Necee Regis: Travel Writer, Food Writer, Artist and Oyster Fan
  • Home
  • Archives
    • Here, There, Everywhere
    • 2023
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
    • 2010
    • 2009
    • 2005-2008
  • Photos
  • Backstory
  • Travel Sketches
  • Oyster Blog
  • Lit Life
  • ART LIFE

New Oyster Bar Debuts in Miami: Mignonette Uptown

1/10/2017

1 Comment

 
Picture
(Photos by Tess Gostfrand)

So excited to hear that the duo behind Edgewater’s neighborhood oyster bar Mignonette is expanding their seafood shrine to North Miami Beach! Mignonette Uptown is housed in a former-1980s aluminum-sided diner along Biscayne Boulevard.  I loved the diner that was here before but I'm looking forward to checking out the new incarnation.

Picture
From the press release: "Known as a fun oyster bar and seafood haven, Mignonette offers a dynamic menu of quality dishes as well as down-home options. At its heart, Mignonette is a place to slurp oysters, sample fine caviar, dig deep into a fried shrimp po'boy, savor one of Mignonette’s beautifully-rendered main plates, and enjoy a craft beer or a glass of wine from the award-winning wine list."

Open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week.
Picture
1 Comment

Oyster Chat in Miami with Chef David Bracha

3/8/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
I recently had the great opportunity to sit and chat about all things oysters with David Bracha, executive chef and restaurateur at The River Seafood and Oyster Bar in Miami. (His other fab place is the newly opened Oak Tavern in the Design District.)

The best—and possibly the only—true oyster bar in the city, the River serves a selection of eight to ten East and West coast bivalves that arrive three to four times a week.

“If you’re going to have an oyster bar you have to be really busy,” said Bracha. “We’re selling seventeen to eighteen thousand oysters a month. It’s really becoming popular.”

Yeah. I’d say they’re popular.

Picture
When you go—and if you’re in Miami you must—sit at the mahogany and slate bar overlooking stainless bins filled with oysters on ice, and place your order with the bartender.

One of the benefits of bellying up to an oyster bar is that I often make new oyster-loving friends. On this visit I met Kenny Gee (ordered a dozen) and Paula Shaw (doesn’t touch them) who—it turns out—live not far from me in South Beach.

Picture
At happy hour (4:30- 7:00 p.m. daily) you can get half priced oysters and nightly drink specials. On my visit, Sean the bartender happily described my oyster choices, but demurred when I asked if I could photograph him shucking: “I only take the orders. They don’t let me touch the knives. And that’s probably a good thing.”
Picture
On this particular day the choices included: From the East: Little Island, Bagaducci River, Maine; Sunken Meadow Gems, Cape Cod, Mass.; South Bay, Long Island Sound (listed as Mass. but I suspect they meant Great South Bays from NY); Blue Points, Long Island Sound, Conn.; Ichabod Flats, Plymouth, Mass.; Peter’s Point, Cape Cod, Mass. and Beavertail, Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. From the West: Royal Miyagi, Sunshine Coast, B.C.; Kumamoto, Humboldt Bay, Calif.; Mirada, Hood Cana, Wash. and Fanny Bay, B.C. 

“Some people like oysters from just one region. I like ‘em all,” said Bracha.

Me too. In fact I’ve decided my new mantra is: “So many varieties of oysters…so little time.”

Picture
There were many on this list I’d never tasted, including varieties not even listed on Oysterpedia, my go-to easy reference app. (It's free!) Also missing were any Florida oysters, the wonderful Apalachicolas (Bracha assured me that he loves them but—for complex reasons involving where they are packed—he can’t always get authentic ones) and any varieties from Canada. (Bracha is participating in the Canadian seafood boycott sponsored by The Humane Society, though I’m doing my best to change his mind when it comes to buying from hard-working oyster farmers who have nothing to do with slaughtering seals.)

Picture
Born in Israel, Bracha came to the U.S. as a boy and grew up in Brooklyn. He’s lived in Florida for “twenty-something years,” spending the last ten at the helm of The River. I asked him why he thinks oysters seem to be such a booming business these days.

“Every three or four years a new food trend comes up. There are bloggers and foodie intellects. In the last couple of years, oysters got really popular.”

We ordered three varieties: Royal Miyagi (surprisingly wonderful, clean and light with dimension); Ichabod Flats (a first for both of us—and not very briny for Mass. oysters) and Sunken Meadow Gems (one set were mild and the other had more punch), and slurped them with a Muscadet from the Loire Valley.

Picture
“I love eating oysters and drinking Muscadet. It’s the white wine you want to drink with oysters.”
And so we slurped. We sipped. We chatted.

About what? Oyster farming. Sustainability issues. Moms who eat oysters. Moms who don’t. Shucking competitions. Wild Belons. Lustau Almacenista Amontilllado. Vacations in Spain. The Florida Panhandle. Oyster suppliers. “Training-wheel” oysters. Wellfleet. Galway. East coast versus West. Oysters-oysters—sis-boom-bah. Too soon it was time for the chef to get back to the stove, and for me to be on my way back to the beach.

Picture
“Oysters are the perfect food. They’re very sustainable. And good for you. And delicious, though not everybody likes them. There’s no better way to start a meal. It gets you ready to eat.”

Agreed. Though I’d add: Ready to eat…more oysters.

The River Seafood and Oyster Bar, 650 South Miami Ave., 305-530-1915

0 Comments
    Picture

    Necee Regis

    I grew up spending part of every summer in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, which included eating many oysters. After stumbling into an oyster shucking competition in Miami Beach in 2006, I’ve become a fan of the sport and have written about local, national, and international competitions for the Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, American Way Magazine, and the Huffington Post. I've also written oyster-centric stories for Rustik and Modern Farmer.  I’ve never met an oyster I didn’t want to eat.

    Archives

    October 2020
    December 2018
    October 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012

    Categories

    All
    2020
    Acme Oysters
    American Mussel Harvesters
    Apalachicola
    Auberge Du Moulin Vert
    Bagaduce
    Bangs Island Mussels
    Barbara Lynch Foundation
    Battery Wharf Oyster Fest
    Beausoleil
    Belon
    B&G Oysters
    Big Daddy's
    Biltmore Bar & Grill
    Blue Island Shellfish
    Blue Point
    Boathouse Oyster Bar
    Boss Oysters
    Brasserie Bofinger
    Britain
    Bronwen Clark
    Browne's Point
    Caper's Blades
    Cascumpec Bay
    Cave Spring Cellars
    Ceili Cottage
    Charleston
    Chase Fish + Oyster
    Chicago Oyster Fest
    Chris Pipergias
    Clammer Dave
    Clarenbridge
    Clayoquot Oyster Festival
    Colville Bay
    Cooke's
    Coosaw Cups
    Cotuit
    Crowes Creek
    Daniel Notkin
    Danish Oyster Cup
    David Bracha
    Diana's
    Diana's Seafood
    Dusty's Oyster Bar
    Duxbury
    Eamon Clark
    Ecology
    Eel Lake
    Eventide Oyster Co.
    Fairmont Battery Wharf
    Falmouth Oyster Festival
    Finally J.P.s
    Fines De Claires
    Fishbar
    Fishbar Miami
    Flora-Bama
    Florida Keys
    Florida Panhandle
    Florida Seafood Festival
    Flying Dog Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout
    France
    Galway International Oyster Festival
    Galway Oyster Festival
    George Dowdle
    Georgia
    Gillardeau
    Grand Isle Restaurant
    Green Gables
    Hale Street Tavern
    Half Shell Oyster Blog
    Harvest On The Harbor
    Hightide Restaurant And Oyster Bar
    Honest Weight
    Honeysuckle
    Hopgood's Foodliner
    Hunt's Oyster Bar
    Hurricane Oyster Bar And Grill
    ICO Farm Share
    Île De Ré
    Island Creek Oyster Bar
    Island Creek Oysters
    Izumi
    Izzy's Fish & Oyster
    Joe Beef
    John And Sons
    John Baby
    John Bil
    John Hennessey
    Josh Capon
    J. Sheekey Oyster Bar
    Julius Chapple
    Kaipara
    Katama Bay
    Kelly Galway Oysters
    Key Largo
    Kumamoto
    Kusshi
    La Caraquette
    Leon's Oyster Shop
    Living Room Bar
    Lucky Limes
    Lure Fishbar
    Lynnhaven
    Mac Hay
    Maine
    Maine Aquaculture Assoc.
    Malpeques
    Marina Oyster Bar
    Matunuck Oyster Farm
    Merigomish
    Miami
    Miami Oyster Week
    Midtown Oyster Bar
    Mignonette Miami
    Mignonette Uptown
    Milford Oyster Festival
    Mobjack Bay
    Modern Farmer
    Montreal
    Montreal Oysterfest
    Naked Cowboy Oysters
    National Oyster Day
    Neptune Oysters
    New York Oyster Week
    Normandie
    Notkin's
    NS
    NY/NJ Baykeeper
    Oak Tavern
    Oceanaire Seafood Room
    Olde Salts
    Old Port Fishing Company
    Oyster Boy
    Oyster Happy Hour
    Oystering
    Oyster Invitational
    Oyster News
    Oysterpedia
    Oyster Restoration
    Oysters
    Oyster Trail
    Panama City
    Pangea Shelfish
    Paris
    Patrick Mcmurray
    Pearl Diver
    PEI
    Pei International Shellfish Festival
    Pemaquids
    Pensacola
    Portland
    Proud Pour
    Pure Spirits
    Pure Spirits Oyster Bar
    Rappahannock Oysters
    Rappahannock River Oysters
    Redd's In Rozzie
    Rhode Island Coastal Resources
    Riptide Oysters
    Rock Oysters
    Rodney Clark
    Rodney's Oyster Depot
    Rodney's Oyster House
    Roger Williams University
    Salish Sea Oysters
    Salt Pond Oysters
    Sanderling
    SC
    Scotland
    Scrimshaw Oyster Stout
    Sewansecott
    Shaka Zulu
    Shaw's Crab House
    Shigoku
    Shock Top Oyster Fest
    Shuckers
    Shucking Tools
    Skippers' Fish Camp
    Snapper's
    South Beach WIne & Food Fest
    Southernmost Oyster Social
    Speciale Normande
    Starfish Oyster Bed
    Stingrays
    St. Mary's County Oyster Festival
    St. Simon
    Summerside
    The Dutch Miami
    The Gallows
    The Guardian
    The Ordinary
    The OysterHood
    The Oyster (wine)
    The River Seafood And Oyster Bar
    The Shuckin' Truck
    Toadfish
    Tofino
    Tony Messina
    Toronto
    Totten Inlet
    Travel Channel
    TraveLife Magazine
    Uni Sashimi
    Urbanna Oyster Festival
    U.S. National Shucking Competition
    Virginia
    Virginicas
    Wallace Bay
    Wallflower
    Washburn
    Wellfleet
    Wellfleet Oysterfest
    Wianno
    Wild Belon
    Wild Belons
    William
    William Chopper Young
    Wine And Oyster Pairings
    Winter Points
    Woodberry Kitchen
    Woodbury Shellfish
    World Oyster Cup
    York River Oysters

    RSS Feed