A well-heeled miner who has been panning a rich sand bar for several weeks and eating his own sorry cooking came into the Cary House and demanded: "What is the most expensive meal you serve to a hungry man for breakfast?"

For guidance of those whose appetites are whetted by reference to the good old days, here is Raff's recipe: The dish was invented in Placerville, California, then known as Hangtown.

[4] Later variations on the dish include the addition of onions, bell peppers, or various spices, and deep frying the oysters before adding them to the omelette.

In the story line, Duval orders a made-up recipe of bacon and oysters in the form of an egg omelette in hopes of postponing his execution while his girlfriend, Ann Alton (Nancy Rennick), frantically seeks information to clear him.

Food writer and chef Mark Bittman created his own version of Hangtown Fry in one of his Minimalist cooking videos for The New York Times.