I give a lot of credit to my friend Philippa, who never having eaten a single oyster, had the courage to join me for lunch at Huitrerie Régis, where there is a minimum order of a dozen per person. In turn, she gives me credit for having convinced her to try several foods for the first time, including marrow, sweetbreads, and fava beans, all of which she was rather surprised to learn she liked. Still, she would rather die than let a tomato touch her lips.
The oysters at Régis come from Oléron, a large island along the Atlantic coast in the Charente-Maritime famous for oyster breeding, and in particular for the salt ponds where the oysters are moved to be aged and refined, called “claires”. The Fines de Claires spend between one and two months in the claires, with no more than 20 oysters sharing a square meter. The Speciales de Claires are aged at a lower density, with only 10 shells per square meter. The result is a more complex, plumper oyster that really fills out its shell. The Speciales are known, in particular, for their hazelnut flavor, something I have never, ever thought of when eating an oyster.
I love mignonette, the simple sauce of shallots and vinegar that typically accompanies raw oysters, but it almost seems like sacrilege to adorn these bivalves with anything more than a little squeeze of lemon. A glass of Muscadet or Sancerre does quite nicely to wash it all down.
It’s not exactly the typical Parisian seafood stand, set up outside a restaurant to tempt you inside, manned (I’ve never seen a woman doing the shucking) by a colorful character with thick fingers and thicker skin. No, stepping off the shopping streets of the 6th into Régis feels more like entering a pristine little seaside cottage with white wood, shades of blue, and a fishing net draped across the ceiling.
When he found out that Philippa was an oyster debutante, the man working the counter lit up (was it Régis himself? I was too shy to ask but when I return later next week I’ll find out). He asked if she like them, and Philippa said, “Oui, mais je ne goûte que la mer.“ He watched her cautiously started to slurp another and gently shook his head.
“Mais mâchez, ma fille, il faut mâcher. Pour gouter le sucre et la noisette.”
So there’s the answer, from someone who surely knows.
Huitrerie Régis, 3 Rue Montfaucon, Paris 75006, +33 (0)1 44 41 10 07 Website