The Liberty NYC

It’s Oyster Week in NYC! What better way than to start the week off with some fresh oysters. They are tasty, nutritious (if you eat them raw), and they are green!

I was expecting more restaurants to participate in Oyster Week (which is actually September 11 to September 28) but to my surprise there weren’t too many options. Most of the restaurant on the list are great for seafood like Blue Water Grill, Oceana, and Lure Fishbar, but I have been there already (we’ll have to talk about all these next time).

The Liberty NYC it is.

Food

They had a featured dish for Oyster Week that caught my eye. Stoli Bloody Mary Oyster Shooter.

It was Stoli Vodka mixed with their House Made Bloody Mary Kicked up with and Freshly Shucked Oyster.

I am not a huge fan of Bloody Mary, but these sound interesting. It was foreign to slurp, chew, and drink a shot all at once. I have never had these before so I don’t have much to compare to but: oyster – good, Bloody Mary – good, result – Good. These were excellent to slurp down before dinner. The Bloody Mary shot didn’t over power the oyster it tasted more like lemon juice with a splash of tomato juice and a hint of hot sauce.

Oyster time! They had the good old boys from Long Island, Blue Point Oysters. Blue Point are common in most restaurants in the city, but it was a bit disappointing because I wanted to try something new. Hello its oyster week! Shouldn’t I be eating Miyagi or Limfjorf oysters? They should have had a special pricing for the oysters, anyway I had six. It tasted as it should, not too sweet, savory, and smooth.

These were like a meal in one drumstick. After one drumstick I was pretty full, but there were six more wings and drumsticks to go. The sauce was tangy, spicy and tasted like vinegar which did not go well with my Sauvignon blanc. After one mutant wing it was enough, the rest of the mutants got all soggy, ugh.

These were actually fantastic! If you love a Big Mac, try this! It’s real meat, fresh and duh its not McDonalds.

Stay away from the shrimp cocktail. It was firm, salty, and tasted like it just crawled on the table from the sea. Sorry no picture for those bad boys.

Service, Ambiance, & Decor

It was like a high school lunch room with college frat boys in business like attire. I had to compete with the screaming frat boys in the dark corner, the NYU graduate on a date, and yes the rest of the restaurant each time I talked. I was YELLING ACROSS THE TABLE (sorry) when the person was only three feet away from me. Oh, right and there was music. I think I heard Micheal Jackson from the 70’s at one point.

Since it was loud I couldn’t hear the waitress. Good thing I read the specials online before I got there. You would think she would be more attentive because it was loud and dark, but she could care less. The only great thing about the service was the tablet being used for taking orders.

The front of the restaurant was inviting with an almost outdoor seating area with comfy looking couches. As I was being led by the hostess I took in the scene. It was busy. The restaurant had a classic, elegant New York City vibe with a modern twist. I like the photos hanging on the walls and the super duper high ceilings. Despite it being busy and crowded the place had a open airy feeling. The bar was set up in the middle, which I did not like. I had to squeeze through a sea of people to follow the hostess and of course I was led to the back where the frat boys were hanging. The start of dinner wasn’t so bad, but as the two tables next to me were being seated it felt like a family dinner. I wanted to ask the NYU grad-kid-on-a-first-date-with-a-non-city-chic and the left table next to me aka the tourist-whispering-and-lets-take-non-stop-pictures-of-each-other-couple if they wanted some mutant wings.

 Where did U go last night?

 The Liberty NYC

29 W 35th St, New York, NY 10001
(212) 967-4000

between Avenue Of The Americas & 5th Ave in Midtown West