Tag Archives: oyster

Down and Out

My wife and I went to Down and Out in the East Village to try their crazy “double dozens” oyster happy hour. They currently offer two varieties of oysters for $1.50ea, but when you order a dozen, you get a second dozen for free. Essentially, they’re $0.75ea, which is the cheapest I’ve seen them in town!

We tried both the Kusshi (small ones, west coast of Canada) and Glidden Point (pictured above). My wife preferred the Kusshi, and I liked the ones from Glidden Point.

We also tried their “oyster pan roast,” which is a really nice bisque-like oyster and potato soup. It might not be much to look at in the photo, but I assure you it was delicious!

We also got down on their blue claw crab cake sandwich, which was nice and tasty, topped with a home made slaw.

They also serve a lot of high end canned fish items, like these sardines.

Their deviled quail eggs are good too. These come eight pieces per order.

Lots of these food items are discounted at happy hour, like the oysters. The happy hour runs daily from 4pm-7pm, and they also offer two different beers for $3, as well as discounted cocktails.

Most notable about this place, however, is the great whiskey selection, which includes some very rare, vintage bottles that the owner/bartender Josh secured from various estate sales.

He gave us some samples of a few really nice old bottles, like that Canadian Club from 1940! Soon there will be an entire separate menu of vintage whiskeys here, which will nearly double the current selection of whiskey on the menu. Stay tuned!

DOWN AND OUT
503 E 6th Street
New York, NY 10009

Hortus

My wife and I had a great meat at Hortus. We started with some of their wine and beer cocktails. This beauty was made with plum wine:

Then we dove into the apps. First, a chilled seafood plate with lobster tail, shrimp, oysters and tuna tartare.

Next up, crispy octopus and fried lobster claws with uni and caviar. HOLY SHIT THESE WERE GOOD!

For entrees, we had truffle rice with uni and ikura/roe, and short rib. Both excellent, but I surprisingly favored the rice dish.

On the side, some roasted fall veggies. These had a sweet and tangy glaze on these.

Dessert was green tea tiramisu and rice pudding. The tiramisu was the winner for us.

Great meal! I’d definitely come back here, and look forward to doing so soon.

HORTUS
271 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10016

Bar Belly

Bar Belly has a pretty great happy hour that features dollar oysters, among other deals. We went with two dozen of these delicious, crisp, clean oysters, some fries for $6, and, of course, drinks. I highly recommend this oyster happy hour. It goes until 7pm every night.

BAR BELLY
14 Orchard St
New York, NY 10002

Mila’s Fish & Hook

My wife and I popped in here for a quick lunch and to take advantage of the all day dollar oyster special.

The oysters were great. Mild, creamy, fresh and crisp. I only wish they also served them with horseradish and a cocktail sauce. The grilled calamari appetizer was great, served atop a salad of arugula with balsamic and orange supremes.

My wife had fish tacos, which were very nice (no pics), and I had the burger. This was great, though I wish I had gone with cheddar instead of Swiss (they were out of American). That little thing on top, under the pickles, is crispy cheese! That was a nice bonus.

We will definitely be going back here.

MILA’S FISH & HOOK
81 Ludlow St
New York, NY 10002

Maypop

This joint delivered on some nice Asian fusion food down in NOLA. We started with a few bread specials; one stuffed with cheese and one was a spicy sesame biscuit.

There was also a nice amuse, which was a croquette of sorts, topped with a creamy foam.

The fried oyster dish was great, as was the marrow appetizer with lamb shank.

This spicy pork jowl dish was really awesome.

But the star of the show was this cornmeal garganelli in coconut milk alfredo with curried blue crab, spicy tomato red curry, lemongrass sausage, and basil. A possible best of 2020.

I really liked this gulf fish entree as well. Great crisp on the skin!

Dessert may have looked like a log of shit, but it tasted great. Chocolate mousse with toasted marshmallow and graham crumble. S’mores!

MAYPOP
611 O’Keefe Ave,
New Orleans, LA 70113

Coterie

We stopped in this joint for brunch after landing in New Orleans with an empty stomach. They offer a trio of broiled oysters with three different styles (you get two of each for $18). These were great, and if you eat here, this is what to order.

The fresh raw oysters are nice too.

I ordered a cajun burger, which was supposed to have a sausage patty, a beef patty, and some remoulade. But they gave me the “Hangover Burger” instead by mistake. It was okay, but pretty basic as far as burgers go.

COTERIE
135 Decatur St
New Orleans, LA 70130

Bourbon House

This Bourbon Street joint is serving some decent grub given the chaotic location, namely, the charbroiled oysters.

Those were great. The red bean hummus sounded promising but was pretty underwhelming.

I had a mixed fried seafood platter for my main course, which was nice, and a great way to beat back the remains of a Bourbon Street hangover.

The bread pudding, however, was awesome.

BOURBON HOUSE
144 Bourbon St,
New Orleans, LA 70130

Legacy Kitchen’s Oyster Counter & Tap

NOTE: THIS PLACE IS NOW CALLED “TACKLEBOX”

My wife and I stopped in here for a quick dozen oysters and a drink before heading out for the evening in New Orleans.

I don’t know much about the restaurant other than it being connected to a hotel, but these were the freshest and best tasting gulf oysters on the half shell that we had in New Orleans on this trip.

They also serve up some delicious charbroiled oysters.

LEGACY KITCHEN’S OYSTER COUNTER & TAP
817 Common St
New Orleans, LA 70112

Yakitori Totto

My wife and I stopped in here for a quick meal since we are both big fans of yakitori. We tried a bunch of shit.

First was the “soft bone,” which is essentially the cartilage found near the breast meat of the chicken. I thought there would be more of this, since it is generally abundant on the animal and a throw-away item in so many cultures. It was tasty though, I must admit.

Next was chicken skin. Since this is grilled, it doesn’t quite develop the crunchy texture you might expect from something that’s broiled, baked or roasted for a long period of time. It wasn’t rubbery or fatty though, so I liked it.

Next up, knee bone. This was probably my least favorite of the skewers, but I know my wife likes the weird crunchy bits, so I’m pretty sure she liked this.

These skewers are chicken oysters, tender lumps of meat found beneath the thigh of the chicken, near the ass. They’re so soft and juicy. One of the best skewers (we ordered two).

Our last skewer was the chicken thigh. These were my favorite. Nice and tender, as expected. Good fat content, lots of flavor.

We also tried both of their fried chicken apps. At $9 these were a little pricey (just four drumettes per order).

This is the regular order – just fried and lightly seasoned, served with lemon wedges.

And this is the flavored version, with a sweet sauce, a grilled shishito pepper and sesame seeds. We both liked this dish better.

Last, we had an order of ikuri: rice with roe. It also comes with a blob of fresh wasabi, shredded nori, shredded scallions, a nice seaweed broth and Korean/Japanese style pickles. Not bad for $13.

We really liked this place. The skewers range from like $3 to $10 (for special meats). Ours were all $3 or $3.50. It all came to $50-something bucks, which I thought was cheaper (and better) than other yakitori joints in the area.

YAKITORI TOTTO
251 W 55th St
New York, NY 10019

Crave Fishbar

My wife and I stopped into Crave Fishbar for their daily oyster happy hour. From 5pm to 7pm (4pm-6pm on weekends) all oyster varieties are just a buck each. We each tried one of each kind (along with some other snacks and drinks):

As strange as it was, our favorites all contained the word “point” in the name.

The calamari was really nice too. A perfectly dusted and fried batter, and really tender squid inside.

But what really blew me away at this place was their red crab cavatelli. The cavatelli is home made, and is torched/crisped up so that some of the edges are actually crunchy and al dente. Here are the before and after mix shots (beautiful colors):

I highly recommend that dish. It’s pricey, but worth it. If the pasta is all you’re after, they also have another cavatelli pasta dish, without the crab.

Overall, this place is great. We will definitely be back.

CRAVE FISHBAR
428 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10024