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5 Days of Lobster!
It’s that time of year again. On June 1, the St. Lawrence Lobster Fishery opens, and to celebrate, Rodney’s is offering 5 Days of Lobster (we’re closed on the 19th, so it’s only 5 days this year…) Lobster-themed specials will run all week – soup, sashimi, grilled, dressed, infused – we will be working the lobster hard! And of course, to celebrate the week we have the Annual Lobster Gala, happening this year on Thursday, May 22. We convene in the Oyster Garden at 6:30 for oysters and champagne, and descend below decks for a lobster feast. Hinterland and Cave Springs are providing wines, Steam Whistle will be pouring their classic Pilsner (which we found to be the best lobster beer available – the link is below. Tim Bradford will be playing some appropriately Maritimey music, and a good time promises to be had by all.
http://citybites.ca/beer/a-study-in-lobster-and-beer)
Tickets are $80 plus all taxes, liquids and
gratuities, and you must sign up beforehand. Call 416 363 8105 ext 22 to reserve!
THE KINGS ARE IN PLAY
Tomorrow or, worst case Friday March 1st, we expect to see the first of the boxes of Alaskan Brown King Crab off our trucks and into our tanks. $65/lb, and starting around 6 lbs, they are, as always, ideal for sharing. Call the House at 416-363-8105 ext 22 and we’ll reserve one for you.
Valentine’s Day Menu
DRINKING WITH SEAFOOD
| Pairing wine and food can be intimidating if you let it. First Rule – drink what you like. Second Rule – don’t worry about it. But – just in case, we’ve got some suggestions from our list for your next visit. |
| 5 things to drink with seafood |
 Champagne! It goes with everything. Seriously. It’s the most versatile beverage there is. Fat? Champagne. Salt? Champagne. Bubbles and acids wash the palate clean; autolytic character (that bready note that Champagne has) plays nicely with the umami notes in many seafoods. Put a nice Pinot Noir-forward option like Bollinger against the mighty Kumamoto Oyster for a luxe pairing. |
 Muscadet. From the Atlantic end of the Loire River, this has nothing to do with the (sometimes sweet) grapey Muscat. Instead, you get crisp orchard fruit flavours, high acids and great texture from long lees aging. We have a few, including this beauty from a subregion called Mouzillons-Tillieres. Try it with an Atlantic (c. virginica) Oyster. |
 Chablis. Chablis = 100% chard from northern Burgundy, grown through fossilized seashells (Kimmeridgean marl, for the nerds). This wine serves any Oyster beautifully. For the Atlantic Oyster, we like village Chablis – steely, with crisp green fruits and the energy of a greyhound at the gate. At the higher end (think Grand Cru), with maybe some oak and greater concentration, the wine stands up against the more intense European Flat, with its iodine and mineral bite. And if you don’t have Chablis, look for any unoaked, cool-climate chard – it won’t let you down. |
 Lager. What complicate things? Crisp, cold and carbonated, lager has that fresh character that chases the Oyster like a splash of sea water over the bow, keeping things bright and forward-moving. Don’t overthink it. |
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| Sake. Full disclosure – I find sake pretty intimidating. There’s a whole new set of terminology to learn (“Junmai”,”Yamahai” and so on) and lots of writing in a language I don’t speak. It’s really hard to know what to expect when you buy it. But – when you get it right, sake really sings. You know how wine can impact the taste of food – think high-acid white wine with an Oyster, where the acid in the wine cuts back the saltiness of the Oyster, and other flavours come through? With sake, the food can actually affect the flavour of the drink. Like steamed rice and plum skin flavours transform into the taste of ripe cantaloupe melons when you’ve just had an Oyster. It’s super cool. These flavour interactions occur because sake, like lots of seafood (and Oysters, natch) has chemistry that enhances umami flavours. Sake has about a fifth the acidity of wine but more than 15 times the glutamic acid. Oysters too are high in amino acids (particularly succinic acid and glutamic acid) and this is why sake and oysters do so much for each other – they amplify each other’s tastes. So when you get the right sake with the right Oyster, everything amps up. |
The Ontario Oyster Festival on July 16th
The classic one-day summer celebration turns 35, and returns to the Laneway beside the restaurant! This year we’ll see 1000 Oyster enthusiasts join us for many Oysters, craft beer and wine, cocktails from Walter Caesar, Dillon’s and Basil Hayden, food from Rodney’s and Woofdawg, and live music from North Atlantic Drift and festival favourites Horshack. We’ve got the best Oyster shuckers in the province competing at the Ontario Oyster Opening Championship. And after that, DJ Shandy closes out the day with a high-energy set into the evening.
THE OYSTER GARDEN IS OPEN!
You can reserve after June 1, but until then, if the weather is nice just ask at the front door.
NEXT UP?
OYSTER PRO 101 MARCH 5th at 7pm
We’ve paired up with Le Sommelier wine agency to offer another awesome OYSTER PRO 101 with two great wines. Join us online on Friday March 5th at 7pm.
Eamon Clark, international & 9 x Canadian Oyster Shucking Champion teaches you about the Oyster – how to shuck it, eat it & talk about it. Rodney’s has also chosen two Oyster wines to present; Bonnet-Huteau Muscadet ‘Les Guatronnieres’ AND Oliver Coste Rare (Carignan Blanc) from our friends at Le Sommelier.
This is an Oyster aficionado’s bundle and it’s a fun way to send an hour and a half. 15 Oysters (3 of each of the 5 species we eat in North America) shucked, plus another 10 unshucked Oysters & knife to hone your skills, a Pan Fried Oyster Kit and 2 bowls of Frost Oyster stew, to heat up at home. Wow! Get ready to get feel good. Each Package will do nicely for two people. $175/2 eaters
OYSTER 101 PICKUP OYSTER 101 DELIVERY
