I couldn't very well leave off Faidley's (so the list isn't limited to just restaurants), and a few places do several of swell things with their fried oysters (so this isn't strictly a list of "items").
Your suggestions helped, and thank you for them.
I'm feeling a little funny about leaving out Cross Street Market -- but it's been too long since I've had fried oysters there. So convince me (or I will myself) -- I've left a tenth slot open for it, or anything else I've forgotten about or will soon discover.
Here they are, alphabetically:
Catonsville Gourmet -- Chef Rob Rehmert flash-fries them with bacon and asparagus and serves them on toast points, finished with horseradish hollandaise in an entree called Oysters Muir.
Charleston -- Cindy Wolf serves her cornmeal dusted oysters with lemon-cayenne mayonnaise. I love the suggested pairing -- Pol Roger "white foil" brut Champagne -- and on the lunch menu, as well. Made me think of Patsy and Edina.
Clementine -- D@L poster Stagger Lee raved so persuasively about a new menu item at Clementine -- "braised pork cheeks, oysters, and greens with apple cider jus over gouda mashed potatoes" -- it had a few of us headed up to Hamilton. the oysters here are not fried
Faidley Seafood -- The photo above (which I love love love), dated September 1, 1998, shows William Donald Schaefer and Parris N. Glendening not eating fried oysters at Faidley's. I seriously doubt a politician running for office has ever been photographed at Faidley's eating anything but a crab cake.
Gertrude's at the BMA -- John Shields prepares serves his Cincoteague-style "single-fry" oysters with a remoulade sauce, available as either an appetizer or stuffed into a poorboy. Or you can have them added to a salad
Henninger's Tavern-- As they ever were -- pan-fried and served on sauteed spinach with fennel and pernod cream. Right about now, the fried oyster poorboy tend to show up on the bar menu
Mama's on the Half Shell -- Fried and served served with tartar sauce, as an appetizer or in a poorboy. But also in a stew, grilled, the subject of shooters, wrapped in bacon, and, of course on the half shell.
Ryleigh's Oyster -- Many permutations here, too -- panko-fried, served with an adobo aioli, in a fine stew, and formed into a loaf and put on a sandwich with bacon and tartar sauce. It does come up a lot, so I'll say here that a lot of people are pulling for Ryleigh's to commit to great, and consistent, service.
Sterling's Seafood -- Poster RoCK reminded us of the over-sized and overstuffed, but not overpriced, fried seafood sub at this Remington institution.
One for the Hunt -- I think we need to spend the rest of October, or at least the rest of the week, in search of the deserving tenth fried-oyster preparation.
Baltimore Sun Staff/Elizabeth Malby