Oyster Riot!

We went to the 23rd annual Oyster Riot earlier this month at Old Ebbitt Grill's atrium. This was the first of three Oyster Riot sessions held the weekend prior to Thanksgiving — with each session bringing in nearly 1,000 people who devoured tens of thousands of oysters while enjoying the gold medal winners of the International Wines for Oysters Competition. We snapped Congressional Seafood Co.’s Jonathan Pearlman, his wife, Jill, and Clyde’s Restaurant Group Area Director of Operations David Moran.

Oyster Riot benefited the Potomac Riverkeeper Network, which protects the public's right to clean water in rivers and streams. The network is a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the entire Potomac Watershed through legal advocacy. Here, Miriam Warren, who works in public affairs, with Medtronic’s Courtney Rodgers.

D.C.’s oyster competition was inspired by the Jon Rowley-organized Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition in Seattle. In 1995, Moran was sent to judge in Rowley’s competition and upon his return, Moran decided CRG needed to replicate the competition at the Old Ebbitt Grill, and thus the first large-scale, International Wines for Oysters Competition and Oyster Riot were born. Rowley died Oct. 4, but his legacy lives on, from Washington State to Washington, D.C. Here, the Coast Guard’s Sharon Hageman, Jessica Dunaway and Keller Williams Realty’s Kelly C. Kelley.

A panel of judges selected gold medal winners Nov. 6 from among 20 finalists for the International Wines for Oysters Competition, which more than 200 wineries entered. The winning wines were celebrated at Oyster Riot, where guests enjoyed unlimited oysters and wine, live blues music from Mudcat and The Bad Influence Band at the cocktail party. Here, Resonate’s Jen Lieberman and Russell Reynolds Associates’ Angela Lewis.