Blue Plate Oysterette

There's been a resurgence lately of seafood restaurants in Los Angeles, and I've been making the rounds with Connie & Ted's, Salt Air and even some Maine lobster from Enterprise Fish Company.  Sometimes you just want, or need, a lighter meal, and of course some Chablis to match.  I had yet to try Blue Plate Oysterette so one sunny, Sunday afternoon, a friend and I ventured just north of the Santa Monica pier for some fish and fun.

We got lucky and scored a wooden table outside so we could people watch and admire the surf and sand across the street.  If you don't luck into a beautiful warm day, they have blue striped Mexican blankets that you can throw on, or you can belly up to the raw bar inside or grab a table under the light colored walls with beautiful beach pictures. 

As the name suggests, there's a rotating list of oysters and a fully stocked raw bar, but we decided to go with some cooked seafood so we started with a tender squid that had been given a smoky flavor from the grill and was strewn on top of a bed of a braised cannelini beans, tuscan kale and ripe cherry tomatoes.  I could have just eaten that with  the sparkling Rose and had a wonderful afternoon, but we pressed on, for better or worse.

The artichoke salad was more like lightly dressed bitter greens with a few artichokes thrown in with a roasted tomato and shaved parmesan.  Nice, but not noteworthy.

The crab cake was a crispy patty of spiced crab sitting on a bed of creamy, lemony aioli.   Not your straight up Maryland crab cake, but some interesting flavors mixed in.

It was hard to detect the peach in the bread pudding, but when we did get a piece it was delicious.  I just wish there was more of it. 

With a name like Blue Plate Oysterette, you should probably stick with their namesake oysters or other delicacies from the raw bar, though I'd happily return for the octopus, sparkling Rose and some great ocean views and people watching.