Putting a Name on Texas Oysters

Robb Walsh, the legendary Texas food writer and now one of the founding members of the Foodways Texas organization, has been actively advocating of late for Texas oystermen to adopt the labeling of their products with place names just like oysters from all over the rest of the country do.  It's become a bit of a controversial stance, but Walsh makes a very compelling case for the practice in this recent blog post.  What I like most about his explanation is not the part about how the places make a difference (which I don't doubt) but rather the effect that having specific place names, as opposed to the generic "Gulf Oysters" appellation, has on the commercial behavior of oyster producers.

Fascinating stuff, and I'll be looking for a dozen Pepper Groves or maybe some Point aux Pins to join the Blue Points and Malpeques at a my local oyster bar very soon.