The clocks have sprung forward, the breeze feels a little warmer, and it’s spring oyster roast season. The Chesapeake Bay seafood industry wants you to come out and eat fresh, local oysters this week in the mild weather. Beginning March 21, more than 50 restaurants are offering special dishes, deals, and pairings to get you out and slurping oysters. It’s the first-ever Chesapeake Oyster Week (ChOW), which is one of the best uses of an acronym we’ve seen in awhile.
Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) and the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Maryland’s Best program collaborated to launch this weeklong celebration of local oysters. The participating restaurants range from Rock Hall to Ocean City, Maryland, and Baltimore to D.C., with a few in Northern Virginia as well.
For specials, the restaurant offerings run the gamut from classic raw oysters to unique recipes like Old Bay-Dusted Fried Oyster Salad at the Woodstock Inn, Cream of Crab Oysters at Federal House Bar & Grille, Bourbon Bacon BBQ Oysters at Libs Grill, and several other inventive dishes throughout the region.
Several restaurants will enjoy a visit from oyster farm owner Alex Johnston, who produces Dancing Molly oysters in the waters between St. Michaels and Tilghman Island on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. He’ll be guest shucking and answering questions about his harvest at multiple spots. A spokesperson for the aquaculture company says, “It’s a rare chance to ask questions, learn about sustainable oyster farming practices, and get the inside story of how our Dancing Molly oysters go from the Chesapeake Bay to your plate.”
We got to sample the delicious Chesapeake Oyster Week special being served at Boatyard Bar & Grill in the Eastport neighborhood of Annapolis. They call it the “Baked Oyster Trifecta” and it’s a sampler meant for sharing, with cheese-covered oysters Rockefeller, traditional crab imperial, and “casual Chesapeake style”, with bacon, tomato and cheddar cheese with barbecue sauce. With such rich preparations, it’s as much a meal as it is a shared appetizer.
The dish uses hyperlocal oysters from Wild Country Seafood, based right on the Eastport peninsula four or five blocks from the restaurant. Wild Country’s aquaculture oysters, known as “Patty’s Fattys” are raised and harvested on the Rhode River and are exceptionally large, making them perfect for roasting and topping with special accoutrements.
While Boatyard offers about eight different oysters (both local and national) at its raw bar, General Manager Kevin Schendel says Patty’s Fattys are the restaurant’s top-selling oysters by far. In February (traditionally the boating-themed restaurant’s slowest month), Boatyard sold 4,000 Patty’s Fattys, many of them at happy hour. Since the restaurant buys the oysters directly from the oyster farmer, it’s a lifeline to keep local aquaculture going.
Oyster farms are big business in Maryland. By the end of 2024, 474 commercial shellfish operators were working in the state, leasing a total of 7,710 acres of state waters. According to new 2024 numbers from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Bay’s wild oyster harvest continues to fare well. In 2023-2024, 430,000 bushels of oysters were harvested commercially.
Along with supporting the people who make a living from the Bay’s oyster industry, Chesapeake Oyster Week is intended to highlight the key role oysters play in the health of our waters, ORP says. The nonprofit will collect used oyster shells from the participating Oyster Week restaurants and public drop sites, to be recycled and used as habitat for new baby oysters.
It takes a lot of shells to do the oyster-planting work of ORP. Its Shell Recycling Alliance, in which restaurants and businesses commit to save their old shells for recycling, collects about 30,000 bushels of oyster shells a year. Chesapeake Oyster Week is meant to help keeps the cycle going. “This week is about education, sustainability, and local pride. It’s a chance to remind everyone that what’s good for the Bay is good for us all,” says ORP’s Allison Albert Guercio.
And it’s a great excuse to head out for an oyster happy hour. Find the full list of participating restaurants and bars here.
