If the Oyster Is My World, I Will Take It Raw or Fried With Ton Katsu on the Side

They say it was a brave man who ate the first oyster. They didn’t say if it was raw or fried.

Big difference.

It took me years to slurp a half-shell oyster. I came to love them by downing cooked ones first.

In my big Catholic family, every Friday was fish dinner night. Dad bought 11 trout sandwiches for Mom and the kids and a seafood platter for himself.

I’d always cozy up next to him, looking longingly at the exotic morsels on his plate. Silently I’d plead for a bite, gazing up at him with my sad, green little-girl eyes.

Each week, he’d let me have a bit of something different: sweet scallops, spicy deviled crab, and one night--an oyster. Almost blue-green in color, it was crispy on the outside in its cornmeal crust jacket, but juicy and savory inside.

I remember that first wonderful oyster whenever I eat at I Love Sushi. One dozen plump mollusks are coated in crunchy Japanese bread crumbs, quick-fried and served with a sweet-salty ton katsu. This tangy dipping sauce plays a perfect counterpoint to the briny bivalves and their ocean-fresh taste.

There is no bravery involved in eating these--except in knowing when to stop.

One dozen fried oysters--800 calories/44 grams of fat (sauce not included). $9.95 at I Love Sushi, 2340 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa. Phone (714) 540-6195.

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