Seafood Fix: Rodney's Oyster House

I had lunch with a friend Friday where we traded stories about the crazy amount of money we spend on dining out and entertainment - everything has to do with food and drinks it seems! She mentioned her love for oysters which reminded me how long it's been since I have had raw oysters - partly because Vancouver's the only place I "trust" fresh oysters. So while Tony and I were looking up places to eat Friday night, we decided to try out Rodney's Oyster House, yes indeed related to Rodney's in Vancouver.

The restaurant's decor is as if you are dining dockside, all within the expected cheesiness of course - nets and wood planks alike. The waitress was quick to offer us a mixed platter of oysters to start - perhaps after seeing our perplexed look at the oyster menu likely leading to slow decision making. We were thrilled when she brought by a good mix of oysters to our liking: kushis from the West coast, raspberry oysters from PEI, some New Zealand oysters and also some clams (raw clams are fantastic if you have not had a chance to try them). The raspberry oysters were a nice surprise, I'm not sure I've ever had them before since I generally stick to West coast, but I would have them again. The oysters were also accompanied with a platter of sauces from a mild shallot sherry to jalapeno hot sauce - Tony tried them all while I favoured the sherry with some lemon and horseradish.

For mains, we each had a cup of soup - New England clam chowder and corn chowder, followed by dungeness crab! We often eat lobster when we are out (I LOVE lobster) but rarely do we have crab. It was simply prepared - steamed I think - the crab meat was sweet and delicious, with the legs pre-cracked (Tony loved that!) and easily parted from the shell. In fact, the meat was so sweet it was better without dipping in butter - how rare is that!?

Rodney's is by no means a cheap meal, but the oysters are reasonable and the staff are quick and courteous. We saw some family outings as well as some dates - it's a place suitable for all. Next time you're craving an oyster fix, why not try it out and see for yourself. Apparently they bring in fresh king crab that is exceptionally sweet - the waitress had us salivating thinking of the taste because it seemed we had not experienced something as good as she described. We're hoping they might bring in stone crabs one of these days, too!