🦪 It’s National Oyster Day, and Kansas City has a surprisingly good oyster scene, despite being nowhere near an ocean.
Why it matters: Raw oysters this far from salt water require some trust. These four have earned ours.
Voltaire
This is where I, Abbey, learned to like oysters. The Stockyards District bistro runs a $3 oyster at happy hour, 5pm to 6pm weekdays and 4pm to 6pm weekends.
- The oyster rotates daily and isn’t named on the menu, so ask what came in.
Earl’s Premier
The east Brookside restaurant is built around its raw bar, with a rotating list shipped overnight from farms including Maine Oyster Co., Island Creek and Hama Hama.
- You can get six for $26 or 12 for $48, with a cava mignonette and house cocktail sauce. Owners have said the deliveries land three times a week.
Pierpont’s
The Union Station steakhouse puts its daily oyster on the happy hour menu, six or 12 at market price, with cocktail sauce and pomegranate mignonette.
- Raw isn’t the only option. The kitchen also bakes them under herbed breadcrumbs and yuzu butter, and oysters show up again in the Boxcar Tower with shrimp, snow crab legs and mussels.
- Happy hour runs all night Tuesdays.
Palm Tree Club
The Power & Light rooftop opened last September. Oysters come with cocktail sauce and pineapple-ginger mignonette, six for $24 and 12 for $40, or $5 more dressed with calamansi granita and fresno chili.
- A reader tipped us off last fall, then immediately admitted her son works in the kitchen. Biased, and for good reason. These were delicious. Thanks, Michelle!
ðŸ’Abbey’s thought bubble: How many is too many? To me, the limit does not exist.
ðŸ’Travis’ thought bubble: I’m not an oyster fanatic, but I’d give an honorable mention to Brown & Loe. Happy hour on the patio hits just right…