Oysters. I have always thought they looked like snot on the half shell. The slimy-looking, spillway-smelling, gelatinous sputum (oh my gosh, how crass!) never looked appetizing to me.

Then there we were, in the middle of the French Quarter, with cajun-seasoned friends from the bayou, egging us on.

“Sizzling, chargrilled oysters saturated in an herb butter sauce, topped with a special blend of cheese…” came to the table, sliced bread piled on top.

We looked skeptically, but truly, the steaming platter of melted cheesy, sauce-laden half shells didn’t look too bad.

They told us to sop up the sauce with the bread, then load the heavily dressed, grilled oyster into the bread and bite. We did it… together…looking at each other…awaiting a reaction…

Mouths full, chewing, exploring the taste and texture, we focused. Then we smiled…not too bad! No snot, no slime, no fishy. The oyster itself was the consistency of a cooked mushroom, and the accompanying sauce- garlic-cheese combo was delicious.

We were both glad we tried it, although I might continue to be slightly skeptical to try one in the future in fear that it won’t be as good as that one. Nonetheless, we can no longer say we’ve never, ever tried oysters, and that’s cool.

Today…étouffée for B and crawfish cavatappi for me, and we started with jalapeño grit tots with a red pepper sauce for dipping (unreal!).

Cart me out! Not even figuratively. That was the name of my drink!

(Yes, I used the word “sop”. Here in the South, we sop up gravy with a biscuit, soup with cornbread, and gravy with bread.)

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