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Grand Central and Aqua Grill Oyster Bars, New York City, a closer look
10/12/11 - A tale of two oysters....
Everyone knows about Grand Central Oyster Bar, located at the largest bus terminal in the world, Grand Central Terminal New York. I mean, my friend recommended it. The guidebooks always talk about it. The ratings out there are mostly all positive regarding it. But what a much smaller, much lesser-known spot found in the trendy Soho area of Manhattan called Aqua Grill? Well, we shall soon find out...
I'm just gonna lay it out like we experienced it, first at Aqua Grill then at Grand Central. With our first few days in the Big Apple spent down south, exploring big-name attractions like Ellis Island, Liberty Island, Wall Street, Trinity Church, the Stock Exchange, the Jewish Museum, Battery Park, South Street Seaport, the Supreme Court, Brooklyn Bridge, Chinatown, Little Italy, and more (each of which I could easily elaborate upon in great and enthusiastic detail!), our fourth day was basically a walking excursion through two shopping/residential districts, one famous for small boutiques and trendy cafe's and the other known for giant, big-box, yet designer retailers of every brand of clothing you've ever heard of, and then some. At first, Kumi loved the originality and cozy, very personal hole-in-the-walls of the first area, Greenwich Village, but these women, I tell you - the pearly-white's light-up like nowhere else on the planet when perousing through a giant, glitzy, high-end clothing store with international brand-name recognition! In the second area, Soho, these particular behemoths of the fashion world are lined-up one after another, as far as the eye can see, so you know who was carrying bags and tagging along for the ride then! Alexander Wang, Phillip Lim, Rag and Bone, Vince, Tibi - who the heck are these people?
After an entire year's worth of mostly window shopping in a single day, we were finally ready to jump on the subway, head north, and make our way to the Grand Central Oyster Bar for dinner before returning to home base for the night. Before doing so, however, and none too late, we laid our eyes upon, of all things, and right there on the corner of Spring and 6th, another oyster bar!
Sorry, I didn't get an adequate inside shot, but you can take a few looks yourself at their official website, www.aquagrill.com. It was purely by chance that we stumbled upon the place, and though the stylish, sophisticated, and very well-appointed furnishings first enticed us to give it a look-see, it was that long, beautiful bar (or shall I say its ensemble of draft beer spouts!) and a large, open display of pure ocean gold that finally sealed the deal:
Now that's a fine collection of fresh oysters, by any standard! If any of you remember our experiences down at Broadway - no, not the Broadway, but Broadway Seafood and Oyster Bar on Keeaumoku St. in Honolulu - you may know that I'm very much a newcomer to the world of raw, fresh-shucked oysters. I mean, we've all grown-up with the local-boy hibachi versions, grilled well-done over a fire with shoyu, Tabasco, and lemon, as well as the tiny, tobiko and ponzu-covered Kumamoto's of Hawaii Regional Cuisine fame, but as far as being in the buff, with nary a covering except for a splash of lemon and its own sea water brine, I'm very much a white-belt working hard on his yellow!
At Broadway in Hawaii, there are usually around five or so different varieties of oyster, and that's a mother load for us in the islands! Here, however, the variety is truly insane! See all the tags on top of the display? That's a double-row of them, and each is for a different species! I couldn't hope to remember off the top of my head the differences and names between the handful or so types I've had at Broadway, so we just asked our very kind waitress to fix us up with a half-dozen recommended types. Being well familiar with novices like myself, they already knew what to do, splitting our small platter with some East Coast, some West Coast, and some elsewhere-varieties dependent upon availability. One thing I will note, however, is how expensive they are - here at Aqua Grill or at Grand Central - anywhere from $2-$4 each, and some of them with shells no more than 2 or 3 inches across!
Before expounding more on bivalvicular intentions, however, I wanna note another memorable aspect regarding Aqua Grill - the service - best I've had our entire time in New York! Well, if not the best, I should say at least the friendliest and most cheerful, since we did visit a couple of upscale places as well, one of which you'll see on another Closer Look. Our waitress was the absolute best, as was our shucker, shown below, and busboy, who brought us both individual platters of bread even though we told him there was no need! After all, we were planning on just a few oysters, one tall beer each, and then heading out, so I didn't want him pulling out all the stops!
Here's the platter of oysters:
Wow - what a treat! If only we stuck around for an entire dinner! I can't imagine oysters being any better, as they were as fresh, as delectable, and as satisfying as any I've ever had in my short raw oyster history. Cocktail sauce and ginger was provided, but since since going without, I've never been in doubt - no more cocktail sauce for me, only a splash of lemon! At least with fresh oysters, that is. I've learned that the red stuff will totally cloud your ability to distinguish between oyster types, and like a fine wine, appreciating the differences and ascertaining an oyster's full value, impossible with added sauces or flavorings, is all part of the fun and enjoyment! It will make your love for oysters grow by leaps and bounds, believe me!
But while slowly making our way through the platter, something very interesting unfolded right before our eyes. Our super-kind shucker was quickly prying open several nearly palm-sized clams. I asked if those were eaten raw, and he nodded politely, almost in amusement, as if to say "Is there any other way?"
Right then and there, both Kumi and I knew we had to try one:
While cooked clams are always normal fare, I've never heard of raw clams on the menu in Hawaii except for over nigiri rice, at high-end sushi bars. In fact, I don't think raw clams in-shell are even common in Japan, or at least not nearly as common as raw oysters, which are everywhere. While oysters are largely formless, soft, and as easy as jello down the throat, clams, in this case cherrystone's, are crisper, with much more body. Taste-wise, it was difficult to choose which was better, but if we did make a night out of it, I'd probably choose oysters to clams by a 3:1 ratio or so, just because oysters are so much softer, smoother, and easier to eat, and the firmer, chewier clams would make a great taste and texture contrast in-between. All I know is, why aren't we doing raw clams in Hawaii? They were delicious!
The short time we had here at Aqua Grill was about as perfect as it gets - service, atmosphere, food, and most of all oysters (clams, too!) and oyster knowledge - everything was top-knotch, and my only regret is not having experienced an entire meal. Short or long, if ever we're back in New York, which is highly possible, I'll do my best to come back. A look at the menu on the internet, after our visit, was even more bittersweet, as it turns out that Aqua Grill, while mostly known for oysters, is also a very fine and respectable purveyor of seafoods in general, with such items as Sterling caviar, Osetra caviar, Maine periwinkles, Jonah crab claws, crabcake Napolean, truffle-crusted cod, other fish of various types, poached lobster, and more! Sounds unbelievable!
As good as everything was, we held back with a discipline just on the verge of cracking, as we were every bit as excited to be heading to what I thought was the cream of the crop of the New York oyster world, Grand Central Oyster Bar!
For being the largest bus terminal in the world, Grand Central doesn't seem to have the biggest assortment of eateries to choose from, and Port Authority Bus Terminal cross-town is even worse, much worse. With so many folks commuting every day, it's a wonder they don't up the foodie ante in these hulking transportation depots - they certainly don't hurt for traffic, and we, for two, would have taken advantage of the situation if there were more quality spots housed therein.
Anywayz, Grand Central is by far the largest eatery at the terminal, and also its most famous. The giant restaurant used to be even bigger, but has been lipo'd down to one large dining area, one large bar area, and one in-between section with several island-like counters.
Central area with island-like counters
Bar area
Both the bar and traditional dining areas (latter not shown) are much nicer and less communal than the section of island counters where Kumi and I dined on this particular evening. We both felt so bad for the poor waitresses and servers who were being absolutely bullied by the head mama there, a Chinese-accented tyrant who was absolutely ruthless! She was fine to us, though, as I just sat and joked around with her, but to the other employees, I intended to assuage them by at least acknowledging their adverse conditions, asking "Who's your boss, the oyster nazi?"
Fresh off the subway from Aqua Grill, we ordered a platter of 8 mixed oysters ($18.75) of which, according to our beloved oyster nazi, we wouldn't be able to choose varieties for since they were experts at providing a good balance of choices. I wasn't gonna argue with her!
I dunno - the blunt service, the cheap laminate countertops, the diner-like atmosphere, and mostly, the platter of oysters that seemingly wasn't prepared nor presented with quality, but with volume in mind - it was such a big downer from the stylish Soho restaurant only minutes earlier! I mean, they were kinda haphazardly placed, there were bits of dirt and shell around the edges, and those paper sauce cups were also a departure that was oh, so distant from our experience at Aqua Grill. Some of the oysters themselves had shrunk and receeded back into their shells, leaving that thin, dry membrane on its edges, an obvious sign of non-freshness. While none of them were old enough to start tasting or smelling bad, the bar was already set so high the drop became monumental!
We were both glad that Grand Central Oyster Bar also served raw clams in-shell, requesting another platter which offered 4 oysters and 4 clams:
Once again, they just couldn't compete with Aqua Grill. The clams were a bit drier and less fresh, and that sense of care and attention to detail was nowhere near to scale. The two were like comparing a truck-stop diner to a fine French restaurant.
We did hit-up a much smaller outlet of Grand Central Oyster Bar at the Newark, New Jersey Airport later, so I may be painting a picture much worse than they actually are - if you're anywhere near an outlet and have a hankerin' for oysters or clams, don't feel inhibited on account of this post! At the same time, if you're anywhere near the Greenwich/Soho area of Manhattan, and you've got the same hankerin', Aqua Grill is an absolute must!
Well, I'm winding down on New York cuisine, with only a few more posts to go. I've been getting all positive responses to them, but if you're one that only wants Hawaii posts, please bear with me a chotto longer! They are relatively short, so things will fly-by pretty quick - I think it might be interesting finding out how Hawaii stuff compares to the Big City through this local boy's eyes, especially when it comes to "Mainland-born" foods, which we'll be checking out in the form of one of the most respected burger joints, one of the most respected pizza joints, and one of the most respected chefs in NYC! I've always wanted to expand my horizons with foods elsewhere, and I don't plan on staying relegated to one island for the rest of my life! As a home base, yes of course, there's nowhere like Hawaii to me, but with all the world out there just waiting to be explored, I'll do everything in my power to see as much as I possibly can while I still can! Life is, without a doubt, too short!
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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Grand Central Oyster Bar
89 E. 42nd St. at Grand Central Station, Manhattan
212-490
Mon-Fri 11:30am-9:30pm; Sat 12pm-9:30pm; Sun closed |
Aqua Grill
210 Spring St. in Soho
212-274-0505
Mon-Thurs 12pm-11pm; Fri-Sat 12pm-12am; Sun 12pm-10:30pm |
