Bar Crudo

»Bar Crudo - first time report

I wanted to give a shout out for the great dinner I had last night at Bar Crudo.
There were a couple of snags but the good points far outweigh the bads, and I will certainly return.

First, the best thing, and the reason I'm posting:

Best Chilled half-lobster ever.
Lobster is one of those things. It's almost never as good as you hope it will be. Undercooked, overcooked, watery, not meaty...+READ I wanted to give a shout out for the great dinner I had last night at Bar Crudo.
There were a couple of snags but the good points far outweigh the bads, and I will certainly return.

First, the best thing, and the reason I'm posting:

Best Chilled half-lobster ever.
Lobster is one of those things. It's almost never as good as you hope it will be. Undercooked, overcooked, watery, not meaty enough, bland, there are so many things that go wrong. And if it's chilled, there are extra pitfalls of too cold, or sitting around too long.
But this was darn near perfect. Plus, they somehow had clarified butter to dip in that was cool in temperature..
I will return just to have this dish.

And their crudo sampler was also excellent. This was 4 different kinds of raw fish, each with its own treatment. Now, I'm not one for new-fangled rolls at sushi bars; and new-style sashimi (such as the new-style offerings at kabuto) often leave me underwhelmed (the exception being matsuhisa tiradito). But these were clearly very well thought out and balanced. Several flavorts that didn't clash per bite, and you could still taste the fish. Really nice.

Also really really nice was their cheese platter. 3 generous pieces with good accomapniment, especially the pistachio/honey mix.

Also, I liked the wine list. There were a couple of sicilian reds on there, which you don't often see. They tend to go really well with seafood, because the sicilians eat a lot of seafood. But, since it was my birthday, we went with my favorite white, which happened to be on the menu: Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru.

When she seated us, I feared our waitress might be a little cool and distracted,. But this turned out to be a wrong first impression. She was really quite helpful and flexible in helping us figure out the menu, letting us order things one at a time (my preference with a menu like this) and making good recommendations that seemed to fit our tastes. She even brought us a taste of something we didn't order that she thought we might want to try next time.

Okay, now my two nits:
First, the condiments for the oysters were not up to snuff. The cocktail sauce was barely ketchup with a touch of horseradish, and they were stingy with the lemons. I asked for horseradish (whcih I believe should always come with) and what they provided was dry grated flakes, a form I've never seen.
All this was ultimately okay, because the oysters and clams were so fresh and tasty that I could use just the lemon and horseradish. But they should really spend an afternoon and work out a good cocktail sauce recipe. I'm certain it's a matter of attention -- whoever figured out the flavors for the crudo sampler could definitely make a nice cocktail sauce.
Second: no bread. They did bring bread as part of the cheese plate, but when I'm getting raw oysters and clams, I like to get some bread or crackers with it.

But, as I said, overall I was really happy with the experience, and will return.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (5 Replies) (by pauliface, created June 9, 2010)

Bar Crudo happy hour $1 oysters:
HAPPY HOUR
5pm to 6:30pm
Select $1 Oysters
Chowder $5
Fish Tacos $5
Beer and Wine Specials

On our way to the Divisadero Art Walk, I had the excellent Chowder and 5 Pt. Reyes oysters on Thursday with wonderful mignonette and even-more-wonderful cocktail sauce that I finished by the spoonful after the oysters were long gone. - like the Lewis Carroll walrus & the...+READ Bar Crudo happy hour $1 oysters:
HAPPY HOUR
5pm to 6:30pm
Select $1 Oysters
Chowder $5
Fish Tacos $5
Beer and Wine Specials

On our way to the Divisadero Art Walk, I had the excellent Chowder and 5 Pt. Reyes oysters on Thursday with wonderful mignonette and even-more-wonderful cocktail sauce that I finished by the spoonful after the oysters were long gone. - like the Lewis Carroll walrus & the carpenter - the Pt. Reyes were delightfully briny to slurp with a simple squeeze of lemon.
DH had the ever-spectacular Uni Toast from the menu - and shared it!-COLLAPSE / REPLY (71 Replies) (by Cynsa, created June 5, 2010)

»A Great Addition to the Divisadero Corridor

Raw and cold dishes are better than hot. Raw sampler plate, lobster heirloom tomato salad, San Sebastian tuna confit, and artisanal cheese plate are all phenomenal. Service can be slow but staff are very friendly and accommodating. (by DeborahL, created October 1, 2009)