Tasty Bivalves, Bitchy Service: L&E Oyster Bar

I did a presentation for senior management this morning.  Most people would have the good sense not to go out the night before.

I'm not most people.

I stayed up until 2:30 a.m. reviewing briefs and woke up at 6:00 a.m.

I'd do it again.  The shrieks of laughter I shared with Eleana, Pam, Cee, and Jane were totally worth it.  Happy heart.  Happy soul.  Happy mind.

And...my boss and the execs said I did a great job!

Lesson learned?  Go out with Eleana, Pam, Cee, and Jane more!

L&E Oyster Bar is a newcomer to Silver Lake.

The place is pretty small and doesn't take reservations.  We were lucky to be seated immediately on the patio.

Complimentary hush puppies.

After dealing with a less-than-friendly bitchface server (hereinafter, "Bitchface") who refused to modify dishes to accommodate our party of five, these golden crunchy balls turned our frowns upside-down.  Honestly, after Bitchface threw her 'tude at us, I was surprised we got five puppies.  I expected to get three balls with one half-bitten.

The Daily Dozen ($28).  Chefs Creek, Kumiai, Mermaid Cove.

If I were a good blogger, I'd tell you which oyster was which.  But I'm not a good blogger.  I'm a fat girl with a camera.  I can tell you that they were all fresh and scrumptious.  I can also tell you that, if you ask Bitchface for one more of each oyster and to be charged accordingly (so everybody in your party can sample all three types), Bitchface will fucking freak out for no good reason and make you wonder why you came to the restaurant at all.

Fried oysters with sauce gribiche ($10).

Fried!  Yummy!  Of course!

Grilled oysters Casino -- butter, paprika, thyme, shallots, Neuske's bacon ($14).

What happens when you ask Bitchface if the kitchen can throw one more of these on the plate and charge you slightly more for the additional oyster?  You get...BITCHFACE.  Seriously, what the fuck, Bitchface?  These are not unreasonable requests.  I eat out a lot, and you are the most unpleasant server whom I've encountered in a long time.  It's not like we're asking for a free oyster.  One fucking oyster for which we would pay.  You forced Cee and me to find the largest one and share its bacon-y lusciousness.  You literally diminished our enjoyment by 50 percent.  Fuck you, Bitchface.

Smoked trout salad -- in-house smoked applewood smoked rainbow trout, market lettuce, kumquats, Marcona almonds, dill champagne vinaigrette ($13).

Salad?!  Whose idea was this?!  Ok, fine.  I admit this was tasty.  The trout was pretty special.

Lobster spatzle and cheese -- Maine lobster,  housemade spatzle, English peas, bread crumbs ($16).

Yeah, this was as good as it looks.  I unabashedly scraped the last bits before a nice busboy took the dish away.  I feel sad that he has to work with Bitchface.

Grilled oysters Rockefeller -- Ricard, Bloomsdale spinach, lemon zest, Raclette, cream ($14).

We ordered these after we cleaned up (ok, after I cleaned up) the spatzle.  We didn't even try to ask for an extra oyster this time.  Hey, Bitchface, I opted out of this dish, so my friends could each enjoy a beautiful full oyster.  I hate you, Bitchface.

Knife and fork fried oyster po' boy -- sauce gribiche, wild lettuce, tomatoes, pickled onion, fries ($15).

Confession: we got two of these.  Glad we did.

Stone fruit crisp with vanilla bean ice cream and chocolate tart with fleur de sel and whipped cream ($8 each).

Meh.  I say skip desserts here and go across the street to LAMILL, which is what we did afterward for some great coffee and hot chocolate.  The best part?  Bitchface doesn't work there.