Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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!

This book is the perfect mix of pleasure reading and scientific information. Walsh takes his readers on a world-wide oyster tasting tour. He shares his experiences meeting oyster farmers of every kind, and describes (in detail) tasting different oyster varieties in so many locations. Every time you read this book you will find your mouth watering and making reservations for your nearest raw bar!

This book is great as a travelogue as well as a discussion of oysters. The author acknowledges a clear Texas bias, but he is also a fan of many other oysters and oyster locations as well. Topics are far-ranging and include fishing, farming, oyster reproduction and anatomy, health issues, recipes, and of course dining everywhere from the most simple and remote oyster dive bar to the fanciest of fine dining restaurants to the most unusual celebration of a town's oyster heritage where almost no one would actually eat one. In short, the book is a fairly comprehensive treatise on oysters in the western world, and it is a lot of fun to tag along with Robb Walsh on his obsessive oyster quests.

I'm a big Robb Walsh fan, and a big oyster fan, so this book is a natural for me. Walsh's conversational writing style might not be for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoy it. He hits all the bases, and throws in some recipes to boot. What's not to like?

Mr. Walsh clearly is in love with his wife and his oysters, not neccesarily in that order. It is a joy to see someone so enamored of one of life's hidden pleasures (the swallowing of a fat, succulent raw oyster) that hopefully his enthusiasm and writing capabilities can be picked up by young readers who, generally, have never had to shuck an oyster and probably have never tasted a raw one. Mixing the Texas twang with the French noblesse oblige is one of the writer's hallmarks and he succeeds in making you interested in everything relating to oysters, the taste, the placement, the politics and the future of the beast. Long may the oyster reign!

I lent this book to my husband to read on a cross country flight to California. He spent the better part of an evening looking for Zuni bar in SF, an oyster bar held in high regard by the author!Unfortunately he never did find the bar but he read the most of the book and raved about it! Well written and an entertaining read for any lover of oysters. Highly recommended by this Chesapeake Bay loving family.

Hands down, the best and most accurate book on oysters, the industry and the characters within it. I can't speak highly enough about it and recommend it to all but the non-deserving.

Professionally, I am enamored by and entrenched in the business. My specialties are a bit broader than the oyster, but still account for roughly 33% of my day to day. I work with now or have crossed paths with several of the people interviewed in the book, such accurate writing, it gives credibility to everything else in the chapters that I am less acquainted with.

Can't say enough about it, all too thrilled.
Three cheers,

Matt DiMatteo
American Mussel Harvesters, Inc.

I am not an oyster lover. At least, not yet. Before reading Robb Walsh's "Sex, Death and Oysters" I had never shucked an oyster let alone eaten a raw one in my own home. I've always preferred oysters battered and fried. After reading this book on vacation--and a quick visit to Monterey Fish Market in Berkeley--I found myself enjoying a bit of sweet oyster liqueur and its tender flesh with my wife in my kitchen one afternoon.

Robb Walsh invites the reader on a meandering journey through oyster reefs in Texas, oyster bars in Louisiana, an oyster festival in England, a shucking competition in Ireland, and fine restaurants in France. "Sex, Death and Oysters" provides illustrations of the various species of oysters, charts the quantities of oysters collected in various regions, details the reproductive cycles of oysters, and recites historical facts about oysters going back to the ancient Roman empire.

Amidst the collection of facts about oysters, Robb Walsh makes keene observations about culture noting a sign saying "Show us your tits" in an oyster bar in Louisiana as well as pointing out the complicated dynamics of commercial oyster production in Ireland for the French market. Robb Walsh enjoys oysters with wine in France as much as he does with cold beer in Texas demonstrating a love for food in its variety of forms. Through his writing, oysters on the half shell expose not only their tender sweet flesh, but also how oyster farms shape culture, producers manipulate nature, and salesmen milk the market for profit.

The book meanders so much and covers so many facts, I found myself at times wading in murky waters. Each article in Robb Walsh's "Are You Really Going To Eat?" so often end with a clear punch that I expected "Sex, Death and Oysters" to do the same. I don't know if the longer form was more challenging for Robb Walsh or if I just had false expectations. Probably the latter. After all, I think the point is to get into the water, murky as it is, and come out with a few choice oysters.