By Bret Csencsitz

"Why, then, the world’s mine oyster,
which I with sword will open.”

—Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor

Shakespeare’s iconic quip is a reference to the extraordinary mollusk that, when irritated by sand, creates a pearl. Struggle has its rewards. It is, after all, the striving vine that produces the world’s most interesting wines.

The pearl is a powerful image for me as we navigate our return to business on 12th Street. Despite forces outside our hands, the world is always an oyster in which we can make the most of what we’ve got. With this in mind we are controlling the things we can, namely our commitment to conscious excellence in all we do. This mission is embodied nowhere better than by the small but mighty oyster: filterer of water, buttress of coastlines, protein extraordinare!

So we celebrate the oyster this month and invite you to join us in doing so. As a special toast to New Yorkers finishing summer at home, we are pairing a bottle of Champagne Drappier Carte d’Or Brut with one dozen Island Creek Oysters for $95.

Read on to learn a bit about what makes Gotham’s oysters, to paraphrase a recent Google review, “life-changing”…

—Bret Csencsitz

Island Creek Oysters

In Island Creek Oysters Chef Paprocki found Gotham’s ideal oyster partner. Grown on farms from Duxbury, Wellfleet, Westport, and Barnstable, Massachusetts to Tyne Valley, PEI and harvested daily, Island Creek founder Skip Bennett credits the cold, turbulent, salty waters of Duxbury Bay for his oysters’ exceptional quality. Learn more about Island Creek’s range of pristine oysters and dedication to aquaculture here.

During these turbulent times, aquaculture is a ray of hope with manifold benefits to humans and planet alike. In the fight against hunger and disease, oysters—along with other shellfish—are a low-calorie brain fuel and excellent source of complete protein that helps sustain rather than drain the earth. And unlike wild oysters, farmed oysters are able to be enjoyed year-round. All told, they just might be the perfect food. Our friend Paul Greenberg will speak about this and more in conjunction with his book The Climate Diet as keynote at our September 21 fundraiser for the Coalition for Rainforest Nations.

“Shellfish farming in particular may be the only form of commercial-scale protein production that provides a net benefit to the environment where it is grown.”

—Island Creek Oysters

So, what does make Gotham’s oysters “life-changing”? Put simply, that we know when to get out of nature’s way! We order frequently, open appropriately, and ensure every oyster served is worthy of Island Creek’s efforts and Gotham’s customers. As for enhancements, less is more. Chef’s cocktail sauce and mignonette are simple and just lovely. When it comes to oysters, it’s about respect for what nature has provided. Or, in this case, how the farmers at Island Creek are helping nature along.

We hope you will join us this August and wash down a dozen (or more!) Island Creek gems with a bottle of Drappier.

Here’s to summer in our great city!

Reserve Now

“As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.”

Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast