Aw Shucks and Big Shucks Throw Their First OysterFest After 43 Years

Oyster season is here, and Aw Shucks and Big Shucks are marking it with something they’ve never done in 43 years of shucking. The family-run oyster bars have launched their first OysterFest, a run of special oyster dishes at all four North Texas locations that wraps up with a patio party on Saturday, November 14.

Bob Peterson opened the original Aw Shucks on Lower Greenville in 1983 with a simple idea, a seafood shack in Dallas without the beach. His son Nick Peterson now runs the family’s Peterson Management Group, which also owns Blue Goose Cantina. The places still look and feel like they always have, which is a big part of why people keep coming back.

The OysterFest menu runs now through November 14 at Aw Shucks on Greenville Avenue, Big Shucks on Mockingbird Lane, Big Shucks in Richardson and Aw Shucks in Lewisville. It’s six dishes, and most of them push the oyster somewhere new.

The Fried Oyster Nachos pile six crispy fried oysters over tortilla chips with a creamy verde sauce and habanero onions. The Buffalo Fried Oyster Tacos come in soft corn tortillas with tangy slaw and blue cheese dressing, a bar-food mashup that makes more sense than it sounds.

For something richer, the Lump Crab Grilled Oysters top four Gulf oysters with lump crab, Cajun cream sauce and parsley. Raw oyster people get two options. The Shrimp Pico Raw Oysters are topped with shrimp pico de gallo and served in Tajín-rimmed shells. The “Dressed” Raw Oysters come by the dozen with watermelon salsa, ponzu and a creamy cilantro sauce, so you can dress each one to suit yourself.

Then there’s the Oyster Shooter “Shucks Style,” a raw oyster dropped into house-made michelada mix with your choice of draft beer, served in a chilled glass with a Tajín rim and lime. It’s the kind of thing that turns a quick lunch into a long afternoon.

The big day is Saturday, November 14, from 1 to 6 p.m. on the patio at Big Shucks, 6232 E. Mockingbird Lane. Expect live music from Hit Factory, oyster tastings, cold drinks and raffles. Specialty dishes that afternoon are sold through a ticket system. The dress code is the same as it’s been since 1983: anything from flip-flops to dress socks.

There’s a good cause folded in, too. Aw Shucks has teamed up with Oyster South, a 501(c)(3) charity based in Decatur, Georgia, that supports oyster farmers across the Southern states and works to keep coastal waters healthy. Its membership includes more than 150 Southern oyster farmers, and it runs a mentorship program that pairs new growers with experienced ones. Its people will be on hand at the finale to talk about why oysters matter well beyond the plate. Oyster reefs give shelter to fish, shrimp and crabs, and a single adult oyster can filter dozens of gallons of water a day when conditions are right. It’s a good reminder that eating oysters and protecting them can go together. Anyone who wants to do more than eat can make a tax-deductible gift through Oyster South’s donation page.

The timing is right on the calendar, too. The old rule says to eat oysters in months with an R in them, and cooler water tends to make for fuller, better-tasting oysters. Mid-November is about as good as it gets.

CraveDFW last caught up with the family at the annual crawfish boil in Lewisville this spring. OysterFest looks like it could become the fall counterpart, and Nick Peterson says he hopes it becomes an annual tradition.

All four locations are open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.