Mario Batali has done a wonderful job at creating a European style open air market. It was well into the 90's in Manhattan and to escape into an air conditioned food theme park was about as wonderful of a thing as I could ask for. Meats, cheeses, fish, pasta the list of goodies seemed endless. We had to start somewhere, so we ordered a dozen oysters. Sweet, briny, and topped with freshly grated horseradish, lemon and home made hot sauce. They were a perfect cool treat after the 90+ heat outside.
I forgot to mention the wonderful fragrant bread they brought before the oysters, but what shined through even more then the bread was the olive oil. Barbera Lorenzo #3, this oil had a delicate floral note with a spicy pepper finish, it complimented the house made bread perfectly.
