Pearl, an App for Oyster Lovers

Oyster photo by Farrukh/Flickr

Crazy about oysters? Can’t get enough briny bivalves in your life. Well, as the trope goes, there’s an app for that.

Developer Sam Asher has created a free app called Pearl, available around mid-June, which not only shows the oysters available in your area, but breaks down the origin and flavor profile of each, lists the factors that effect its overall “merroir,” and allows you to make reservations at the restaurants serving them.

Initially focused on Boston, New York, and San Francisco, Pearl will serve to aggregate consumers, farmers, and restaurants into one convenient platform: whether that be to educate the consumer, obtain new customers, or help smaller oyster farmers obtain wider distribution.

“Transparency comes from the farmers being able to show the public their oysters, restaurants accurately representing those oysters, and the consumer becoming educated so they can request the oysters they are most interested in next time,” Asher says. “Transparency is key [for everyone] and the only way to be transparent is to provide real-time, accurate information.”

The list of participating restaurants in the Boston area already include:

• West End Johnnies
• Neptune Oyster
• Summer Shack
• Barracuda Tavern
• Ostra
• Bostonia Public House
• Sterling’s
• Central Wharf
• Granary Tavern
• Post 390
• Merrill & Co.
• The Red House
• Harvard Gardens
• The Merchant
• Row 34
• Barlow’s Restaurant
• Aquitaine
• Gas Light
• Legal Seafood Harborside
• Finz Seafood and Grill