I am planning a trip to Manhattan in June. I have not visited your island for 40 or so years. Friends have informed me that Manhattan is now very gentrified and has lost it edge, and I should concentrate on Brooklyn. What is your take on this?

Early Americans were absolutely oyster crazy. When the first English settlers arrived at Plymouth Rock, oysters were a reliable and tasty source of nutrition. Coastal American Indian Nations had already been harvesting them for at least 3,000 years. As the young colony’s population grew and spread to cover much of the East Coast, folks along the shores devoured oysters. In stuffings, chowders, …