I won’t blame you if you have your doubts when I tell you that your Thanksgiving dinner might be more authentic if you served fish instead of turkey. There’s not […]
Wellfleet Oysters
OYSTER WEEK
Mind Over Matter (and Hundreds a Day) Win Shuck Offs
A contender reveals his approach to championship shucking
WELLFLEET — Six-time champion Chopper Young won Wellfleet’s Oyster Shuck Off last year, opening his 24 oysters in a penalty-adjusted time of 3 minutes and 15 seconds. Calen Bricault was […]
THE DREDGE REPORT
Race to Rescue Oysters From Dredge’s Path
Silt would put Chipman’s Cove’s ‘tremendous’ oyster crop at risk
WELLFLEET — When the dense sea lettuce in Chipman’s Cove cleared up a few weeks ago, Nancy Civetta and Johnny “Clam” Mankevetch of the Wellfleet Shellfish Dept. strolled through at […]
FESTLESS
OysterFest Cancellation Hurts, but How Much?
Losing biggest weekend could damage Wellfleet oyster ‘brand’
WELLFLEET — The board of the nonprofit Shellfish Promotion and Tasting (SPAT) announced on June 25 that the annual Wellfleet OysterFest, scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 16 and 17, […]
KITCHEN TABLE
Wellfleet Oyster Fried Rice
Stir-fried for good fortune, with greens, chiles, garlic, and ginger
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 […]
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 […]
