Hey guys, I just had a very strange experience and was wondering if this is a thing, or if they were trying to get one over on me
Ordered a dozen raw oysters as seen in the photo. They were all supposed to be from Salt Run and $26 versus $17 for the house oyster. As I was eating them, I noticed about half were briny and the other half not. I turned the shells over and there was a distinct difference between the shells.
I asked the server if perhaps they gave me someoneās half and half order. He said I was the only oyster order, so no. He added that the bar did say I got what was left of the Salt Run so maybe they substituted with anotherā¦. Ok, if that were the case, why wouldnāt they tell me?
The server assured me that he would come back with answers. When he returned, he said the shucker explained how, because of how the oysters grow, they donāt always have an intact shell to rest in, so he used the shells of another oyster, even though all of the oysters I was given were supposedly Salt Run
I tasted a difference between them and you can also see a difference in meatiness in my first photo
I felt like I was being gaslit and that they were attempting to scam me (in the end, server only charged me for a half dozen). They did charge me 3% for using my credit card, which I think is lame
(Edit: adding here bc some ppl in comments didnāt understand how I was being gaslit. I mentioned I noticed a taste difference, then noticed the shells and the server said verbatim, āI donāt know how your brain works but maybe you think it tastes different because the shells look different but itās all the same oyster.ā)
This is a higher-end restaurant at the beach. Iām debating whether I should leave a review and want to know what you all think
Is using shells from a different oyster even a thing?
Edit: a local of St. Augustine informed me that the waters are too warm for Salt Run oysters. They donāt come into season until 10/19 and they were served 10/10:https://shellfish.fdacs.gov/seas/seas_atlantic.htm