Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Tasty Bivalves, Bitchy Service: L&E Oyster Bar

I did a presentation for senior management this morning.  Most people would have the good sense not to go out the night before.

I'm not most people.

I stayed up until 2:30 a.m. reviewing briefs and woke up at 6:00 a.m.

I'd do it again.  The shrieks of laughter I shared with Eleana, Pam, Cee, and Jane were totally worth it.  Happy heart.  Happy soul.  Happy mind.

And...my boss and the execs said I did a great job!

Lesson learned?  Go out with Eleana, Pam, Cee, and Jane more!

L&E Oyster Bar is a newcomer to Silver Lake.
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The place is pretty small and doesn't take reservations.  We were lucky to be seated immediately on the patio.

Complimentary hush puppies.
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After dealing with a less-than-friendly bitchface server (hereinafter, "Bitchface") who refused to modify dishes to accommodate our party of five, these golden crunchy balls turned our frowns upside-down.  Honestly, after Bitchface threw her 'tude at us, I was surprised we got five puppies.  I expected to get three balls with one half-bitten.

The Daily Dozen ($28).  Chefs Creek, Kumiai, Mermaid Cove.
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If I were a good blogger, I'd tell you which oyster was which.  But I'm not a good blogger.  I'm a fat girl with a camera.  I can tell you that they were all fresh and scrumptious.  I can also tell you that, if you ask Bitchface for one more of each oyster and to be charged accordingly (so everybody in your party can sample all three types), Bitchface will fucking freak out for no good reason and make you wonder why you came to the restaurant at all.

Fried oysters with sauce gribiche ($10).
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Fried!  Yummy!  Of course!

Grilled oysters Casino -- butter, paprika, thyme, shallots, Neuske's bacon ($14).
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What happens when you ask Bitchface if the kitchen can throw one more of these on the plate and charge you slightly more for the additional oyster?  You get...BITCHFACE.  Seriously, what the fuck, Bitchface?  These are not unreasonable requests.  I eat out a lot, and you are the most unpleasant server whom I've encountered in a long time.  It's not like we're asking for a free oyster.  One fucking oyster for which we would pay.  You forced Cee and me to find the largest one and share its bacon-y lusciousness.  You literally diminished our enjoyment by 50 percent.  Fuck you, Bitchface.

Smoked trout salad -- in-house smoked applewood smoked rainbow trout, market lettuce, kumquats, Marcona almonds, dill champagne vinaigrette ($13).
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Salad?!  Whose idea was this?!  Ok, fine.  I admit this was tasty.  The trout was pretty special.

Lobster spatzle and cheese -- Maine lobster,  housemade spatzle, English peas, bread crumbs ($16).
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Yeah, this was as good as it looks.  I unabashedly scraped the last bits before a nice busboy took the dish away.  I feel sad that he has to work with Bitchface.

Grilled oysters Rockefeller -- Ricard, Bloomsdale spinach, lemon zest, Raclette, cream ($14).
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We ordered these after we cleaned up (ok, after I cleaned up) the spatzle.  We didn't even try to ask for an extra oyster this time.  Hey, Bitchface, I opted out of this dish, so my friends could each enjoy a beautiful full oyster.  I hate you, Bitchface.

Knife and fork fried oyster po' boy -- sauce gribiche, wild lettuce, tomatoes, pickled onion, fries ($15).
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Confession: we got two of these.  Glad we did.

Stone fruit crisp with vanilla bean ice cream and chocolate tart with fleur de sel and whipped cream ($8 each).
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Meh.  I say skip desserts here and go across the street to LAMILL, which is what we did afterward for some great coffee and hot chocolate.  The best part?  Bitchface doesn't work there.

18 comments:

  1. la mill's chocolate chip cookies are fucking delicious. as is their $7 milk tea.

    a lot of servers on the eastside aren't...so bright, i've noticed. then they take it out on you w/some hipster attitude thrown in. lunches out are getting tiresome.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Not so bright" is a good way to put it. Really, the last person you want to piss off is one with a camera. LOL.

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  2. Reading about Bitchface gave me a sadface! BOOOOOOO! Poor service shouldn't happen outside the SGV.

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  3. It's always tragic to find places with good food and terrible service.

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  4. Mmmmmm. That looks AMAZING! Glad it was worth enduring the service.

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    Replies
    1. Quite satisfying and not too rough on the wallet!

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  5. Since I arrived lated, I missed the Bitchface action. HOW DARE SHE DENY US AN OYSTER. On the upside, can we discuss HOW AMAZING your photos look considering the amount of light that was (not) there?! Love.

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    Replies
    1. She was so awful, Jane. We were like, "Um, but there's five of us, and we're totally willing to pay for an extra." It was like we were speaking a foreign language. At the very least, be NICE about your ridiculous policy. She couldn't even do that.

      Thanks re the photos!

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  6. Maybe she is really terrible at math, and doing it gives her anxiety attacks. Regardless, rude service is a bummer.

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    Replies
    1. Hahahaha. Fear of math could conceivably make somebody pretty bitchy.

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  7. Bitchface sounds terrible, the food looks abso-fuckling-lutely fantastic though. I am now craving some good seafood, I know what I am eating on my jaunt up to San Francisco this weekend!

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  8. OMG, I love oysters! Your pics are making me crave them right now.

    As for Bitchface, I have a relative who I also refer to as Bitchface. Can't.stand.her. Sorry that you had one of those as a server. So unpleasant.

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    Replies
    1. I'd return, but, if I see Bitchface, I'm asking for a different table. Seriously.

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  9. We had a marvelous time, even with Bitchface.

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  10. Bitchface was just jealous of our laughter & happy conversations. And she probably needs to get laid.

    Good times! Hope to hang out again really soon!

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    Replies
    1. I swear we have the worst service in L.A. because people don't want to admit to themselves they are in the service industry. They're just doing this until they get their big break!

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