Bottiglia’s National Oyster Day Special Is Fancy, Fresh, and Made To Impress  

Italy is almost completely surrounded by water–it even looks like a boot that stepped into a massive puddle–so it’s not surprising that oysters–ostricas en Italiano–are part of common cuisine. Italians are also known for liking things fancy and fashionable, so for National Oyster Day Bottiglia is dressing this delicacy up to the nines with the Oysters Rockefeller special. Here’s the 411 on the dish that took society by storm and hasn’t looked back and why you can count on Bottiglia serving up this snack just right. 

Where Did the Snails Escargot? 

When life gives you lemons, you’re supposed to make lemonade. But when life doesn’t give you escargot, you need to find another fancy food to feed your rich customers. That’s what happened back in 1889 in a restaurant in New Orleans, so they substituted local oysters for their spéciale du jour. In order to upsell to their swank clientele, the owners named the dish Oysters Rockefeller after the wealthiest man in the country at the time, John D. Rockefeller. The green purée in the half-shells being the same color as money must have helped as well as the incredibly rich and delicious flavor of the finished product. The popularity of this dish moved at the opposite of a snail’s pace, making other restaurants race to catch up with this new culinary creation. 

Bottiglia Bakes It Best This National Oyster Day

While Oysters Rockefeller is already a traditionally rich dish, Bottiglia works its Italian magic on it to make it even tastier. First, they lightly bake three fresh oysters with butter and then lightly roll them in parmesan bread crumbs, making the texture just soft and warm enough to feel like it's melting in your mouth. They delicately mix garlic cream and spinach into a purée of pure perfection to fill the half-shell before settling the oyster on top. Each oyster then sits in a beautiful little bowl ready to be scooped and savored. You’ll feel so absolutely affluent eating Bottiglia’s Oysters Rockefeller that you might get swanky and order seconds. For a taste of the past and a delicacy that lasts, bring yourself to Bottiglia this Friday, August 5th for National Oyster Day.