Got oysters?

It's early Sunday afternoon and I am having a slow start. The events of the day before are haunting me. Picture this: howling, unrelenting rain and wind, briny smell of the ocean, and the cacophony of three thousand hungry revelers all after one thing: the cull of the quahog. I am talking about what has been become an annual tradition in the town of Duxbury, a short 40 mile drive from downtown Boston, known as the Island Creek Oyster Festival.

This year, folks at Island Creek Oysters have come to celebrate and share what they live and breathe every day of the year: the glory of the bivalve. Despite the weather, this was a truly awesome night. The line up included the who's who of Boston food scene, representatives of wine and spirits world and everything in between.

I will admit that I have despite my attempts to focus on culinary creations of the likes of Jody Adams / Chef & Owner, Rialto or Chris Schlesinger / Chef & Owner, East Coast Grill and Jasper White / Chef & Owner, Summer Shack and Seth and Angela Raynor / Chef & Owners, The Pearl the focus was squarely honed on the day boats and the star of the show, the aforementioned mollusc, of which 40,000 were set aside for the event.

I've discovered that despite it's raw, briny goodness it's amazing what a few sauces do to bring out the raw flavor of this creature. My favorite, simply referred to as "crack" was a combination of fish sauce, cilantro, lime juice, and fresh chili pepper, garlic and ginger?. Married with a dash of yuzu the combination was simply orgasmic. I have never in my life experienced such flavor explosion that had me hooked from the get go. No wonder they call it crack ! Paired with Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, it was divine experience. Needless to say, I was mentally chained to the shuckers' every word and was eager to spread the gospel of "crack" to anyone who would listen. How many oysters did i eat? More than I care to mention but enough to feel somewhat sealionlike. Thank you again to my partner in crime, Christine Liu of Citysearch Boston, who made my attendance possible and accompanied me throughout. You are a formidable reveler!!!