Gulf Coast Chefs Wrestle with Spill
Tommy Cvitanovich is still serving his world famous charbroiled oysters at both locations of his New Orleans restaurant Drago’s. But he’s not serving raw oysters anymore. So much fresh water is being pumped into Louisiana wetlands to try to keep oil out that he believes they don’t have the perfect briny taste. Frank Brigtsen, chef and owner of uptown bistro Brigtsen’s, took oysters off the menu today. They’re getting too pricey and too rare. At Antoine’s, the legendary French Quarter restaurant, executive chef Mike Regua still serves Oysters Rockefeller, but he recently bought 3,000 pounds of shrimp and put them in a special cold storage unit, worried that fresh shrimp will be too scarce and too expensive in coming months.
As BP struggles to control the ruptured oil well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, chefs up and down the Gulf Coast are fighting their own battles—struggling to help their seafood suppliers, laboring to keep fresh fish on the menu and trying to dispel rumors and misperceptions that could damage the image of Gulf seafood for years to come.
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