Mystic Culinary? Seafood first!

A centerpiece of any Mystic food tour needs to be seafood. Yes there is a great farm to table dining scene in Mystic. Yes, there is awesome local grass-fed beef. Yes, we have excellent local craft breweries and wineries. Yes there is a world-class bakery. Yes the variety of restaurants is off the the charts……and yes, we have Mystic Pizza.

If you stand atop a hill in Mystic, or on the bow of a skiff at the mouth of the Mystic River, you can see patches of water that cover 4 different oyster farms. Year-round, local farmers harvest Mystic, Noank, Ram Island and Fishers Island oysters.

While every east coast oyster is the exact same species, oysters (like grapes) are a food that takes it’s unique look and flavor from the location where it grows. Southeast Connecticut and close-by Rhode Island have a well established aquaculture scene and are known far and wide for their succulent oyster treats. While they are easily available locally, many of the Mystic River and Fishers Island oysters end up in the finest restaurants of New York and Boston.

Every Mystic food tour includes a stop at a local oyster place where you can hear about (and taste) the unique local shellfish. The photo in this post is the arm of a local. He’s committed.