My first bite during my second visit to Charleston was Oyster House. We just stopped in for a drink and a snack before getting onto a horse-drawn carriage tour of the city. We tried a nice variety of both local and northeast oysters. I think we liked the Lady Fingers the best (long ones).
The shuckers were awesome, and it was a nice treat to sit at the raw bar instead of the regular bar or a table.
OYSTER HOUSE
35 S Market St
Charleston, SC 29401
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
The Wayland is a nice bar at the corner of 9th Street and Avenue C that serves up some great deals at Happy Hour. Namely, $1.50 oysters, and a $12 “beer and burger” deal.
Both are top notch quality, and they really do a nice job with cocktails too, like this shallot infused gin gibson.
I can’t wait to go back and try more stuff. That “Lost Lady” burger was a killer double patty with American and a great special sauce. Nice and simple. Get here!
THE WAYLAND
700 E 9th St
New York, NY 10009
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
The tiny burger at Black Crescent may be overpriced at $13, but it is damn delicious. Great char, lovely beefy chuck flavor, and plenty of cheese coverage.
It’s definitely more of a slider sized burger (it’s sitting on a small ketchup cup in the pic above), but whatever. As long as it’s good.
Pro tip: order the waffle fries for $10: it’s basically enough for three people.
BLACK CRESCENT
76 Clinton St
New York, NY 10002
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 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
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
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
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
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
