Stir oyster bar, restaurant offers more than seafood
The Grub Spouse and I kept our mini-streak of brunches/lunches going with a weekday visit to Stir, the new oyster bar and restaurant operating on Willow Avenue in The Old City. We found curbside parking just down the block and enjoyed a short stroll to its newly renovated structure just behind Fin-Two Japanese Ale House.
Like Fin-Two, Stir is laid out in an L-shaped floor plan, with a bar area along one side. And before I begin discussing the food, I’ll note that the alcohol selection is quite vast. They have more than 300 types of spirits, wines and beers to satisfy patrons in search of a cocktail, glass of vino or pint of suds. Since we were having an early lunch, we passed on the hard stuff altogether.
After a brief wait at our booth for two, our server introduced herself and followed up by delivering a complimentary small plate from the kitchen: mint-infused fruit (melon bites, grapes, blueberries), a small serving of homemade chicken salad (accompanied by bread wedges) and three chocolate chip cookies. The fruit was tasty, although the mint notes were subtle. We both liked the chicken salad, which had briny, almost picklelike undertones. The cookies were average.
The brunch menu has only one appetizer, deviled eggs, but since we were at an oyster bar, I wasn’t about to escape without a serving of my favorite mollusks. Several varieties were available that day, and I ordered three each of the James River, Virginia, oysters ($7.50 total) as well as three that hailed from Prince Edward Island ($9.75 total). Our server informed us that all oysters are flown in daily.
The brunch entrees cover familiar breakfast and non-breakfast territory. Dishes include chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits, avocado toast, biscuits and gravy (served with sausage and two eggs) and a BLT-and-egg sandwich.
The Spouse ordered the Baja Omelette ($16.50), one of two three-eggers on the menu. This one is made with peppers, onions, cheese, pico de gallo, avocado, Mexican crema and charred salsa. I got the Shrimp & Crab Benedict ($19.50) — English muffin halves topped with real crabmeat, fried shrimp, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. Both our meals were served with breakfast potatoes.
The restaurant was pretty busy during our lunch visit. This included a large party with a couple of fussy infants seated near us. Not the most pleasant of atmospheres, but I certainly don’t hold Stir accountable for that. Otherwise, I enjoyed the abundant sunlight in the space and its energetic vibe.
Although we were expecting dishes to arrive in the opposite order, our entrees actually came out first, followed shortly by the oysters. I’ll start with the latter. Both varieties were enjoyable, distinct in subtle ways. I enjoyed them unembellished as well as accompanied by sides like horseradish and cocktail sauce. The meat in each shell wasn’t necessarily substantial, but I tried not to dwell on the fact that I was paying more than $17 for six small bites of bivalve.
The Spouse’s omelet was a solid effort at a south-of-the-border creation. The fluffy eggs were brimming with good stuff, and the breakfast potatoes on both our plates were well seasoned and cooked to a pleasing consistency. I appreciated the use of actual crabmeat on my eggs Benedict, and even the breaded fried shrimp were good. The English muffin halves were straightforward, and I was somewhat disappointed by the minimal amount of hollandaise sauce. I felt it needed to be a little more prominent to tie this combo together.
The lunch and dinner menus also offer lots of oyster possibilities and feature dishes like oyster and poke bowls, sauteed salmon cakes, a variety of salads, both beef and tuna burgers, seared scallops, Chicken Piccata and grilled Chicken Caprese to mention a few.
This was one of those meals where I enjoyed and appreciated every element of it except for the price. Make no mistake; it was a very good lunch. But whether it was $70-good (tax and tip included) may be a judgment call that Stir diners will have to make on their own.