PRINCETON: Down the hatch at annual Oyster Bowl

By Charley Falkenburg, Staff Writer
   Not even the biting cold nor the icy wind could keep hundreds of people away from watching folks slurp their way to victory at the Blue Point Grill’s 14th annual Oyster Bowl on Sunday.
   It was a good day for the hungry — and a bad one for oysters — as men and women of all ages devoured as many oysters as possible in two minutes to nab the title of Oyster Bowl Champion.
   From remnants of lemons and tartar sauce to oyster juice, the chins of many faces became evidence of the high level of competition.
   However, at the end of the day David Wittenburg became king of the oysters after downing 93 of them in the allotted time frame. His success earned him an all-inclusive trip for two to the Caribbean courtesy of WPST and Nassau Broadcasting Partners.
   Trevor Lamb wasn’t too far behind with 88 and 2012 champ Lizzy McDaniel came in third with 85. Ms. McDaniel surprised everyone last year when she won the competition with 99 oysters.
   Other notables were David Goldstein with 80, Theza Friedman with 77 and Barbara Devaney with 71 oysters.
   For the corporate division, the Mathemetica team came in first with 267 oysters followed by First Choice Bank with 260. The Caledonia team came in third with a total of 238 oysters.
   The slurp fest began in the afternoon, hours before folks did some harder celebrating for the Super Bowl. However, the preparation for the competition started much earlier when volunteers started shucking 8,000 oysters at 8 a.m.
   Hunger might have been a component, but the main driving force behind the competitors was to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure Central and South Jersey. The Oyster Bowl event on Feb. 3 raised an estimated $25,000, bringing the total amount of donations to about $225,000 for this year.
   ”We are proud to host this exciting day and to have raised more than $195,000 to support Komen for the Cure,” said Steve Murray, the general manager of Blue Point Grill. “It’s great fun for a great cause.”
   Just in case people were still hungry — after competing or spectating — Blue Point Grill also featured a special lunch menu and there were various food and beverage vendors for those who weren’t particularly crazy about seafood.
   Toward the end there was also a raffle with prizes such as a flat screen television, a golf outing for four at the Springdale Country Club, a chef tasting for four at elements and a Princeton Getaway at the Nassau Inn.
   Whether it was with a full stomach, a brand new television or knowing the competition was for a good cause, it seemed everyone walked away in high spirits — except maybe the oysters.