In my corner of Colorado, they're Rocky Mountain oysters, and I somehow coaxed myself into thinking I needed to try them to be more a part of the place I live, to be a true-blue Coloradoan. They're known by many names: lamb fries, bull fries, Montana tenders, huevos de toro, cowboy caviar. There's a rich tapestry of Western lore built around Rocky Mountain oysters, thanks to the food's cowboy provenance.Ī guy who covers agriculture in the West who's never put a skinned, sliced, battered, deep-fried bull testicle into a cup of cocktail sauce and then into his mouth? Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.Skinned, sliced, battered, deep-fried animal testicles are served as Rocky Mountain Oysters at Bruce's Bar in Severance, Colo. Cart Driver sells fresh oysters at two Denver locations, 2500 Larimer St. Jax Fish House is offering Oyster Month specials at all of its Front Range restaurants through the rest of March multiple locations,. Water Grill is now open daily for dinner at 1691 Market St.,. If you go: Oyster Wulff is at A5 Steakhouse on Wednesdays, 1600 15th St., and Forget Me Not Thursday-Saturday from 3 p.m. “Now you can find great seafood at almost any restaurant.” “It used to be 5, 10 years ago that you’d only go to a seafood restaurant for seafood,” said Derek Figueroa with Seattle Fish. “We suggest adding a little bit of acid, from a fresh lemon or from our house-made mignonette.”Īnd, in general, any restaurant that you trust for quality food is going to have great seafood and oysters, if they’re on the menu. “We only serve oysters raw because we get them so fresh,” said Cart-Driver chef Jacob Thornton. Popular cottage bakery and plant shop opening in Wheat Ridge in May “They’re almost like that perfect food.”Īs he tells it, Seattle Fish started in 1918 with a single wooden oyster cart in downtown Denver. “People talk about wine and terroir, but the sun and the temperatures and the water - all the environmental factors - I think for oysters are exactly the same way,” Figueroa said. The Denver-based distributor will move some 16 million pounds of seafood this year, with 75% of it fresh rather than frozen, according to CEO and president Derek Figueroa, who has a soft spot for oysters within his company’s much larger repertoire. Local distribution companies like 104-year-old Seattle Fish Co. They’re educated and want to know where their food is sourced.” “So they have a lot more experience with seafood. ![]() “I think a lot of our diners are more well-traveled or have moved to Colorado,” Lucero explained. Her work with Jax is one of the reasons Denver has become such an oyster capital. “Kind of being in the middle of both - or all - coasts, there’s a lot of seafood that flies in and out of DIA, not necessarily staying here, but a lot of seafood is flown in the bellies of planes, and Denver happens to be a hub,” Lucero said. The restaurant also creates a month-long run of specials every March during Jax Oyster Month. And one of Big Red F’s restaurants, Jax Fish House and Oyster Bar, has been promoting shellfish locally for nearly a decade with its High West Oyster Fest. Sheila Lucero has been working with oyster and seafood purveyors on the coasts for nearly 25 years as the culinary director for Big Red F restaurant group. Provided by Jax Fish HouseA platter of oysters and lobster from Jax Fish House. That said, high local demand means that fresh oysters in landlocked Colorado are not as difficult to find as you might imagine. ![]() And bar-goers lap them up in between sips of Champagne and cocktails.Īnyone looking for fresh oysters in landlocked Colorado should be “looking for a place with movement, lots of people moving through product,” Wolven advises. Wolven says he pays more up-front for overnight mollusks and avoids wasting them or compromising any freshness. ![]() Oyster Wulff’s tropical-sweet Lanes Islands and salty-clean Johns Rivers sell for $5 apiece or $50 for a shuckers dozen. Now he’s stationed for the season on the perennially busy patio at the Cherry Creek cocktail bar Forget Me Not. “I think people really wanted what they couldn’t have, and I was lucky enough to provide that for them without having a brick-and-mortar,” Wolven said of multiple successful turnouts. He’d set up chilled shop outside of collaborating restaurants, with a roof over his head and heater by his side to keep warm while shucking by the dozens. Ahead of oyster gatherings, Wolven would put in overnight orders direct with farmer friends along the East and West coasts. The professional shucker and small-business owner started his Oyster Wulff pop-up with events held throughout the pandemic. Tuesday, May 2nd 2023 Home Page Close MenuĪs the temperature rose above single digits, Ben Wolven began setting up his cart for a late winter weekend selling oysters in Denver.
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