"Why, then the world's mine oyster, which I with sword will open," said William Shakespere in the Merry Wives of Windsor. This weekend, hundreds of swords will be employed on thousands of oysters in the French Quarter - and getting a taste won't require that long Acme Oyster House line that the Bard never mentioned.

In addition to willful self-denial, Lent brings crawfish out of their holes and into the pot in South Louisiana.

Even this late in the season, it's rare that ersters make anyone sick to their stomachs. So, the state knew there must have been something wrong when more than a dozen New Orleans diners came down with viruses after eating the bivalves last month. At the time, the Department of Health and Hospitals issued a recall of the marred mollusks. But today, after less than a month, the state says all is clear back at the source of the sickness. After tests showed everything was healthy, Oyster Area 23 in Terrebone Parish was formally opened this morning, according to a release from the state Department of Health and Hospitals. Keep on shuckin', Terrebone.

The state is calling takebacks on some bad oysters. The state Department of Health and Hospitals closed a harvesting area Tuesday after 14 people reported getting sick at an unnamed New Orleans area restaurant, according to a news release. No one was hospitalized from the stomach viruses, which was traced to oysters from Area 23 in Terrebone Parish. The recall includes shucked, frozen, breaded, post- harvest processed and oysters for the half shell market. The state says the illnesses struck on April 28 or 29. Those who don't like parting with a post-oil Louisiana erster might want to change that 3 to an 8.

by Brad Rhines

This free, curbside taco was brought to you by BP. As New Orleans rang in the New Year with packed hotel rooms and football fever, the excitement spread far beyond the Superdome. Blimps and billboards shined overhead, as corporate entities like Allstate, AT&T, and even the much-maligned British Petroleum were taking advantage of the crowds, and making their presence known around town. The oil company that was responsible for the Big Oozy sponsored the “Gulf Coast Seafood and Tourism 2012 Bash,” a two-week push to support local seafood and help clean up their own image.

Over the weekend, the New Orleans Seafood Festival provided snapshots of the N.O. dining scene's scintillating seafare. This week, though, it ain't just maritime munchies. Louisiana Seafood Restaurant Week is offering discounted, multicourse meals at many of the local luminaries who have built our supremacy with shellfish. Click through for a full list of participating restaurants.

Blowing in on the back of this week's unseasonably cool weather is the fall festival season, and the new interval begins with the gem of New Orleans' food fixation: seafood. The fifth edition of the New Orleans Seafood Festival kicks off Friday, Sept. 9, in Lafayette Square, bringing the focus squarely on the sea-dwelling succulents.

The former coastal policy advisor to five governors and founding editor of LaCoastPost, follows up his recommendations to Bobby Jindal on how to spend BP's forthcoming coastal restoration money with a breakdown of the political intersts behind the governor's recently unveiled list of uses for the cash.

While BP may be sending some mixed messages in the claims department, things are moving forward in the environmental department. Yesterday, Gov. Bobby Jindal laid out the state's plans to spend $530 million in BP money on coastal projects. The money will not only repair what the Big Oozy fouled, but kick money toward coastal restoration projects that, for better or worse, have been sitting around for years. Instead of kicking the money toward real estate and science like NoDef Guest Writer Len Bahr wanted, the projects are mainly focused around the seafood industry and restoring barrier islands. Coverage: NOLA Lafourche

Fortunately, disaster season missed us this year...so far, anyway. That gives us a chance to send our recovery stockpiles to the many other spots that have suffered this spring. Today, a group including Greg Reggio and the Taste Buds (that's a cooking company, not a jazz band), is en route to Joplin, Mo., scene of an unthinkably massive tornado a few weeks ago, according to a City Hall press release.