Where to celebrate National Oyster Day in New Orleans

The big picture: Yes, we know the saying about only eating oysters in months with "r," but that's outdated advice.

• Refrigeration and better harvesting practices make oysters safe to eat all year now.

Raw oysters: New Orleans has dozens of oyster bars.

• Go classic at Pascal's Manale, Felix's, Acme, Drago's, Desire Oyster Bar, Superior Seafood and Cooter Brown's.
• Try something new at Chemin á la Mer, Sidecar, The Salted Pearl, Pigeon & Whale and Seawitch.

Oyster happy hours: Blue Crab is running a back-to-school happy hour through September with raw oysters for $0.90 and chargrilled for $1.25.

• It's from 4-6:30pm Tuesdays through Fridays and includes $5 appetizers and half-off well drinks.
• Here are 10 more happy hour options, but call before you go to check the deals.

Chargrilled oysters: Drago's is the gold standard, but we were impressed with Dee's Xquisite and Felix's too.

Oyster poboy: Head to Domilise's or Parkway. See our full list of poboy suggestions.

Vegetarian oyster: Yeah, it's a thing at Hungry Eyes. The martini bar's dish is made with artichoke hearts.

Oyster dishes: More than 100 restaurants are running specials for COOLinary in August and September, and many have oysters on the menu. See our picks.

Note: Old-school Casamento's is closed for the summer as usual.