New Orleans - The love for Louisiana Seafood runs deep among locals and visitors and that hasn't changed since the Oil Disaster. But customers will find some of their favorite seafood dishes are no longer on the menu because of the Oil Rig explosion.
At Franky and Johnny's restaurant an Uptown Neighborhood favorite, owner, Tony Cortello pulled Oysters off the menu.
"Right now even getting Louisiana Oysters is almost impossible," say Cortello.
He says with most commercial fishing areas still close, and most fishermen working with the B.P cleanup effort, Oysters are scare. While he has the option of purchasing Oysters from other nearby states, he says he wasn't satisfied with the taste. Cortello says he also prides himself on serving local seafood, which is why he's sticking with ll of those products even if it means spending more money.
"We're stuck in the middle. That's why we make the point to tell our customers the reason our prices had to go up is because we're buying local products," he says.
At larger restaurants like Acme Oyster House, Oysters are still on the menu. But given the scarcity of the shellfish, customers will find a combination of Louisiana, Florida and Texas Oysters. Customers craving them don't seem to mind, because they keep heading to Acme to get their filling.
"I love them. I knew they would have them here." says customer Terry Tyler.
However prices have gone up a few dollars. Paul Rotner, Acme's Director of Operations, says higher demand and dwindling supplies mean more costs for customers and restaurants.
"We've seen an eight percent increase in food costs because of the cost of Oysters. They've tripled in prices for us."
Wendy Warren with the Louisiana Restaurant Association says the larger restaurants are the ones most capable of consistently getting the supplies they need compared to the smaller ones.
She says, "When you have a small operation with a handful of people running the place. It's more challenging , you're trying to do daily duties and keep people coming in and trying to do more back end stuff the general public doesn't see ."
It's a challenging time for the 4-thousand restaurants in the Greater Metropolitan New Orleans area: a situation they hope will ease up when more Commercial fishing areas re-open, combine with getting the message out that Louisiana Seafood is safe and just as tasty.
