Rate-a-Dive 5 -- Oyster Bar

Rate-a-Dive:  Rodney’s Oyster Bar

Though Vancouver is considered a pretty good foodie spot, I really didn’t have any spots in particular that had been recommended, though many people said the Asian food was excellent because of the large Asian population that exists.  However, that was too generic of a recommendation for me.  Thus, while sipping on a beer at the café atop Stanley Park, the overly-friendly waitress recommend I go to Rodney’s Oyster Bar because it had the coolest vibe, the best oysters and was a local hot spot…all key drivers in my dinner selection spot.  Needless to say, it did not disappoint. 

Vibe – 9

This spot was probably the classic hot spot that you might find in every reasonably sized city.  Lots of young, upwardly mobile clientele that all looked like they were out for a night of fun and frolic.  However, what really set the restaurant apart from other hot spots, was the oyster bar in the center of the restaurant.  It was awesome because I only needed a table for one, thus sitting at the bar was perfect for a lurker like me who was dining alone…which has frankly become my calling card. 

Grub – 10

The guy shucking the oysters was right in front of me and he had a selection of eight different types of oysters, mostly from the Northwest.  I told him to surprise me with a mixture of his favorites.  They were all amazing and served with a variety of different home-made sauces that went from mildly tangy to outrageously HOT.  And the best part, they had freshly grated horseradish (I frankly didn’t know that horseradish is a root and could be grated!), that you could sprinkle across the selection of oysters.  Because I hadn’t had enough shellfish, I decided to have a small plate of mussels, which were made fresh right in front of me in these super cool and extremely hot soup bowls (not really doing it justice with my description), which I had never seen before.  To top it off, I decided to go for the troika, and had scallops in a cream sauce.  Amazing!!  Yes, I might come back from this trip weighing 300lbs. 

Booze – 9

When I’m in a city that is known for good craft beer, I will typically try and optimize that.  However, in this case, I saw the same bartender who was making my mussels create what looked like a hot and spicy Bloody Mary.  I’m not really an expert on Bloodies, however, when I do have them, I want them to be super spicy like my brother-in-law Greg makes them (he grew up in New Orleans, and I think it’s a rite of passage to learn to make them correctly).  Unfortunately, that is rarely the case.  But I have to tell you, these bloodies were incredible.  Just about everything in them but the kitchen sink, which is exactly how I like them!