Your ticket to the Big Easy
I just had a birthday and to celebrate Jerry took me for a little taste of New Orleans’ Bourbon Street. If you’re in St. Louis and you’re looking for a slice of NOLA, get yourself over to the Broadway Oyster Bar. That’s where we went!
Best thing about BOB, as it’s know affectionally by locals, is you just can’t help but totally dig it’s vibe. The building carries as much character as the restaurant itself. Built in the 1840’s, it’s been a bordello, rooming house, Chinese laundry, and a private residence. Although I’m pretty sure not in that order.
Even though it’s famous for it’s Cajun and Creole dishes, we go there for the Gulf and Blue Point oysters.
Oysters Rockefeller
Grilled Oysters
You can tell some places are plastered with fake retro artifacts that were strategically placed by professionals. But not here. No sir!
You won’t find anything at the Broadway Oyster Bar that isn’t 100% authentic. Every thing on every surface has a story.
OCD? Better sit outside
A ceiling shot at BOB
If it’s a beautiful day, sit outside and enjoy the sunshine with a few oyster shooters, alligator tail, crawfish, or étouffée. On dreary days, the fireplace will warm you up on the outside and the gumbo will warm you up on the inside.
Toasty cozy
Gumbo – it’s got some heat!
Feel free to bring your air guitar.
Even though the Broadway Oyster Bar is an easy walk caddy corner from the Anheuser Busch Cardinal Stadium, parking is not a problem. And it’s only a few short miles from the beautiful historic Lafayette Square. (Ahem… where yours truly grew up.)
I just can not get enough grilled oysters!
Plan a perfect day in St. Louis
If I were to design the perfect day in St. Louis it would start on a warm summer morning at the Lafayette Square Historic House Tour. We’d take our time and walk through all the historic homes with our kids and a bunch of friends. After touring the houses, we’d check out the St. Louis Perfectos. The Perfectos are a baseball club that was founded in 2002 and is dedicated to the rules and customs of the 1860’s game. This is a far cry from when we’d watch our dad’s play against our neighbor Soulard’s team in the 1970’s. The loosing team was on the hook for buying the beer for next year’s game. To the best of my childhood memory, Lafayette Square bought a lot of beer for a lot of years.
Then we’d head over to the Broadway Oyster Bar for a long leisurely lunch on the patio. Eat grilled oysters, oysters Rockefeller, oysters cardinale, oysters NOLA, oysters bienville, fried oysters and oyster shooters until we couldn’t take another bite. Feel a theme goin’ on here?
Next we’d make our way back to Lafayette Square’s Bailey’s Chocolate Bar for dessert. Super Yum! What’s a perfect day without chocolate? (Answer: not perfect).
Finally, we’d grab our cooler, blanket and picnic basket and end our day at the kick off of the Lafayette Square Park summer music series. For over 30 years, Lafayette Square has been hosting live music concerts every other Saturday throughout the summer. People are encouraged to bring blankets, lawn chairs, picnic baskets, and any well mannered pets to enjoy a variety of music, friends, and good times. Yep, that’s my perfect St. Louis day. (Uh, Jerry? We gotta make this happen this year!) 🙂
Oysters Rockefeller Recipe
Ingredients
- 24 oysters
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 shallots
- 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh chervil or parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons Pernod anise liquor
- 1 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs gluten free (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
- Tabasco sauce
- Equipment
- mortar and pestle or fork and bowl
- measuring cups and spoons
- knife and cutting board
- cookie sheet
- rock salt enough to lightly cover the bottom of the cookie sheet
- oyster knife
Instructions
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Scrub oysters clean and open all oysters. Save as much of the oyster liquor as you can. Dislodge oyster from shell. Throw away one side of each shell and set aside the oysters and liquor.
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Preheat oven to 450.
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In the mortar, combine butter, shallots, garlic, spinach, and herbs. Mix well with the pestle.
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Add the bread crumbs and mix thoroughly.
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On the cookie sheet, spread a 1" layer of rock salt to cover the entire sheet. This will keep the oysters from falling over. If they are still falling over, moisten the salt with water. Nestle the oyster shells face up in the salt.
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Put one oyster and little of it liquor in each shell. Spoon about a tablespoon (depends on size of shell) of spinach/herb mixture on top of each oyster. Cover with parmesan cheese.
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Put oysters in the oven and bake for 8 minutes. Cheese should be melted, bubbling and brown. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Pure protein, lots of fresh herbs, butter, and cheese make this a low carb girl's dreams come true!
Oyster Rockefellers made their first appearance in 1899 at Antoine's in New Orleans. They are still served there today and their recipe remains a mystery. Apparently, they do not use spinach for their Rockefellers. Rumor has it, they use celery greens. Personally, I love spinach on Oyster Rockefellers. However, I'm sure the original is scrumptious!