When looking for a raw bar, sometimes you want a dingy little seafront shack full of locals cracking open shellfish that were caught that morning. Sea Catch is definitely not that.
Set in a 150-year-old Georgetown mansion, there's nothing quaint about the restaurant's 31-foot, white marble raw bar. But what it lacks in homeyness Sea Catch makes up for with its gigantic list of always-fresh seafood. Not exactly for locavores, the place offers several dozen types of oysters from both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. There are also farm-raised mussels, clams, shrimp, stone crabs and house-smoked salmon.
Plus there's the ridiculously over-the-top $80 shellfish skyscraper, a giant mound of all the above topped with lobster cocktail and jumbo lump crab meat. Not quite your style? Come back for the $1 raw bar happy hour.
A friend of Jaunted checked in from Portland, where he's been passing a week's vacation among nature. He even got a chance to check out the city's bike scene, which he says is even better than we reported.
But the real reason he got in touch was to tell us about Dan & Louis Oyster Bar, a killer raw bar celebrating its centennial this year. What made it so good?
I got a dozen oysters for $9.95, and threw in a glass of wine and a big tip for a bill that came to $22. Had some Yakima Bays--an East Coast transplant oyster--and Oregon Kumamotos. It's my second time there, and I'm only in town for a week.
Sounds like the kind of place we want on our raw bars map.
Shucking season is here, and we're searching for the top raw bars. Our map has the exact locations of the best briny bivalves.
And you thought we weren't going to mention it. Come on. The historic Grand Central Oyster Bar is as much an homage to New York as it is an ode to oysters. Since 1913, harried commuters, big-money bankers and star-crossed lovers have bellied up to this long raw bar to share big platters of seafood while the trains rumble overhead.
Shucking season is here, and we're searching for the top raw bars. Our map has the exact locations of the best briny bivalves.
While San Fran's Swan has its share of devotees, we could never overlook the best place on the West Coast for oysters: Seattle. And while we know it's a bit touristy, Elliott's Oyster House deserves all those guidebook mentions. With a deck overlooking Elliott Bay, there's no better place to order a platter and enjoy the Emerald City.
Shucking season is here, and we're searching for the top raw bars. Our map has the exact locations of the best briny bivalves.
San Francisco's restaurant scene moves almost as fast as New York's, with chef shake-ups and lease-swapping happening all the time. But at Swan Oyster Depot, the barkeeps aren't messing with success: This simple, 19-seat seafood emporium's been shucking since 1912. The place maintains its old-school vibe, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
Shucking season is here, and we're searching for the top raw bars. Our map has the exact locations of the best briny bivalves.
Cape Cod has more than its fair share of clam shacks and raw bars. But what's a sophisticated urbanite to do--you won't make the gallery parties if you're driving back from the country. Fortunately, Boston's Neptune Oyster has you covered when you want to slurp seafood in the city.
Shucking season is here, and we're searching for the top raw bars. Our map has the exact locations of the best briny bivalves.
While Maine has its lobster, Massachusetts is the capital of New England oysters. And now that we're in the heart of the season, the Naked Oyster on Cape Cod is loading up on local seafood. Park yourself along at the long mahogany bar, and settle in for a feast.
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by BS
