Encounter with oysters at Pearl Dive

A few posts down I included a quote from Ernest Hemingway describing his experience eating oysters and drinking wine. I shared this partially because of my fascination with the once journalist but also because the quote perfectly captures the way I feel about food. A dining experience speaks to all of our senses. Our eyes are pleased by carefully decorated interiors, our ears perk up to the hustle and bustle of the kitchen and waves of conversation from surrounding tables, our fingers carefully hold cristal wine glasses, our mouths and noses...well that's obvious, they have the greatest treat of all. Working all together, these aspects create such a full, satisfied feeling --the nearest real life definition of "contentment" that I have ever encountered.

Anyway, it's obvious that this quote spoke to me in a way that it felt like it could have been my own. So when I finally tried oysters for the first time this weekend, I was totally surprised that I HATED them. Hate is a strong word and I hesitate to run completely against Hemingway on this one, but I didn't find the appeal of eating animals resembling sea-flavored jello. I could see how people might like the experience though -- like drinking wine, I could see eating oysters as being hobby-like. You get to know oysters from different regions and how that might affect their flavor profile. To each her own.

But here's the silver lining. When one of the five senses fail you can always count on the others. And because of that I totally enjoyed myself at Pearl Dive Oyster Palace in Logan Circle. Fun atmosphere, great bar, cool decorations, and lots of oysters...if you're into that sort of thing.