Oysters

There is an undeniable charm to the notion that Mike Stollenwerk and his crew can produce sophisticated seafood at microscopic Little Fish, his hit BYO in Bella Vista that's so small it routinely turns away more diners than it actually feeds. But a guy with Stollenwerk's considerable talent can be excused for mulling the possibilities of a second, more spacious home. A walk-in fridge? That would be a dream. Enough prep room downstairs to debone a 40-pound halibut, with enough seats in the dining room to actually move it in a couple of days?

8-ounce tub of oysters, chopped, with juice 1 pint clam juice 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour 2 cups milk 1 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 1. Add oysters to 1 pint of clam juice and bring to a boil. 2. Make white sauce: In a saucepan, melt the butter over a medium flame and stir in the flour. When it starts to bubble, take the pan from the fire and slowly stir in 1 cup of milk, letting the flour absorb the liquid. Put the pan back over the heat and just as slowly add 1 cup more of milk, never ceasing the stirring.

Tired of shelling out a lot of clams to sell their oysters, some seafood dealers in Pennsylvania are making a stink and have asked the state legislature for help. The target of their wrath is a 1925 law that the state Agriculture Department has paid particular attention to of late - a law requiring seafood shops to sell oysters by count. What that means is that retailers who buy their oysters in bulk, then repackage them for resale in smaller containers, can't merely dump them into new packages.

Stand by for increased shelling at a Monmouth County, N.J., naval base. State environmental officials are allowing an experimental oyster colony at a Navy pier in Middletown to expand. The goal of researchers from Rutgers University and the New York/New Jersey Baykeeper is to reestablish the once-plentiful shellfish in the Raritan Bay to help improve its water quality. The state Department of Environmental Protection allowed the groups to use nearly 11 acres off the Earle Naval Weapons Station to grow oysters and expand its research reef.

When Jimmy Garrett first started shucking oysters, his hands used to get tired. Handling a knife with tired hands can be dangerous - he used to slip once in a while and cut himself. But that was in the old days, close to 50 years ago. These days, Garrett wouldn't think twice about shucking 350 oysters on a busy day at Old Original Bookbinders in Society Hill. The renowned restaurant can handle close to 1,000 people in its sprawling dining rooms - imagine what happens if everybody orders oysters.

HIGHLANDS, N.J. - Researchers have gathered enough data to be able to say that an oyster-restoration program wrecked by Hurricane Sandy will work, and they now have more than $16,000 from the Dave Matthews Band to help reestablish the research on a Navy pier. The band, through its Bama Works Fund, gave the grant to the NY/NJ Baykeeper group, which will use it to rebuild and relocate an aquaculture building destroyed by the storm. Meredith Comi, director of Baykeeper's pilot project at the Earle Naval Weapons Station, said many nets holding the oysters were ripped from the pier during the storm.

Viewed from outside, the fire hall here seemed to rock and sway Friday night in an effort to contain all the noise and commotion inside. "It doesn't get rowdy, and you know why?" declared Jim Atkinson, 65, of Millsboro. "There are no females here. " But there were 1,200 men in there. Twelve hundred men comprising every conceivable shape, size and socioeconomic status. They milled about elbow-to-elbow in the packed hall, swilling beer and eating oysters and ham sandwiches.

It's only Friday, and already you're probably tired of turkey. Not only that, you have a week's worth of leftovers. Don't fret - take a fish break. For example, when's the last time you visited the Sansom Street Oyster House? This landmark restaurant - unlike its perishable products - seems to get better as it gets older. It's been around since 1976 but has the spirit of the city's old oyster houses: good food, good prices and a simple atmosphere. Fresh is the key word here.

AW, SHUCKS! "Who steals oysters out of the back of a truck?" asks Jason Cichonski, owner of Ela (3rd & Bainbridge), who was among restaurateurs who didn't get his delivery Wednesday following the Rittenhouse Square theft of a box of Pacific oysters. "There's a lot of worse things that can happen to you," oyster distributor Paul Appleby said of what he says was the pilfering of about 90 pounds of oysters from the back of his Ford F-350 on 18th Street near Locust. Appleby, who owns West Chester's SeaFresh Oysters, said he parked, made deliveries to Parc and Dandelion, and returned to his truck.

HIGHLANDS, N.J. - Researchers have gathered enough data to be able to say that an oyster-restoration program wrecked by Hurricane Sandy will work, and they now have more than $16,000 from the Dave Matthews Band to help reestablish the research on a Navy pier. The band, through its Bama Works Fund, gave the grant to the NY/NJ Baykeeper group, which will use it to rebuild and relocate an aquaculture building destroyed by the storm. Meredith Comi, director of Baykeeper's pilot project at the Earle Naval Weapons Station, said many nets holding the oysters were ripped from the pier during the storm.

IF YOU ENJOY an oyster from the Jersey Shore in the near future, you may want to thank the Dave Matthews Band . The band has given $16,000, through its Bama Works Fund, to the NY/NJ Baykeeper group, which will use it to restore oyster colonies that were destroyed by Superstorm Sandy. Meredith Comi , director of Baykeeper's pilot project at the Earle Naval Weapons Station, said that many nets holding the oysters were ripped from the pier during the storm. "It's a shame that what we had out there was damaged, but we really got what we needed from them," she said about the project research.

The groundhog has nothing on shad when it comes to hearkening spring - especially around Philadelphia, where this dusky-flavored wonder of migration has been a seasonal delicacy since before the Colony. This oily "river herring" is a decidedly acquired taste - even with its 700-plus bones expertly removed. But the Oyster House remains the city's most reliable venue to not simply find it (from late February through April), but to taste shad cast with a modern touch. Hard core shad-aholics will go for the roe, lightly smoked here with cherrywood to temper the egg sack's minerally flavor.

APALACHICOLA, Fla. - For oyster lovers, Apalachicola is Florida's pearl. There are many reasons to visit Franklin County, the collection of tiny Panhandle communities often called the "forgotten coast" because of its non-touristy, Old Florida vibe - the uncrowded, pet-friendly beaches on St. George Island, the St. James Bay Golf Resort in Carrabelle, charter fishing in Alligator Point, and bird-watching in Eastpoint. For many people, though, there's nothing as satisfying as Apalachicola's world-famous oysters.

"True Love. " "Let's Kiss. " "Hug Me. " It's February, and that's NECCO Sweethearts candy time. And time for an upscale do-over. Pastry Chef Thomas Heck of Davio's (111 S. 17th St., 215-563-4810, davios.com) has come up with a homemade Sweethearts recipe in lemon, orange, peppermint and cocoa. All he needs is witty talk with which to decorate the sweets. Tweet your ideas @daviosphilly with the hastag #candyheartsphilly. If yours is selected for Valentine's Day at Davio's, you'll win a $50 gift card to the restaurant.

Stand by for increased shelling at a Monmouth County, N.J., naval base. State environmental officials are allowing an experimental oyster colony at a Navy pier in Middletown to expand. The goal of researchers from Rutgers University and the New York/New Jersey Baykeeper is to reestablish the once-plentiful shellfish in the Raritan Bay to help improve its water quality. The state Department of Environmental Protection allowed the groups to use nearly 11 acres off the Earle Naval Weapons Station to grow oysters and expand its research reef.

Oysters to go Just in time for the holidays, the Oyster House is offering its briny best packed in ice for take-out. All items on the raw menu are available. Preordering (with at least one hour notice) is required. "It's the next best thing to having a shucker in your kitchen," said owner Sam Mink. Take-out oysters ($25-31 a dozen); clams ($13-16 a dozen) at Oyster House, 1516 Sansom St.; 215-567-7683. - Maureen Fitzgerald   Need to know new oil Most olive oils need several months to mellow before they appear on store shelves.

You wouldn't think it would be all that hard to be a vegetarian beer drinker. I mean, I've had about a zillion different beers over the years, and I usually examine my glass pretty closely before taking a mouthful. Not once have I noticed a pork chop in there. Beer is made with water, malt, hops and yeast. And yet, here I am at Old City's Khyber Pass Pub with my colleague Vance Legume, and he's holding things up wondering if the bartender's about to pour him a beer made with, I dunno, minced kitten parts.

LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Officials say power was fully restored at the Oyster Creek nuclear plant on Saturday afternoon, several days after the nation's oldest operating plant lost off-site power. The outage began Monday morning, when an electrical disruption caused the plant's reactor to automatically shut down. Officials believe the power loss was caused by the grounding of a high-voltage line that provides electricity to the Ocean County nuclear plant. Personnel spent the week performing minor maintenance that can be done only while the reactor is offline.

8-ounce tub of oysters, chopped, with juice 1 pint clam juice 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour 2 cups milk 1 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 1. Add oysters to 1 pint of clam juice and bring to a boil. 2. Make white sauce: In a saucepan, melt the butter over a medium flame and stir in the flour. When it starts to bubble, take the pan from the fire and slowly stir in 1 cup of milk, letting the flour absorb the liquid. Put the pan back over the heat and just as slowly add 1 cup more of milk, never ceasing the stirring.