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View From Your Table

My e-mailbox is a mess. I just now found the above photo, from way back in October. Normally I wouldn’t publish a photo of nothing but food (I want you to capture the setting as well), but I made an exception yesterday for the photo from Katz’s Deli, one of the best places on earth, […]
Ketchikan, Alaska
Ketchikan, Alaska

My e-mailbox is a mess. I just now found the above photo, from way back in October. Normally I wouldn’t publish a photo of nothing but food (I want you to capture the setting as well), but I made an exception yesterday for the photo from Katz’s Deli, one of the best places on earth, and I’ll make an exception for the photo above, because it comes with a great story, and it’s so unusual. The reader writes:

Last Thursday/Friday I was down in Ketchikan for the annual Alaska Shellfish Growers Association meeting and the Ketchikan Shellfish Festival. I admit I am not much of a photographer with my phone, but I thought I’d send one in. In the picture clockwise from the top are fried geoduck clam, teriyaki sea cucmber, smoked geoduck, and baked potato stuffed with a crab/cheese mix. It was a yummy plate and only one of several I got to try that night. But I also thought you’d enjoy the story of one of my new clients.

Frank and Margo Reveil are the new owners of Jakolof Bay Oysters. I have communicated with them regularly since they became the farm owners last fall, but this was our first time meeting in person. I asked how they came to buy an oyster farm in Homer, Alaska.

Apparently a couple of years ago Margo retired from the UCLA super-computing center, Frank had been being a stay at home dad homeschooling their kids. He is originally from Brittany, France and grew up around the oyster industry there.

They got on their sailboat and sailed around the world, New Zealand, Tahiti (to see some of Frank’s family), and then up to Homer to see some other family. They got to Homer, decided they were going to stay a few months, and he saw an add for a part-time job at the farm. He was antsy for something to do so he took the job and within a month they had decided they knew what to do with their nest egg from selling their house in LA.

They are very nice people. We also had breakfast the next morning. I mentioned you as a francophile friend who swore by the oysters in France. Frank said to tell you that Brittany oysters are the best for when you can’t get Jakalof Bay Oysters.

Now, I sure am glad that the law prevents Jakolof Bay Oysters from shipping their raw product to Louisiana, because after spending some time on its website, I’m dying to try some. Any of you Alaska readers ever had them? How do they compare to oysters from elsewhere?

 

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