Sandy Ingber has been at Grand Central Oyster Bar for the past 22 years, starting first as a buyer and expeditor, then chef and now co-owner. He’s witnessed first-hand the tremendous growth that both the Oyster Bar and the oyster industry has gone through. We’ve asked Sandy a couple of questions about oysters and the evolution of the business.
Grand Central Oyster Bar’s menu lists close to 30 varieties of oysters daily. How has this list evolved over the years?
Through the early 90’s, during the summertime, I sometimes had difficulty finding even five oysters to put on my menu. But towards the late ’90’s, they had to hold me back from putting on 30. There were so many new ones around. This was the result of the dot-com explosion. Oyster farming in America increased tenfold because people were looking for businesses to invest in, and oystering can bring in a lot of money. Through that our business also started to grow.
How do you decide what type of oysters you want on the menu?
Our menu is 2/3 East Coast and 1/3 West Coast, and that’s mostly because of flavor. The flavor contrast of most West Coast oysters are about the same. They’re generally sweet. Some with a little more brine, some with a little more cucumber or melon, but without much distinction. Whereas East Coast oysters are distinctively different from harbor to harbor, bay to bay. They could be next door to each other and still have different characteristics. We try to have a decent balance, a few from Maine, a few from Massachusetts and New York, so people have a good variety.
Which are the most popular oysters?
Bluepoint. Bluepoint outsells any other oyster four times over. Besides being the least expensive oyster, it’s also the local oyster. Kumamoto and Wellfleet are two other mainstays on our menu. East Coast oysters sell better because we’re on the East Coast. “We’re East Coast and local,” that’s what’s driven 50% of our business — tourism. People come from Europe, and they want to eat local.
What’s the seasonality of oysters?
In the dead of winter a lot of the northern oysters freeze up. Normally by this time (January), there are no Canadian oysters available, and I have to start sourcing from the States. But it’s unpredictable; Maine could be frozen. And if it’s a really bad winter, everything from Rhode Island north is frozen. Then I’m scrambling to get as many oysters as I can just to put on my menu. In the summer, it’s spawning oysters, but they all spawn at different times and since there are so many oysters, it doesn’t really affect how many I have on my menu. It used to, but not any more. Now as soon as one goes out, another one comes in.
Celia Sin-Tien Cheng | January 20, 2012
