Big Easy sandwich, Big Apple ambiance.
It's not place for oysters on the half-shell, let alone a pan roast, but for seafood soups and sandwiches such as a workmanlike oyster po' boy (below; $8.95), the takeout window is at your service during lunchtime, Monday to Friday. (When the window is closed, the same items can be ordered inside, to stay or to go.) In sheer numbers of shellfish this po' boy ran a poor second to the oyster loaf at Casamento's, but in its favor, the midtown location is much more convenient than Magazine St., New Orleans.
Previously: Maatjes herring ($6.25) — "maiden" fish that never spawned before being netted in the Netherlands, in season only for a few weeks each June — were firm-fleshed, and just oily enough to go down easy. Though the traditional approach involves taking the fish by the tail, turning your mouth skyward, and eating it in one gulp, knife and fork were better suited to the Oyster Bar's counter (and to me). Preceded by bitterballen (three for $2.50), thin-crusted deep-fried meatballs paired with a heady mustard.
Grand Central Oyster Bar and Restaurant
Grand Central Terminal
212-949-5210
www.OysterBarNY.com
Closed Sunday
