Empire Oyster Bar Pop-Up
5 out of 5 stars
Intermezzo Coffee & Cocktails, 1111 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. Twelve-oyster omakase: $30; New York lobster roll: $19; shrimp bowl: $10. empireoyster.com.
"Shout Hallelujah, come on, get happy."
Pardon me if I indulge in some hyperbole, but I've had a rare culinary epiphany and feel like celebrating. As I approach my fifth anniversary as CL's food critic, I've learned a few important lessons. Tampa Bay's culinary scene has plenty of really good food — mostly tailored to our casual lifestyle. However, there's not widespread interest in fine dining, perhaps primarily because our local business climate is not driven by expense accounts.
Even our most creative and aspirational chefs eschew the trappings that might push a local restaurant into the Michelin stratosphere. Hence, my five-star rating largely gathers dust. World-class experiences grow from obsession driven by unrestrained individual passion.
That's why William Dean Chocolates and Pizzeria Gregario can save you a trip to France or Italy. They're simply equal to the best I've come across in the world's culinary capitals. The same is true of the Bern's Steak House wine cellar or Haven's dark spirits, but those are team efforts, even though Bern Laxer's son David inherited his father's vision and work ethic.
Standing at the pop-up Empire Oyster Bar in the back of St. Petersburg's Intermezzo Coffee & Cocktails, my palate moves like a wild child while my mind explodes like the Death Star. Visionary and New York transplant Kevin Joseph and his "shuck buddy" David Morris lead an omakase, or chef's choice, tasting of a dozen oysters that Wow with a capital "W." Don't be tempted to just order a platter delivered to your table. Save that for another time.
The world-class experience is surrendering yourself to a master, who gently guides you through a tour of bivalve mollusk "merroir" that's a one-of-kind treat. Just as wine reflects its terroir — every element of the area where it grows (climate, elevation, soil, etc.) — oysters also vary by type and place of origin, and when tasted side by side in succession, the differences are perhaps subtle, but clearly striking. The appropriation and morphing of a wine term to oysters is clever shorthand to remind us that tidal flows, sea beds and aquatic culture are reflected in what we taste.
"I had already fulfilled the mission around oysters, so the next thing I wanted to do was spend winters in Florida and summers in New York, hence creating an endless summer," Joseph told CL.
Weekly, the bar is open from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and owner Joseph works diligently to offer the widest array of oysters possible while maintaining exacting standards of quality and freshness. On my visit, we had an impressive array of 10 varieties from Kumamoto and Olympia (Washington) to Salt Bomb (Massachusetts) to Moonstone (Rhode Island) and Sweet VA (Virginia). Joseph recently added surprising Captiva Island oysters, which seldom make it north of Fort Myers.
His own product, Empire, is rare, one of the few "ultra-premium cold-water oysters that are hand foraged by scuba divers." The website has an intriguing 10-minute film that takes you beneath the waves and makes you appreciate those special folks who spend their days underwater so that you may enjoy an Empire oyster, served with the perfect touch of freshly grated horseradish and a spritz of grapefruit juice. It is divine.
The unanimous favorite from my team is the Pink Moon from Canada's Prince Edward Island. These are tiny, jewel-like oysters, whose salty brines are clean with a sweet finish. Add some acidity from a little French mignonette, which brings grace notes of shallots, and it's simply unforgettable. My brain can't keep up; the array of flavors is phenomenal. There are hints of flinty minerals, briny nectar, and sweet umami broth.
Glidden Point oysters from Maine are huge and dense from slow growth in the deepest, coldest waters on the East Coast. Their meat is rich and springy and blows my mind when topped with a few drops of Bowmore's 12-year-old single-malt Scotch. This is Islay whisky, known for its peaty, smoky notes. It's an absolute revelation.
Half the fun is standing at the bar, as your "shuck buddy" guides you. You start raw and naked, then condiments are gently introduced. First is freshly grated wasabi root (that bears no resemblance to the green blobs accompanying sushi), a foodstuff that commands luxury caviar prices.
Diminutive squeeze bottles of mignonette are on the counter to add a few dabs under Joseph's watchful eye. There's a complex wasabi-cilantro-cucumber with a touch of pink peppercorn, or a killer French red wine vinegar with ground pepper and shallots. Tiny glass bottles with black eye droppers are labeled with blue painter's tape if you wish to try a drip of tequila, mezcal, gin or vodka. There are color-coded ashtrays filled with tiny citrus wedges of lemon, lime or grapefruit, plus Tabasco and Floyd & Fred's HotLime sauces in both green and red.
In addition to oysters, the pop-up offers a deluxe New York-style lobster roll featuring huge chunks, plentiful herbs and a light vinaigrette instead of meat binded with a mayo-based sauce. Part of the allure is a toasted bun, so don't delay when your roll is delivered lest the bun go soggy, which happened in our case when the enthusiastic post-oyster conversation delayed first bite. The roll is accompanied by excellent kettle-cooked potato chips.
Another offering is wild jumbo peel 'n' eat shrimp, sprinkled with Old Bay and served with a mild chipotle aioli that adds creaminess and a touch of heat.
"We weren't sure that this market could handle this, so we decided to do a pop-up. We wanted to make sure the market was viable first. People are coming here for cocktails, and we're now shucking over 2,000 oysters a week, so we're looking at doing this more permanently and looking at doing it next door," according to Joseph, who says the bar will become permanent in the months to come.
And don't even think of drinking anything else but a glass of Intermezzo's grüner veltliner from Weingut Stadt Krems. The ample pour in a delicate Speigelau stem is the perfect match. Our whole oyster adventure is pure, world-class magic.
Editor's note: Additional reporting for this story was done by Nicole Abbett.
CL Food Critic Jon Palmer Claridge dines anonymously when reviewing. Check out the explanation of his rating system, or email him at [email protected].