Story and photos by Jackie Nunnery –
First, there’s the name, pronounced mare wär. There is a long-accepted term in winemaking, terroir, that describes how environmental factors shape the way grapes, and ultimately wine, taste. The story goes that a food writer coined the term in 2003 to describe the same concept about oysters, hence the term merroir, using “mer,” the French word for sea.
Much like the environment shapes the flavor of the oyster, the vibe—especially the location—at Merroir only adds to the enjoyment of the food. It’s been two decades since cousins Ryan and Travis Croxton began farming oysters and 10 years since they opened the “tasting room” at the Rappahannock Oyster Farm in Topping. In that time, they’ve opened five additional restaurants—two in DC and one each in Richmond, Los Angeles, and Charleston, S.C.—but we went to experience where it all began. According to Jessica Opperman, director of operations for the Rappahannock Oyster Company restaurants, Merroir is all about “honoring the Chesapeake Bay and staying true to the mid-Atlantic seafood.”
Here, oysters come first. One cannot visit Merroir without starting off with a plate of Crassostrea virginica, also called the Eastern Oyster, on the half shell, three Rappahannock and three Olde Salts. Opperman, our educator on all things seafood for the day, explained that Rappahannock River oysters, grown at the junction between the Rappahannock and the Chesapeake Bay, are influenced by the minerals of fresh water, giving them a sweet flavor. On the other hand, the aptly named Olde Salts grown in Chincoteague feed almost exclusively on the salt waters of the Atlantic. Served with horseradish, cocktail sauce and red wine mignonette, they were given an enthusiastic thumbs up by my husband and dining partner, Blaine, a lifelong Chesapeake Bay seafood aficionado.
Our other starter for this hot, late afternoon meal was a bowl of cool watermelon gazpacho, which was an absolute surprise favorite of the day. Blended sweet watermelon and spicy jalapeño, minced cucumber and onion, and just a touch of mint, it was a both delicious and satisfying way to kick things off with a kick.
Executive chef Joleen Park uses local ingredients “whenever possible” and because of this changes the menu seasonally. She recommended two more cool items for the hot day—tuna tartare and ceviche. The tender, finely chopped ahi tuna was paired with two sauces: a caper aioli and a red pepper coulis. Not to take away anything from the wonderfully fresh and tender tuna, but the sauces were both such tasty “clean your plate” complements. The simplicity of the ceviche, with touches of lime, cilantro and onion, highlighted the freshness of the flounder, scallops and shrimp.
There was still more to come, which is probably a good time to talk about Merroir being a “tasting room.” Like Spanish tapas, the smaller portions allow you to try many flavors and combine them into a full meal. I wanted to try the spinach salad with grilled shrimp. The roasted peanuts were a great addition to the balsamic vinaigrette and tangy feta. Plus the shrimp were cooked to perfection. We had just enough room for the fish tacos, which are served with a fresh corn and black bean salad. The day’s fish was a seared wahoo and the light-tasting fish paired nicely with the sweet and tangy pineapple pico.
Other nice pairings are the fairly extensive offerings of beers and wines. They offer well-known bottled domestic beers as well as some local favorites like Devil’s Backbone and Three Notch’d. Virginia wines are also represented alongside California, Spain, New Zealand and France in their selection of red, whites and “bubbles,” which are available by the glass and bottle. Staff are knowledgeable and helpful in picking out the right beverage to enhance the dining experience.
The menu includes desserts like key lime pie and pineapple upside-down cake. We closed the meal with the Chef Park-recommended chocolate and coconut panna cotta, their gluten-free option. This was our first taste of the cool, creamy, and in this case chocolatey, dessert and we weren’t disappointed. In fact, our only disappointment of the meal was that it had come to a close. We did linger a bit, which is impossible not to do here with seagulls playing and boats coming in and out of the nearby marina. Another example of coastal living at its best.
