Until today, I have thought that Hunt's was the best place to get Oysters, this side of Indian Pass. Oh my God! Have I a new place for you to try. I ate a few dozen raw at Hunt's on Tuesday and they were good as usual, though a little smaller in size than what I've grown accustomed to at Hunt's, which are typically, very large. Today, I tried a new place, hidden in the depths of Panama City, and it was fantastic. Good size oysters, not huge, but medium sized, salty as all get out, shucked faster than I could eat them, in an atmosphere that is like no other you will find around here. The little Oyster Bar has doubled in size over the years, according to Miss Ann (aka - Miss Gene), who has been operating Gene's Oyster Bar at 302 Sherman Ave since 1968. Miss Anne shucked our oysters today. This lady knows what's happening. She is quiet, but just ask her a question and she starts talking. That store has been operating as an oyster bar since 1927, and Gene and Miss Ann are the third or forth owners. Earlier, I mentioned that Gene's Oyster Bar has doubled in size over the years. Originally, they had only six stools at one bar. According to Miss Ann, when microwaves were invented, they could bake the oysters faster, and needed more seats, so they knocked down a wall to the storage room, added another counter, making an L shaped oyster bar, and they added five more stools to give a total of 11 seats in the restaurant. Gene just got out of the hospital and today was his first day back shucking. It is a husband and wife operation, with a couple of guys in the back. Recently, they added a fryer in the kitchen and now they make fried seafood baskets. You can get Mullet, Oysters, or a couple other fish. However, Gene's is an oyster bar. Today, I tried their baked oysters, fried oysters, and raw. The fried were good, but a little too much salt in the flour batter. I like a little cornmeal in my batter, too, so while they were good, they weren't my preference. Although there was plenty in there - probably about 12-15, plus a load of tasty fries. The Raw oysters were the best I've eaten in a long time! The baked oysters? Absolutely delicious! My brother went to the hospital several years ago, after eating bad raw oysters at Harry Bissett's in Athens GA. His buddy went with him. My brother stayed in the hospital for only 2 days, but his buddy remained there for more than a week, due to eating bad oysters. Needless to say, my brother no longer eats them raw. He now gets them baked or steamed. Me, I love the coldness of the raw oysters. They are hard to beat, but I must say that these Baked Oysters were probably the best I've ever eaten. Surely, it had nothing to do with the butter. When I go back to Gene's it will be difficult not to get the raw oysters, but I am definitely getting at least a dz baked. What a great little place, and I do mean little.

FYI - They don't serve beer at Gene's, so go grab one of those ice-cold 8oz bottles of Coke out of the cooler. Also note, cash or check only. The sign on the door noted that they would be closed for a week or so around Labor Day. Call ahead to make sure they will be open when you make the trip. 850-785-1232.

Directions:
Gene's Oyster Bar
302 Sherman Ave

From downtown Panama City, proceed east on 6th Ave. Once you pass the large Bayou on your right (south), start looking for Sherman Ave. Turn right (south) on Sherman Ave. Gene's will be on the left (east) side of the street at the corner of 3rd St and Sherman Ave.

It is a hole in the wall, but well worth the drive. It is a little pricier than Hunt's, and I think a dz raw were $5.45. Go get yourself some!

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Wow great review SJ. I can't wait to try this place out!! I love me some oysters!!!!

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I know I don't get there often enough, but God knows I surely try, It's a magic kind of medicine that no doctor could prescribe!

This man LOVES his oysters.

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The mind is like a parachute, it works best when it is open.

...and will travel great lengths in search of the best!

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Call me when you go. I'm a pretty good navigator.

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Are they subject to whats delivered or do they get to choose?...Red

Yes, but by "6th Ave," you meant "6th Street"!

You've made me wonderfully hungry... But I like 'em raw in cold weather, as in the old tradition (when the bacteria count is low). I'm a seafood-vegetarian, & I'm glad that includes oysters!

Let Gene's know of your sharing... You might have earned yourself a free dozen!

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"Humanity will attain a new mode of being and life through the free and unhampered interplay of pure love from heart to heart."
~ Meher Baba

i tend to agree with Ocean breeze and i love oysters...but...SJ...i know you are pretty much invincible ...but you don't worry about eating them raw in the summer?!?

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LIVE...BREATHE...LOVE

"I needed the pom poms. Tragically, I can't thread a needle, but Bdarg has skillz." ~jdarg

Thanks for the correction. Yes, that is 6th Street. But don't get confused when you cross Watson Bayou and it turns into 5th Street.

Redfisher, I don't know the answer, but I would guess that they are subject to that which is delivered, but operating for 39 years, I'd guess that they have a little say in the matter.

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I am very particular about the establishments where I eat oysters, and have found that works better for me than using the calendar of R months. If you see me eating raw oysters somewhere, you better believe that I've heard ONLY great things about their Raw oysters and their handling practices. I am very selective. BTW, I am far from being invincible. I've had severe food poisoning about 5 times and the least amount of time it lasted for 4 days. Knock on wood, it has never been from eating raw oysters.

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Raw oysters we enjoy here are a very safe product any time of year. The state monitors the oyster beds and if there is a hint of a problem, they are closed. Additionally, the oystermen are religious about keeping the little bivalves on ice, so it is unlikely an oyster will spoil. And might I add, I would feel safer eating an oyster than say a rare hamburger or poorly washed lettuce...the fewer hands that touch a food product, the safer the food, and no shucker worth her salt handles anything but the shell.

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I'm stickin' with steamed or baked. A gullfriend's aunt died from a raw oyster she ate down in Mexico.

Mexico. Adios la loca

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I know adios but what's la loca?

Literally, an insane female; and though I do not mean to make light of her illness, consuming raw oysters in Mexico excluding exceptional circumstances is freaking NUTS.

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Agree. I almost "died" from eating guacamole in Puerto Vallerta. You can call me la loca. I have not been back to Mexico since...and that was when sarafunn was eight months old!

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The mind is like a parachute, it works best when it is open.

A friend of my mom's died from eating bad oysters in Dothan, AL. He was in the hospital for several months before he finally died. Not a way to go. I would ask for a loaded gun.

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Next thing you'll be telling us not to buy any pharmaceuticals from their drugstores!

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Why go back, they are coming to you
Confession here, I ate raw oysters in Mexico, but that was because I watched them being plucked from the Pacific in a very rural area about 2 hours south of Puerta Vallarta (no raw sewage). Also, the oysters never hit any poo-poo ice;they were removed from the cold, turbulent Pacific and then bopped open with a small hammer, then dunked in the ocean for good measure while in the shell. I have pics, and it was a once in a lifetime type deal, and this gringo survived. I also ate ceviche in a muy authentico bar in the closest town, which in retrospect wasn't too bright, but the fish was marinated in pepper and lime juices, and an Italian who moved to Mexico said it was safe to eat. Again, no problems
Oysters out of the Gulf of Mexico are an incredibly safe product and get an unwarranted bum rap for being dangerous. The fact is, most of the headline grabbing stories about people dying from oysters are cases involving people with smoldering hepatitis or immunodeficiency who had no business eating raw seafood in the first place. With that said, I would still be very selective about where I ate oysters anywhere more than an hour inland.

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Nah, it makes financial sense for some people. When I lived in Baton Rouge, they actually had these senior citizens that chartered busses for pharmacy runs to old Mexico, and they claimed they came out ahead in the wallet. Of course, one should only patronize a pharmacy of good repute as I have heard stories about phony meds being peddled.

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love your review SJ and plan to go get me some oysters... I wanna try 'em all!

I dont mind eating them in the summer either provided we havent had TONS of rain. Also I will sit at an oyster bar, drink a few beers, and wait until they bring out a new box then ask to see the tag if I havent been there or heard anything about the place.

It was not an illness. It was a death. She was a grown woman with children and 11 sisters from Yazoo City, Mississippi, who died a miserable death from bad oysters. I'm sure it wasn't from lack of sanity nor IQ. My gullfiend and her family are geenyuses like me. They were on a family vacation. I ate raw oysters in Cancun before I knew this. I think lotsa people probably do.

I don't hear anyone on this thread tryin' to give any oysters a bum rap. Just sharin' knowledge.I don't think my friend's aunt had anything 'smoldering' but if it was that would mean she didn't know she had it , right, so why would she have 'no business' eating them? Maybe, I'm just unclear where you're going with that. Where? I think most people who know they have those diseases have been told not to eat shellfish by their physician, hopefully. I oysters. I was just tellin' why I prefer mine steamed, or maybe baked, like I can't wait to try, at this Gene's that SJ is braggin' on. He turned me/us on to Hunt's. Thanks SJ. Thanks also for sharin' your story about this happenin' to your mom's friend. My friend won't eat them at all since her aunt died. I heard it was a terrible way to die too. I admit I slip up and have ordered raw sometimes in the excitement of it all and then when I remember my friend's aunt I order the next dozen steamed. I'm glad I did too. I that butter sauce at Hunt's. Taste like 'whatsthishere' sauce is in it. Sumpin' 'bout those 'down home, nothin' fancy' places I just .

A safe practice, but I usually prefer both methods. With global warming, even the R-containing months bear watching! But when careful, as you are, happy eating!

I like raw oysters on a cracker, not with lemon juice as with fish, but Tabasco sauce. Yum, yum...

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"Humanity will attain a new mode of being and life through the free and unhampered interplay of pure love from heart to heart."
~ Meher Baba

Kristi, I understand the woman died. All I am saying is that the lion's share of gringos going south of the border understand the state of raw food and drink in Mexico. I recall being a wee lad of about 6 years walking through the Merida airport and eyeballing a water fountain like it would spew hydrochloric acid if anyone dared press the button for a drink. At age 6! I don't remember if my parents warned me or if it was wisdom from Speedy Gonzales cartoons, but it was a simple concept.

I just hate it that the hard working oystermen who often operate on razor thin profit margins and risk ruin from hurricanes yearly have to have their tightly regulated product compared to what one might consume in Mexico. Thats all.

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kristi, we all know common sense and intelligence are two different things. "Lotsa people"--I see the cliff, I see all of y'all jumpin', maybe, but I ain't goin'. Count me out when it comes to eating raw seafood somewhere like Mexico, sorry.
Skunky wasn't meaning anything personal, and he wasn't making light of someone's death. I think you know that. Looking for trouble isn't a legitimate hobby.

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I never compared the two, skunky. You did over and over again. Why are you taking it so personally? It's my family that earns their livelihood off seafood. You're a doctor. So why are you takin' what I posted it so personal? If it was vice versa, i might understand but still no, I woulda heard you out without the 'adios crazy lady'. I don't get it. You just called the lady who died "la loca'., then brought up most who get sick and make headlines have hiv and hepatitis. WTH. It's been really real. Is it just me? If you're so worried about the oystermen then why did you recommend not eating them more than an hour inland? They're grayt when handled properly all the way in mid USA. Thank you.
I don't want no trouble peapod. Just stickin' up for a dead lady and the seafood industry as a whole.

Gene's is the bomb. My father in law buys them by the bag at Gene's and we always eat plenty raw and also fry up some. yum yum.

Tons of rain closes the oyster beds.

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Crackers are unnecessary filler food and used only when the oysters are so tiny that they shouldn't be serving them.

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Kristi-I think the Mexican culinary incident speaks for itself;go and reread, I didn't say not to eat oysters more than an hour inland, but to BE SELECTIVE WHERE YOU CONSUME THEM;and I said nothing about HIV, if you care to go back and reread-I said the immunocompromised and those with hepatitis should avoid raw seafood...not everyone with HIV has a crumby immune system (think Magic Johnson) and not everyone with a crumby immune system has an HIV infection (think somebody on chemptherapy). So if you like oysters steamed, by all means, indulge; just realize that the raw product out of Florida waters is a safe and surprisingly nutritious food. That is all I am saying.

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Awesome, dude

I disagree. Small oysters are best without a cracker. I like the flavor & the crunch of crackers with raw, full-sized or two oysters. & I like the variety of flavors & yes, filler food. Some I eat without crackers. A few drops of Tobasco.

I grew up that way & enjoy the nostalgia & atmosphere with friends & family around the ice chest, as the setting for a delicious oyster appetizer before the main meal.

But I'm glad for you that you enjoy them all straight from the shell. They are delicious that way, too. I agree.

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"Humanity will attain a new mode of being and life through the free and unhampered interplay of pure love from heart to heart."
~ Meher Baba

LOVE RAW oysters. Just plain love them

The sickest I ever got and lived was from raw oysters I ate in Paris, FR one time. Worshipped the porcelain god for the better part of a week, and had to keep traveling. Would not eat them for years after that. Got me some great Appalatchacola oysters a few years ago and off I go on eating theose suckers again. Ms Seaside and I both love them to death, but like everybody says, you gotta be careful of who/where you get them and how they have been handled since they came out of the water.

LOVE 'EM!!!

ok, Now I am hungry for Oysters....

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Welcome back!

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thanks, does PUnzy eat Oysters????

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I think she enjoys them more than I do, but she prefers the Appalachicola oyster while I prefer the Louisiana specimens. Go figure.

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Sounds like she is a smart girl. I hope she keeps you.

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Ahhh, we debate this topic. The A'colas are a bit too salty for my palate;in fact, the last 2 dozen I have had were almost offensively salty (I guess owing to drought). The Louisiana ones are a bit salty but much milder and have an oyster flavor that I think is masked by the saltiness of the A'colas. To each their own...don't get me wrong, I will not turn down Florida oysters, they are better than anything I have had from the Pacific, I just like the subtle salinity of the ones I was raised on

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What's your opinion on the oysters at the Boathouse Oyster Bar? Hard to beat the ambiance.

I want some raw oysters this very minute!! Can't wait to try Gene's..thanks SJ!!

Yuummm and lots of free entertainment!! But the ? is who has the best oysters on 30-A, fried, steamed or RAW??

My experience at the Boathouse Oyster Bar yesterday was....it was the first time I had ever been there. I was craving me some oysters. There were several tables of people waiting for their oysters when we got there. I placed my order and waited and waited....(it was hard to wait, I was on my way home and wanted to beat the traffic out of Destin, it didn't work). Anyway, 3 tables of customers got up and paid their drink tabs and left because they never got their oyster orders. It took me about 30 minutes to get my 1/2 doz. I asked 3 different guys that were working in there for a refill for my coke. After the 3rd try, I finally got it. The oysters were good once I finally got them, but I felt bad for the folks that had been there a long time and then left. I mean, it is an Oyster Bar. Would you not think that they would have had plenty of them.

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I know I don't get there often enough, but God knows I surely try, It's a magic kind of medicine that no doctor could prescribe!