Oysters Superior

Superior Seafood is the latest venture from the group behind Superior Grill. Maybe I’m alone in my thinking, but when I think of Superior, I think of drinks. Specifically, drinks that get you shit faced. The food is always an afterthought. Am I right?

That said, the menu at Superior Seafood is a beast. Fresh catch specials, sandwiches, hot apps, cold apps, soups, salads, steaks, it seems to never end. With a menu of this size, it would take months to sample everything so I’m sticking to what I’ve had.

By far, my favorite thing I’ve had is the frozen pomegranate mojito. The team behind the famous margaritas may have one upped themselves with this new frozen concoction. To make things better, the mojitos (pomegranate and plain) are 2 for 1 during the happy hour (4-6 p.m.). Getting wasted on a budget — always a plus.

Marinated Crab Claws

Drinks aside, the best food item I’ve had is the Marinated Crab Claws. The claws are served cold in a marinade that has a subtle kick — I’m pretty sure it’s horseradish. Whatever it is, it works. I might have to stop in for these regularly.

Next, I moved on to the Oysters Superior platter, a sampling of Chargrilled Oysters, Oysters Bienville (shrimp stuffing with bacon and cheese) and Oysters Rockefeller (spinach and Herbsaint). All three of the oyster variation were very good, but just short of excellent. I didn’t get enough of the oyster taste I was expecting.

I did get the oyster taste I was hoping for with the raw oysters. Superior Seafood sources them locally so you know they’re worth shucking and slurping.

Tuna Tartar

The Tuna Tartar was decent, but I’ve definitely had better. The toast overwhelms the subtlety of the tuna, but the wasabi and avocado due add to the tuna itself. I would highly recommend ignoring the toast that accompanies the rest of the dish.

A dish that fell completely flat for me was the Shrimp and Grits. I will commend Superior Seafood for using milk or cream as the grits based versus water (lots of restaurants make that amateur mistake). I can also forgive the fact that one of my shrimp wasn’t fully shelled (it happens). What I can’t forgive is serving peeled shrimp that haven’t been deveined.

To me, that’s a little lazy and would have helped the dish out some. The tasso cream sauce accompanying the Shrimp and Grits was also very watery, almost soupy, and just didn’t add anything.

All things considered, I’m sure I’ll be back for dinner, but I’m not in a rush. I would rush back for happy hour to drink and nibble on some of the apps. Either way, Superior Seafood is a welcome addition to St. Charles and Napoleon for a spot that had been empty since Katrina.

Superior Seafood is located at 4338 St. Charles Ave. and is open daily at 11 a.m.