Though many of us still love sitting at a raw bar in summer, the best oysters are available in winter, when the water is cold. I love Malpeque oysters from Prince Edward Island in Canada. They are carefully cultivated, regulated and tested regularly so they are extremely safe to eat raw. The chances of getting sick from oysters are exceedingly low. Those of you who fear eating raw oysters had better stay in the house with the air-conditioner on.
Life is short and oysters are one of life's great pleasures.
One of the best ways to be sure that you will not get sick from eating oysters is to consume them with alcohol. And beer won't do it. Wine or champagne seem to be effective, as my many years of research seem to assure. On the wall behind the raw bar of Boston's Union Oyster House is a plaque that states a telling tale. It was at the Oyster Bar that Daniel Webster, a constant customer, daily drank his tall tumbler of brandy and water with each half-dozen oysters, seldom having less than six plates.