With new oyster restaurants and oyster farms breeding one-of-a-kind varieties, local oysters are getting national attention.
There are dozens of praise-worthy chefs in our community, but only two have James Beard nominations for “Best Chef.” Those two chefs popularly serve something you don’t even “cook” — oysters.
Chef Keith Rhodes and Chef Dean Neff carefully curate selections of oysters from around the community thanks to local providers who professionally forage or farm for the bivalves. Their approach to sourcing oysters, pairing them, and serving them alongside some incredible fixings put a new spin on enjoying a classic. And when it comes to flavor, it’s not just the chefs turning heads. The oysters themselves are getting plenty of national attention for their unique taste. So much so, a dedicated group has created The NC Oyster Trail.
The greater Wilmington area has more than 15 venues on the map for the trail that covers the state. Among trail stops are restaurants, markets, and oyster farms open for agri-tours. Fans are invited to come and “shellebrate” each year at the trail’s annual Oyster Week. From the website: “The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, NC Oyster Trail, North Carolina Sea Grant, and the NC Coastal Federation partner each year to bring you a month of oyster facts, resources, and programming. NC Oyster Week 2023 date TBD.”
Oyster habitats, both farmed and natural, do a great deal for protecting the coastline from erosion, especially in storms. There are many state and national organizations partnering to ensure oysters can do their jobs. I’m thrilled we get to be the happy benefactors and pair them with wine!
Cheers to living on the NC Oyster Trail!
Check out these spots helping to make Wilmington the oyster capital:
Seabird
Try Seabird’s raw varieties from around the region, served with lemon, hot sauce, prickly pear mignonette, samba cocktail, and saltines with some extra special seasoning. In-house attendants are happy to share more about the “meroir” in the varieties and help pair wines. Don’t sleep on the oysters’ hollandaise here either.
Three10 Wilmington
Raw oysters at Three10 show up with lemon and pear-lavender-tarragon mignonette. Their NC broiled oysters include bacon, burnt creamed collards, and cornbread crumbs or a citrus chow chow butter and candied Chile.
Catch Restaurant
Be sure to order the “baked dirty south oysters” at Catch with jerk collards, bacon, pimento cheese, and Panko. Next, try the Cajun-crusted oysters with baby spinach, bacon, creole mustard, and pink peppercorn. Typically there are half-off raw oysters on Tuesdays or Wednesdays so be sure to check their social media for updates.
Cape Fear Oyster Company
Cape Fear Oyster Company offers chartered boat tours and educational trips to oyster farms around the area. Learn about the science behind oyster farming — but more importantly, sample as many oysters as you would like.
N. SEA Oyster Co
This small business flourished overnight when their farmed oysters sprouted green gills. These gills are vibrant in color and taste and highly rare and sought after. This family farm sells oysters available for order or at the Tidal Creek Co-op each Saturday. Learn more about N. Sea Oyster Co here.
2 thoughts on “Is Wilmington the NC Oyster Capital?”
Not mentioning PinPoint is a pretty low blow.
Hi, Luis! PinPoint and many other great oyster spots around town are on the NC Oyster Map that we linked. As much as we’d love to, we can’t cover them all, but thank you for sharing and shouting out PinPoint in the comments!
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