The seafood quest (san diego gaslamp quarter)
18 May
On our last night in San Diego before heading back the next day, we were craving seafood. Sarah and I decided to embark on a magical journey to find good seafood in the downtown area. Before heading out, we asked the fun friendly staff guy at the Hotel St. James in the Gaslamp quarter to recomend us some good but affordable seafood. He directed us to what he referred to as a “cheap” affordable dining experience. He gave us two choices for seafood. We decided to head to the one further away thinking it would be more delicious and tasty due to the distance.
Walking around at night in the Gaslamp quarter is a trip. It was fun to walk through all the different types of people playing guitar, drinking at walk-up bars; a very cool environment to be in. When we found the first place there was a guy outside playing Wonderwall by Oasis. Unfortunately, the song was more memorable than the name of the seafood place. Probably because the price was ridiculous so we passed on it.
We decided to head for the second restaurant hoping for a bit better prices for delicious tasty seafood. As we were leaving to the next, we headed back the same way we came. This turned out to be an exercise in hilarious frustration as it was the complete opposite direction. We tried to follow the directions of the front desk staff as best we can, but apparently we are map-challenged. We managed to get re-0riented and make it to Osetra which also turned out to be very fancy, but we decided to go anyway. After being lost and hungry it was time to eat!
The inside of Osetra reminded me of a fancy, trendy Los Angeles restaurant. Lighting was minimal and used blue lights to set the mood. I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt (so was Sarah) so I was quite under dressed my good sir/madam for this restaurant. The waiter came by and handed us the largest menu of wine I have seen in this lifetime yet. We were thinking about getting some wine but the task seemed pretty daunting with so many to choose from. Sitting next to us was an angry French couple discussing why they hated the United States. Perfect conversation for a nice relaxing dinner! Every time we discussed something, they would stop talking and listen, and change their conversation accordingly. It got kind of strange to be talking about not making enough money, and the man next to us discussing minimum wage laws in America… For our appetizer we ordered Oysters on a half shell, I ordered stuffed flounder, and Sarah order shrimp and lobster ravioli. When the oysters arrived, Sarah and I both discovered that neither of us had ever eaten it before. I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to slurp it, or eat it with a fork. The oysters were stuffed with cheese and bacon, so when we ended up deciding to eat it with a fork it made sense. Later on a couple next to us had the same dilemma and figured out to use a fork as well which made us feel pretty good. When the food arrived we both joked that it looked a lot like “elf food” the portions seemed so small. Boy were we wrong. I don’t think I’ve ever been so full…
So nice to read a REAL person's account of a night out in a strange town, Alan… We have had many experiences similar to this in MANY strange towns and can completely identify with your supper hunt with Sarah!
- Venetia & Bianca