Where can you get fresh, beautiful, big, salty, delicious, succulent oysters? For only $1 each? Once per month at Kitty Hoynes, in Armory Square Syracuse. Nov 9th, Friday, we went down to Syracuse’s Downtown area to enjoy the Syracuse Beer Week festivities. Beer Week happens literally all over our reigion at all kinds of places, including Wegman’s, Tops, your local corner stores, gas stations, favorite bars & restaurants.
We began at Blue Tusk for the Duvel tasting and eventually landed at Kitty Hoynes for none other than the free Guinness and $1 oysters. YES, f-r-e-e Guinness. Plus the bar was fully stocked with unlimited selections of beers around the world. What else could you ask for?
The oysters were perfect, the atmosphere was much less chaotic than I imagined. When I heard there were $1 oysters, I pictured pandemonium, swarms of people, lines of anxious folks shoving to get to the cocktail sauce. It was so pleasant and calm and simple! There was a counter-high ice box about 2 feet by 4 feet and a foot deep with ice & oysters. A man stood behind with an apron, gloves & an oyster knife ready to start shucking. I never saw anyone shuck like this, shell after shell, bicuspid valves popping open one after another. One special, important action the shucker did upon each oyster that he opened– he smelled each one to make sure it was just right for serving.
Oysters at Kitty Hoynes
Ordering was easy: a quick visit to the bar, pointed to where we sat & in a few short minutes, we were brought over a perfect plate of the freshly opened mussels accompanied by oyster crackers, just enough cocktail sauce & little bits of lemon. After only 6 each, we had to order a few more. Good thinking. Kitty Hoynes usually features Bluepoints, but due to Hurricane Sandy, they had Wellfleets freshly delivered. Wellfleets are a similar species of oysters and similarly appreciated.
Reuben Fritters
Kitty Hoynes will be featured on triple-D (formally known as “Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives“), on Monday night. Guy Fieri visited and filmed the show in Syracuse this August and the pub’s debut is Monday night at 10pm on FoodTV. I heard that Mr. Fieri tried the Reuben Fritters, we couldn’t leave with out a sampling of those. Filled with a little sauerkraut and lots of corned beef & a taste of swissy-cream cheese, paired with whole grain mustard dipping sauce.
See you at the next buck-a-shuck night!
Oyster Station
Bottom’s Up | Oysters Anyone?
