Oyster Wars with Camera Cutlass by David Hammond in BeLight The eZine of Kalamazoo College May 2014:

The oysters were much bigger than I’d usually prefer an oyster to be, but each was stunningly delicious, with briny, balanced flavors and beautifully firm flesh.

Terrapin is one of only three restaurants that serve Pleasure House oysters; production at this oyster farm is understandably low.

Pleasure House oysters is one of many farms that have reclaimed their place around Chesapeake Bay. In response to the increasing demand for oysters, companies that had previously gone under are coming back to life, and new companies are starting up; some are doing their best to bring back the old ways of oyster farming.

At the Pleasure House oyster farm, cages are pulled up and the oysters sorted and tumbled by hand. This totally manual approach might seem like a gimmick, but Pleasure House oysters were perhaps the finest oysters I’ve ever eaten.

Pleasure House Oyster … none better! Photo by David Hammond ’73.

Thank you for your kind words & appreciation David and we look forward to meeting you again!

Be sure to read David Hammond’s entire article entitled Oyster Wars with Camera Cutlass in the The eZine of Kalamazoo College.

Back in November 2013 we were chosen to give a tour of the Lynnhaven to out of town writers.

We were fortunate to have met writer David Hammond on the tour.

Thank you!

Terrapin Restaurant

3102 Holly Road, Suite 514, Virginia Beach, 757-321-6688, terrapinvirginiabeach.com, $$$$

This intimate spot, just a few blocks from the Oceanfront, is an adventure. It’s a blast to see what executive chef Rodney Einhorn has cooked up on a menu that changes seasonally. Local and regional products get center stage, and a favorite dish is one of his varieties of oysters on the half shell. He uses Pleasure House oysters, topped with impossibly tiny bits of pickled apples. The bivalve explodes in your mouth with a saltiness that is at once sweet and tart. But everything done here is done well.

Emphasis ours.

Be sure to check out THE 30 PLACES TO EAT IN VIRGINIA BEFORE YOU DIE !

Julie Qui from InAHalfShell.com December 23 2013:

Ultra fresh, sweet and salty. I couldn’t get enough of them and neither could my coworkers.

Thanks for the kind words Julie. We look forward to your visit and we’ll do our best to make #1 in 2014!

Be sure to read the entire article entitled “10 MOST MEMORABLE OYSTER SLURPS OF 2013” at InAHalfShell.com.

Lorraine Eaton On Food & Dining for the Virginian-Pilot September 18th 2013:

“They’re beautiful, just beautiful,” said Chris Ludford, who hand-cultivates his Pleasure House brand of oysters near the mouth of the Lynnhaven River in Virginia Beach.

Uncle Chuck’s Seafood at the Virginia Beach Farmers Market offers a variety of branded bivalves, including Ludford’s Pleasure House oysters from the Lynnhaven River…

Jen Murphy from AFAR, The Experimental Travel Guide September 17th 2013:

…(as well as introducing me to the Pleasure House Oyster farmer, Chris Ludford, who later in the trip took us out to harvest oysters on his farm) or suggesting that we order the bulk of the menu so we could taste everything.

Chef Rodney Einhorn’s Virginia Beach bistro blew my mind. Everything, from the fantastic cocktails, extensive and affordable wine list, impeccable service, and a meal that rivaled any I’ve eaten this year, was perfect.

Thanks to Chef Sarah Simmons for her kind words!

As the chef-owner of the New York City Culinary Salon, CITY GRIT, Sarah Simmons cooks in the kitchen some of the time, but also plays host to chefs from all over the country who come to cook. Simmons uses her travels to find both recipe inspiration as well as future guest chefs

Be sure to read the entire article at AFAR, The Experimental Travel Guide.

About Chef Sarah’s trip at our Tumblr.

Lorraine Eaton on food and dining for The Virginian-Pilot April 3 2013:

As the humble oyster continues its ascent back into the ranks of the most rarefied of foods, Ludford thinks that demand will grow for merroir-terroir tastings, and he plans to begin offering them in private homes.

One day last week, Lynnhaven River oysterman Chris Ludford stood behind the bar at Terrapin restaurant in Virginia Beach, oyster knife holstered on his hip, set to co-host the first in a series of merroir-terroir tastings at the restaurant.

For the event, Ludford selected a trio of bivalves – Pleasure House Oysters that he raises in the Lynnhaven River; some extremely rare Belons, a French strain that were grown in Maine; and Keeling’s Pride, a wild Lynnhaven River oyster, and the rarest in Virginia.

“People used to think an oyster was an oyster and just douse it with cocktail sauce,” Ludford told the guests seated at the bar. “We’re going to do something completely different.”

Lorraine Eaton on food and dining for The Virginian-Pilot 01 April 2013 | 10:33 AM:

With many thanks to some of my favorite oystermen: Chris Ludford of Pleasure House Oysters, H.M. Terry Co., and Tom Gallivan who sent the Shooting Points and Nassawaddox Salts across the Chesapeake Bay.

And to Terrapin Restaurant in Virginia Beach, which hosted the first in a series of merroir-terroir wine and oyster tastings on Friday afternoon, after which much oyster trading took place.