- Mike Sula
- There’s a clam in there, Pearl Tavern.
Over the weekend I took a chance on a raw Penn Cove oyster on the half shell from the gigantic new Mariano’s in Ravenswood. You could argue that anyone who eats a raw oyster in a supermarket gets exactly what he deserves, but as far as I can tell this is the only location in the 28-store chain that features a raw bar. I figured if chain supermarket oysters were becoming the new chain supermarket sushi,* it was my professional duty to try at least one bivalve. I love big, plump, deep-shelled, melony-tasting west-coast mollusks like Penn Coves—when they’re good. When they’re not good, they’re particularly gross, much more so than briny east-coast oysters. This one, mangled by the shucker, was spawny tasting, and the thought of the reproductive issue of louche, randy oysters stayed with me all day. Lesson learned.
Otherwise Pearl Tavern has a small but varied menu of other familiar seafood preps: ceviche, scallops on the half shell, mussels, peel-and-eat shrimp, lobster rolls, fish tacos, and a Wagyu burger for the pescaphobe in your group. I recently took a shot on the po’boy of the day, a spicy cornmeal-crusted soft-shell crab on a chewy, stale bun that couldn’t be more incorrect if it were Wonder Bread ($15). A seared swordfish steak with a sweet caponata made much more sense for $12.
