Veritasty: Truthfully Delicious

Hot off the tails of our last foray into the food festivals at Beer, Bourbon & BBQ , we visited the New York Oyster & Beer Festival this weekend and had a shucking good time! I wasn't sure what to expect, since a lot of the food festivals we've been to have been, shall we say, meatier.  They typically drew crowds of people looking to get wasted and fill their stomachs from time to time with food.  In fact, I spoke to a woman pouring Crabbie's ginger beer who also worked a previous food festival and she mentioned how at the more meat-centric or alcohol-centric ones, people wind up puking in the corner or passing out drunk on the tables.  So I imagined at an oyster festival, we'd see a few more khahis and polo shirts and boat shoes.  The crowd was actually pretty diverse, so it was interesting to see that people from all walks of life enjoy oysters, probably like a condensed cross section of the history of oysters (plentiful and c...

Grand Central Station is one of those classic, iconic New York City landmarks with which I have only recently fallen in love.  From the ceiling constellations to the glitzy Apple Store to the shopping galleries and market stalls aplenty, there's certainly something for everyone from wide-eyed tourists to frazzled commuters to, well, me.  One of the special offerings at Grand Central Station is the Grand Central Oyster Bar down in the lower level. If the train station upstairs is beautiful, then Grand Central Oyster Bar is super-sexy beautiful.  The restaurant is nestled in the tiled vaults of the station.  It is lit with an amber mood lighting that renders the Instagram filter unnecessary.  There are three distinct sections: the restaurant proper (where we dined), a grouping of lunch counters where they presumably shuck raw oysters right in front of you, and a big sports bar alcove off to one end. I found the waitstaff to be very friendly, knowledg...