Walsh skillfully captures the eccentricity, indeed, the weirdness, of people whose lives revolve around the oyster. At the world's oldest oyster festival, the Colchester Oyster Feast in Colchester, England, the festival opens with a solemnity that would rival Holy Week in the Vatican. The Festival hall, Walsh says, is the Cathedral of the Oyster Faithful and the mayor of Colchester the archbishop.

And everywhere, he dines on oysters at places fancy and otherwise, from the derelict Gilhooley's Raw Bar in San Leon, Texas, to Rules in London. He says eating raw oysters is "at once perverse and spiritual." He dines on Gulf oysters at the Acme Oyster House in the French Quarter, on Natives in Britain and on Belons in France. Oysters are like wine, Walsh explains, in how their locale affects their taste. He riffs on London martinis, the difficulty in describing the taste of oysters and on the technique of shucking. He rounds the book out with 15 recipes of classic oyster dishes (stews and soups, Oysters Bienville, pan roasts, among others)and a listing of the 25 oyster places mentioned in the book. A dozen oysters on the half-shell can set you back 60 dollars in London. Walsh is a newspaperman at heart, and he set out to tell the story of the oyster and the people around it. He succeeded admirably. The book is a pleasure to read, even if you like your oysters only fried, not raw and alive.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Super oyster overview September 9, 2012

By Henri IV VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I like buying oysters at the Saturday morning market in front of the Mairie of the 4th arondissement in Paris, taking them home, and swallowing them with a bit of lemon juice. They are heavenly. They are sold by size, and I usually get the threes. There is one vendor who will shuck them for you, and if you take her your plate, she'll return it to you a bit later, after she has had a few free moments, with a lovely arrangement of half shells. Around the holidays, lots of the bistros have tables outside covered with ice and oysters of all different sizes, all labeled. I really didn't know anything about the different varieties, but after reading this book, I do. I will be a much better consumer of oysters this coming holiday season. Nor did I know why one was not supposed to eat oysters in months with an "R"--and the best fish vendors in Paris don't sell oysters in the summertime. Now I understand the issue. The more one knows about anything, the more interesting that thing becomes. I am eager to sample all of the oyster varieties now. This is a really interesting book. I read it on the Kindle, but it is one of the few books I would have preferred in hard copy, so I could easily thumb through it to re-read some of the lists and descriptions.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Adventure on the Half Shell September 1, 2009

By Florida Escape Artist

Format:Hardcover

If you agree with the lyrical dining philosophy put forth by the king of saltwater pursuits himself, Jimmy Buffett, "Give me oysters and beer, for dinner every day of the year, and I'll feel fine," then you will absolutely love this book. However, if you are more of the "turf" set and less of the "surf" set, Robb Walsh's dogged pursuit into the fascinating world of oysters might be lost on you. Since I am definitely of the "surf" set myself, I found myself enjoying this fun read immensely. I highly recommend picking this one up for a final summer beach read, as you will find as I did, that nothing compares with kicking back in a beach chair, listening to the ocean waves, and vicariously eating your way through the oyster universe with this passionate food journalist. He will have you laughing out loud and rooting him on as he goes from qualifying for the 15 dozen Wall of Fame at New Orleans' Acme's Oyster House, to an enlightening interview with a 9th generation Connecticut oysterman (I didn't even know "oysterman" was word), to being sequestered behind the velvet rope at the pompish parade known as the Colchester Oyster Feast (where only half of the regalia-clad guest order oysters). You will feel like an oyster eating sidekick as Walsh skillfully includes his readers in the gastronomic details of this whirlwind global half shell feast. Walsh doesn't muddle up the oyster eating experience with crackers, or cocktail sauce. He prefers his oysters straight, and he delivers this book in the same refreshing style. You will be seduced by his unabashed love for the humble Gulf Coast oyster. In his determined efforts to champion the much maligned southern crustacean, he charismatically enlightens his reader to the misnomers, and the prejudices that have arisen around the Gulf oyster bounty. This proud Texan-transplant from Connecticut isn't shy about dishing out scientific details on the water quality of the Gulf and it's often times superiority to other perceived pristine waters in the Pacific and the Northeast. He's no provincial thinker; however, one of his favorite finds is the "native" Irish oysters served up at the Galway Oyster Festival on the charming Irish coast, which his lovely blonde girlfriend describes eating as "licking the bottom of a boat". Obviously opposites attract, but if you are an oyster fan, you will definitely be attracted to this adventurous account by a true food journalist. Today marks the first day of a month with and "R" of 2009, and after reading Walsh's "Sex, Death & Oysters", my appetite for this intriguing delicacy has been more than sufficiently wet. Oysters anyone? On the half shell of course!