One of life's great pleasures is a plate of perfectly plump oysters at your favorite oyster bar. Everyone has their go-to—mine is the 121-year-old institution that is Swan Oyster Depot in San Francisco. I'll happily stand in the inevitably long line for a dozen briny bivalves artfully arranged in a perfect circle, clean and pristine, expertly shucked so that there is no shell debris in sight.
But the real joy starts the moment I take a seat at the crowded marble counter and place my order—a dozen per person is the proper amount. I wait in anticipation as my oysters are carefully cracked open in the back, eagerly sipping a beer (or Champagne or Chablis, depending on the mood). And then they finally arrive.
I quickly marvel at nature's beauty and slurp the first one down—it's like an ice-cold oceanic blast. The endorphins hit quick. Before I know it, I'm on to the next—good thing I have eleven more to go.
If this sounds like your favorite old-school oyster-bar experience, that's exactly what Swan represents. It's like the West Coast equivalent of Grand Central Oyster Bar for New Yorkers—tried and true, quality and consistent. But not every oyster bar needs to be more than a century old to be special.
A slew of new oyster bars have opened in the past few years that are inviting first-rate cocktails and chef-driven accompaniments to the party. Take Fives in New Orleans, for example. Located in the heart of the French Quarter, it has a top-notch cocktail program by bar m.
