Obsessed: Oysters
Obsessed: Oysters
A Periodic Roundup of the Things Living Rent-Free in My Head ( 002 — Week of August 5th )
If you are new here, every so often I free up real estate for gathering experiences, locations, media, etc. by sharing the things I am already in love with, with you. If you want the full annotated commentary, read on. If you just want the brass tax, you can always pop over to the Obsessed Database where I am cataloging all of the recs I make across this series.
This week I went to a new oyster bar in Oakland, and it was so mid I almost made a dummy gmail just to review it. But why be anonymous when I can share *all* of my thoughts with my *all* loyal subscribers, right?
In any case, I love oysters, and this disappointment got me thinking about all of the oyster places (around the bay) that I would patronize again.
In this way, like an oyster, this obsessed digest is relatively small. (In the next obsessed: TV shows I would watch again and don’t think you’ve ever heard of…)
Oysters 🦪
Small Change Oyster Bar
Let’s just get this out of the way. I do not recommend going here unless all you want is oysters *and* possibly wine. Here’s a breakdown:
Oysters 5/5 (What else needs to be said, I love oysters, and these were good. I got the smallest ones they had on the menu that day.)
Mignonette Sauce 5/5 (Best mignonette Sauce I have had, a bit spicy, really impressed.)
French Fries 0/5 (They couldn’t make fries unless you got it with the battered fish. Was a very odd interaction trying to understand this limitation. The explanation was the kitchen was too small, someone who works in the food service industry, am I the asshole or is this a thin excuse?)
Ceviche 2/5 (Flavorless fish. The worst chips to accompany it: grainy when the fish wanted a proper tortilla chip like from Morenita, instead it was more like the bottom of a whole foods tortilla bag :/ . Most chips were broken like they were at the bottom of the bag. Really disappointing. It looked nothing like the promo image on their website, maybe I just caught them on a bad day. )
Anticipated sticking around and ordering more, but after this plus the wait staff being oddly disaffected on 4 pm on a Thursday, it was time to go. Didn’t even look at the wine menu. That said, the ambiance of the back patio was 4/5. It’s a total gem of a backyard in the Temescal district. So if all you want is oysters, I think you will have a lovely time. I will likely go back under these strict conditions.
Hog Island Oyster Farm
Don’t walk, run (well drive quite carefully) to Hog Island Oyster Co.’s farm just north of Pt. Reyes. Here’s the they only sell rundown:
Oysters 5/5
Mignonette Sauce 3/5 (Average mignonette sauce, no complaints, also no praise.)
While their terrace is sometimes closed, it’s a great place to pick up oysters cheap and then drive down the coast until you find a quaint spot to pull over (just make sure you bring:
a cooler,
a shucker,
something to protect your hands (a dish rag can do the trick),
anything you might want to garnish your oysters (though the farm sells anything you forget), and
a cutting board to get leverage on the oyster— I learned the hard way that shucking oysters on a sandy beach without a hard surface is a fool’s errand).
If the Farm’s terrace is closed and you are in need of a local spot, I love Alan Sieroty Beach just about 15 min south of the farm. During the week, there is a non-zero chance you will have the whole beach to yourself. If Hog Island Oyster Farm’s terrace is open, it’s a great spot too, so I have heard.
Tony's Seafood Restaurant
It doesn’t get much more quintessential than Tony’s. It’s right on the water, and is charming as all get out. It looks like the Aflec’s just shot a dreary feature film there. In this way, its like Small Change, that is, mostly about ambiance *and* oysters.
But in this case, it just isn’t a problem, because, well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t expect ‘cuisine’ on the water, I expect excellent fish. And this is on full offer here.
Oysters 5/5
Mignonette Sauce 3/5 (Same as Hog Island, avg. sauce, no complaints/praise.)
Market Greens Salad 2/3 (I really wanted something fresh and tangy, this was barely this. But I’m a salad snob and rarely find people dress salads correctly in restaurants, this salad was no exception.)
French Fried 3/5 (Solid fries, nothing special, not bad either.)
Whole Foods’ $1 Oysters on Fridays
Last summer I got into a Friday oyster ritual (which I highly recommend, of course) after I learned that Whole Foods sells their oysters for $1 on Fridays.
There is really nothing more to this rec than that.
It’s great, it’s cheap, it could be your new Friday tradition. (Just make sure to go early to get your pick of the little guys, you are not the first to hear of this deal, others want fishy traditions too!)
What are your favorite oysters around the bay or around the world? Let me know where to go next in the comments!
With that, may you be as happy as a clam and as delicious as an 🦪 ,