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BBQ Shrimp Still Sizzling ... For Now |
 If you were to make a list of classic New Orleans dishes, the BBQ Shrimp at Pascal's Manale Restaurant would have to be right near the top. The restaurant takes credit for creating the dish of fresh shrimp, butter, black pepper and garlic, which now appears on many menus, in various renditions, across the city.
Yet, the oil spill's deleterious impact on Gulf Coast seafood has left at least the immediate future of Pascal's BBQ shrimp and the restaurant's famed oyster bar in doubt. Sandy Defelice, co-owner of the restaurant, says that today, July 1st, was the second day since the spill that the restaurant has been forced to close its oyster bar. He says he fields numerous calls each day asking whether the oyster bar is open and whether the BBQ shrimp dish is still on the menu.
"We still have the shrimp," Defelice affirms. "Right after the spill, we bought a two-month supply and have them in cold storage. We can still get fresh shrimp and we use them whenever we can, but we fall back on the reserve shrimp if we have to."
Even though shrimp prices have risen moderately since the spill, the price for Pascal's famed BBQ version is still $24 per order. However, Defelice has seen the price of oysters skyrocket and he's had to reluctantly pass that financial burden on to his customers.
"Oyster prices are up almost 60%," he said. "There have been three price increases. We've only raised prices once on our customers, but now we charge $11 for a dozen [raw oysters]. Before the spill, the price was $9.50."
Like many others in the New Orleans restaurant business, Defelice sees an uncertain future for Gulf seafood. Pascal's menu includes many Italian dishes, as well as steaks, and if at some point he can no longer serve Gulf seafood, Defelice hopes these other dishes will help compensate for the loss. But, for now, the BBQ shrimp is still available, and there's no time like the present to indulge in one of New Orleans' most celebrated seafood dishes.
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