Restaurant Beatrice Introduces a Gulf Seafood Program for all of DFW - Eater Dallas

"Restaurant Beatrice was closed on an afternoon late in February, but the place was far from quiet. The staff at the 2023 James Beard Award nominated restaurant was in an education session with Dr. Vicki Pruente, the director of research for Palacios Marine Agricultural Research. Her organization is all about restoring oyster reefs through new development and restoration. And as oyster farming takes off in Texas after the state began granting licenses in 2019, explaining farmed Gulf oysters to all sorts of folks is a lynchpin in an evolving conversation about Gulf seafood that diners at this restaurant often find themselves having with their server. Beatrice’s owner and chef, Michelle Carpenter, decided to start serving oysters and other seafood from the Gulf to further her restaurant’s sustainability program. “Originally, we didn’t consider using Gulf oysters for raw dishes because of their reputation,” Carpenter tells Eater Dallas, elaborating to say that people getting sick from wild oysters was a problem in the past. “But we dug into the research with Oyster South and were surprised to find out that the cultured oysters from oyster farmers are regulated, tested, and good for the environment.” Good for the environment means good for Galveston Bay, where farmed oysters help stabilize the bay bottom and break the energy from waves, preventing further coastal erosion. They also filter the water, helping to make the bay clearer and cleaner — one oyster filters up to 50 gallons a day. And oyster reefs offer shelter and opportunities to forage for food to an array of fish and arthropods. Additionally, shortening the shipping distance of any seafood is better for the environment and gets the freshest product onto the plates of diners." - Courtney E. Smith