Flavor Boulevard

Going to the Waterbar on a nice-weathered Saturday afternoon is a silly idea: everybody and their twice-removed cousins are also hawking for the same precious seats around the bar to get the 1-dollar featured oysters. It’s crowded. Very crowded. It’s like parking in San Francisco. Mr. Global Eats recommended the place during the weekdays, I heeded not his advice and here we were, standing fidgetily, looking awkwardly at people eating oysters, hoping to stare them out of their seats. A couple finished their lunch date; we three hopped in before the server could even wipe the table clean.

Today’s featured victim was the Cove Miyagi, a California native with a “clean lettuce flavor”. The first time I was ever fooled by the juicy appearance of a raw bivalve (an oyster) to eat one, I had to gather every ounce of self control in me to swallow it down. The second time was a raw clam, and it wasn’t a whole lot better, but I knew what to expect. Today was actually the third time, and I had more than one oyster, so I’m proud of myself. Something about that brackish smell and taste melded with the cocktail sauce, the lemon, and the green onion is romantic.

That said, I almost died from the radish cream sauce. I was in the middle of chatting with the girls and the surprise attack brought me to tears. Such innocent whiteness, such strength punching the nose from the inside.

We also shared four BBQ baked oysters drowned in garlic parsley butter, on a bed of salt crystals. These were hands down delicious. They actually smelled good. Humans have indeed learned to use fire for a reason, and butter… But you know what was the best thing here, that we kept talking about even after we left the Bar? The potato chips. Oh man, they were so good that I had to stop by CVS on the way home to get a bag of BBQ Lays. And they were on the house.

The verdict: the Waterbar hadn’t transformed me into an oyster zealot, but it did transform us into temporary tourists:


View(ed) from the patio.

Dinner for 3: $37.24
Address: Waterbar
399 The Embarcadero South (near Pier 26)
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 284-9922