South Carolina oysters are the most underrated bivalves in the country. That is a strong claim, and I will defend it. The Lowcountry tidal creeks that drain into the Atlantic produce oysters with a salinity profile that is higher than the Pacific Northwest and lower than New England — what I would describe as a true middle salinity. They finish clean, with a mild minerality and a faint sweetness from the pluff mud. They are cluster oysters by nature, which means they are typically harvested for roasts rather than half-shell service, but the growers we work with select and hand-separate individual cups for the raw bar market.
We source from two farms currently. Waddell Mariculture Center on Wadmalaw Island is a state-run research and education facility that also produces oysters for commercial sale. Their product is consistently sized and extraordinarily clean — they spend time in tumbling tanks that round the shells and remove barnacle growth. Our second source is a private lease holder on the North Edisto River whose family has harvested that water for three generations. His oysters are wilder in shape and vary more in size, but the flavor in peak winter months is extraordinary.
The season peaks from November through April when water temperatures fall below 60 degrees. Cold water slows the oysters' metabolism and concentrates their flavor. We adjust our raw bar menu accordingly: smaller portion sizes in summer when the product is available but milder, and larger presentations in winter when the cold-water oysters arrive. A half-dozen in January from the Edisto, with a proper mignonette and a squeeze of fresh Meyer lemon, is one of the best things you can eat in Charleston. We have been serving them since we opened. We have never found a reason to stop.
