Last year may have been the-year-that-cannot-be-named, but for Robert and me it was not entirely bad. It was the year we got our oyster mojo going. We became rookie recreational […]
Wellfleet Oysters
VIRTUAL OYSTERFEST
Chefs and Shuckers Take to the Stage for the 20th Annual Wellfleet OysterFest
For the first time, staying home for the ’Fest means not missing the shuck off
WELLFLEET — Like almost everything else in 2020, the Wellfleet OysterFest will look very different this year. The town’s signature celebration, which in 2019 hosted about 23,000 visitors and routinely […]
CONTENDERS
Behind the Scenes at OysterFest 2020
Lights, cameras, masks: ‘The shuck must go on!’
There will be a shuck off at the 20th annual OysterFest. But there will be no competitive parking, no pressing through crowds on Main Street, and no lines under the […]
OUTER CAPE PORTRAIT
‘I’m Still Moving’
RICHARD BLAKELEY / SHELLFISH GROWER / WELLFLEET
Richard Blakeley has been growing clams and oysters on the Wellfleet flats since the 1980s. A year ago, he spoke of slowing down, perhaps even getting ready to pass the […]
COCKTAIL HOUR
What to Drink With Oysters
Crisp, refreshing, and mineral flavors
As OysterFest rolls around, it’s time to talk about what you should drink with those briny, sparkling Wellfleets. The classic wines to go with oysters have lively acidity and pronounced […]
GALLERY
There Is No Wrong Way to Eat an Oyster
But oyster plates help the bivalves hold their liquor
Oyster plates were a Victorian-era idea that became part of the evolution of oysters from inexpensive street food to coveted delicacy, a shift that happened in the early 1900s, when […]
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
John Y. Newcomb, Wellfleet’s Most Famous Oysterman
Thoreau’s visit with the Rabelaisian resident of Williams Pond
Even before there was a written Wellfleet history, there were Wellfleet oysters. We know that indigenous peoples savored them raw, smoked, roasted, steamed, and dried, because of the massive shell […]
AQUACULTURE
Return to the Tides
After their winter slumber, Wellfleet oysters awaken to cold beds
Some of us, tired of winter, are starting to daydream about lazy afternoons, cold beers, and oysters. But for the oyster farmers of Wellfleet, now begins the spring cycle of […]
