The Oyster House will be open for business Friday March 25th and Saturday March 26th, but closed on Monday March 28th to celebrate the holiday. Back at it on the 29th, servicing all your Oyster needs.
Happy holidays!
The King Crabs continue their journey from the Barents Sea north of Norway to our tanks here at the House of Shells. We’ve had a terrific response over the first week we’ve had them in, and we’re not done yet. We’d love to reserve one for you and your closest friends/family/clients/mistresses. Or come down and eat one with us solo. Make a new friend at the Oyster Bar. We’re all grown-ups, and we can do what we want. Of course, iIt’s always best to reserve one, so you’re sure it will be here once the evening has been organized – call 416-363-8105 ext 22 and we’ll take down all the relevant info from you.
We’re also going to be seeing the first live BC Spot Prawns of the season in a couple of weeks. Say sometime in the last week in March to be sure. They’ve got a beautiful light flavour – we’ll fry or sashimi them, steam them or broil them. It’s quite a short season and we’re always excited when they come in, so be sure to check with us to make sure they’ve arrived (typically we’ll see them Wednesday or Thursday of a given week).
We’re always grateful that folks continue to enjoy what we do, and we recognize that we wouldn’t be here without your support. So a big ‘Thank you’ from all of us. We’ll see you soon!
– The Crew
That first shipment of live product always feels like a scramble. You’re relying on a fishery to catch product, on packers to prepare and ship to you by a certain date, and hoping that all the various things that can go wrong and delay things don’t. When it’s finally confirmed it always feels last-minute. Especially with a product like a King Crab.
Happily, the King Crabs are en route, and will first be in-House Wednesday March 3 some time in the evening, ready for the weekend.
This year, we’re actually working with Kings not from Alaska but from .. Norway? “That’s not Alaska,” you say, and you would be correct. So why Norway?
The exact timeline is not clear, but at some point between Stalin in the 30’s and Khrushchev in the 60’s, the Soviet Union thought that dumping a load of Red King Crabs in the Barents Sea would create a new industry for the Workers. And since then, King Crabs have been running rampage across that ecosystem.
What this means for the Eater is that Red Norwegian King Crabs are a pretty guilt-free dinner – eating them helps reduce the pressure an invasive predator species puts on its environment. And while in Alaska they are fishing the Gold, aka Brown Crabs right now, in Norway we see the top-tier Red crab.
Crabs are going to be $75/lb this season, and as always we’re looking for crabs between 6 and 10 lbs. We recommend a call to 416-363-8105 ext 22 to reserve one for you and your group. (For example, a King Crab sits very nicely on an expense account report).
