Swan Oyster Depot
“If I died eating at Swan’s counter, I’d die a happy man.” Anthony Bourdain has professed his adoration and glee for the magical ways the men and women at Swan Oyster Depot prepare and serve the highest quality of seafood. Sitting down at one of the 20 bar seats available in the entire establishment I was instantly greeted with conversation from a fellow eater, moments later my Anchor steam arrived. As my lips hit the glass they were met with the texture of salt, yet no salt taste. The glass was crisp with ice on the brim, and the sweet nectar that San Francisco has been brewing since 1896 went down the gullet in a waterfall of refreshment. My server, a late 50-60-year-old man with chest hair flooding out of his shirt, looks at me with a smile and asks what I’d like. Going with one of the staples at Swan Oyster I ordered the crab-back. Served with a dense loaf of bread, you dip the bread in the magical mixture of crab fat, eggs, and meat that are in the body of the crab.