O OYSTERS, COME AND WALK WITH US.

"A loaf of bread," the Walrus said,
"Is what we chiefly need:
Pepper and vinegar besides
Are very good indeed--
Now if you're ready, Oysters dear,
We can begin to feed."

[...]

"O Oysters," said the Carpenter,
"You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?'
But answer came there none--
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one.

Drizzled with hot tabasco, a little chew and down the gullet in one gulp. This poem used to make me, like the Walrus, weep for the poor helpless oysters of Alice in Wonderland, but after my first shelled'n yesterday, I can only see reason in the actions of the hungry Carpenter. 'Cut us another slice' he says - how could you not?

I'm a seagirl, me, but have waited years for the opportunity of tasting an oyster to come about. It used to confuse me, the hype of oysters. What could be so out of this world about shifting down a green, spineless, globule of wetness? I must profess though, whether or not swayed by the raves of others, the two I had were incredibly special.

My habit for an oyster, I fear, will become an expensive one, but I see it only right that I make it my mission to have at least one plate a year of the wobbly slurps to make up for the decades swallowed without.

For those oyster fanciers of you, please lead me in the right direction so I can 'begin to feed' like the Walrus and the Carpenter...The best you've had, the ones to avoid and the ways to serve. And for pennies sake, those of best value.

SLuuuoooorrrrpppp.