At Swan Oyster Depot, a secret menu built for regulars - SFChronicle.com
At Swan Oyster Depot, a secret menu built for regulars An interesting phenomenon occurs when a long-standing restaurant continuously accommodates the requests of its most loyal — or sometimes, pickiest — patrons over decades of operation. At some point down the line, one customer decided that she wanted her La Taqueria burrito grilled to a perfect golden crisp on the plancha, or a House of Prime Rib King Henry Cut done in the English style — and in both cases, the operators generously delivered. [...] some nosy, food-obsessed writer comes along and sniffs out the different dishes, and after much prying and prodding with the owners, is able to tease out a slew of mind-blowing modifications into a list of “secret menu items.” The greatest hits of the restaurant are clearly written on the massive menu board — chowder, Louie salads, seafood cocktails, fresh oysters and so on — but as at La Taqueria or House of Prime Rib, there’s more to ordering than what’s listed on the bill of fare. Technically this is on the menu as an option to go with your salad, yet it is often overlooked because clearly Louie dressing is always a good move with seafood salads — right? Swan makes its olive oil vinaigrette with equal parts Dijon mustard and crab fat as the emulsifiers. The real secret lies within Swan Oyster Depot’s ability to provide decades of unconditional hospitality. Omar Mamoon is a freelance writer based in San Francisco and founder of Dough & Co. Thinly sliced raw salmon, tuna and scallops are served simply with a drizzle of olive oil, freshly cracked black pepper and some capers on top. Ask for a “dozen eggs” and you’ll get a plate of thinly sliced raw scallops dotted with Sriracha that swim in a shallow pool of ponzu. Smørrebrød, a.k.a. Open-faced Sandwich Smørrebrød is an impossible-to-pronounce open-faced sandwich that’s served throughout Denmark for lunch. At Swan Oyster Depot, you can get basically the same thing — a combination salad topped on three small slices of bread (specify sourdough or rye). Ask for a side of soy sauce and they’ve got you covered. [...] if you’re really hungry, as one regular often is, you can get a “supreme” cocktail that’s served in a large chowder bowl. The plate ends up costing between $75-$90 and is appropriately referred to among the Swan family as The Maverick.Supposedly the maverick behind The Maverick made his money in construction. Everyone knows the crab legs are the best part of the crab — the fat, tender, sweet little morsels of deliciousness are the first items to go on every combination plate ever shared. Crab legs, and only crab legs, are delicately arranged in a flower-like pattern on a plate and served with a side of Louie sauce. Served only on Saturday mornings, it is a mix of Bud Light with cocktail sauce, lemon juice, Tabasco, Worcestershire, pepper and oyster juice.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/At-Swan-Oyster-Depot-a-secret-menu-built-for-10591335.php
