Critics’ choice: Rediscovering the sea, with a new generation

L&E Oyster Bar Los Angeles

An oyster bar in L.A. sounded like a great idea to me, but “I thought it might take a while to catch on,” said S. Irene Virbila in the Los Angeles Times. Boy, was I wrong. Apparently, not everybody in this town is a vegan, because the wait to get a table at this no-nonsense, no-reservations spot in Silver Lake regularly runs over half an hour. The raw, grilled, and fried oysters don’t sit all alone on the menu. L&E’s co-founders previously launched the quality wine bar Covell, and they offer some “seriously interesting” mollusk-friendly whites here, along with craft beers. The blackened catfish “is about as fancy as a plate gets at L&E,” and you can also get a salad or a great skirt-steak sandwich. But let’s talk raw oysters. They’re sold at $2 to $3.50 apiece or in a “daily dozen”—a changing variety of East and West Coast oysters, all served at the perfect temperature. “A wedge of lemon and a little horseradish, that’s it: sheer happiness.” 1637 Silver Lake Blvd., (323) 660-2255

Littleneck Brooklyn

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The clam is making a comeback in parts of New York City, said Betsy Andrews in The New York Times. The city will never again be the nation’s largest supplier of hard-shell clams, nor will the Canarsie Indians reclaim their clamming flats along what is today Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal, but a few hipsters are gamely invoking those legacies. This urban clam shack, located “a cherrystone’s throw from the canal,” is run by musicians, along with a veteran Brooklyn chef. Once you’ve been drawn in by the white wainscoting and “cute nautical doodads,” look for such “scrumptious” specials as the head-on shrimp, baked in salt with a touch of tarragon, or the “meaty” whelks, served in drawn garlic butter. The oysters may be the best of the shellfish on the regular menu, but “tender and mellow” littlenecks on the half shell are worthy flag bearers of the clam-shack theme. The chowder needs work, but Littleneck’s “clipper-ship-size clam roll pretty much redeems the mollusk,” especially if you don’t demand much crunch in your batter. 288 Third Ave., (718) 522-1921

The Oceanaire Seafood Room Minneapolis

When it opened, in 1998, Oceanaire was marvelously audacious—“a world-class seafood restaurant on the prairie,” said Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl in Minnesota Monthly. Now, after the early awards, an expansion into 11 other cities, and years of coasting, it has moved to a new space and rewarded its old fans with “a lot to love.” The oysters are as good as ever—“fresh, perfectly opened, and delightful,” while the fish-and-chips are “faultless.” But my favorite part of the menu is the grilled and broiled section. The Nova Scotia–harpooned swordfish steak “was everything you want in a fish dish: savory, fresh, wholesome, and, thank heavens, sustainable.” Oceanaire may not be “bigger-than-life chic” anymore, but the “ultrafresh, oh-so-tasty seafood” makes the old pizzazz seem beside the point. 50 S. Sixth St., (612) 333-2277