Repeats with a Twist - Pearl's Oyster Bar, Oklahoma City, OK

Okay, so by now you know a couple things...a) I really like seafood, but b) Oklahoma isn't known for seafood.  However, there are a few places I've found where I will go specifically for fish.  One of those is Pearl's Oyster Bar.  It's got great outdoor seating, a really good Sunday brunch, and daily specials that change quite often.  I've never been there for happy hour, but have heard it's a great spot for a cocktail as well.  Pearl's is part of a restaurant group that also includes Crabtown, Pearls' Fish House, and Trapper's Fishcamp & Grill.  Their menu looks awfully similar to Pappadeaux.  Not in the actual items, but the text font and setup looks like they either stole the idea from each other, or it's all part of the same restaurant group but they just don't tell you.

My parents were flying into town last Friday evening, so rather than drive back to Stillwater, I decided to just stop at Pearl's, since it's on the way and it's got a wide selection of seafood entrees.  I had called earlier in the day to make a reservation, only to find out they don't accept them.  I was a little leery, because I knew on Friday night it would be packed.  But my parent's flight was delayed, so we didn't even get there until about 9.  It was still crowded, but we were seated immediately. 

My mom doesn't eat calamari, but I ordered it for my dad and me anyway.  We also got an order of the smokey edamame. 

The calamari was hot, fresh and delicious.  It was also breaded, the way I really like it. The edamame was good, but too salty.  I think my fingers swelled to twice the size by the time we were done.  I would suggest they put half the salt, and it would still be very good.

I usually don't add a salad, especially when we start with an appetizer, but I was hungry and needed some greens in my life. So I went with the house salad 

The salad was really good, especially with the fried onions on top.  

Sea bass is one of my favorite fish. It's a little heavier than other whitefish, but I aboslutely love the texture and flavor. Wal Mart, of all places, used to sell frozen chilean sea bass that was fantastic broiled with just a little salt, pepper, olive oil and lightly breaded on top. But I guess there were some overall issues with how sea bass was caught, so most places stopped selling and/or serving it. Recently it's started coming back to both stores and restaurants, but I haven't seen it at Wal Mart.

Pearl's has a new chilean sea bass dish on the menu, so I decided to try it.

GRILLED AND SERVED OVER SAUTEED VEGGIES WITH OUR LEMON PARSLEY SAUCE

The bass was delicious.  I think it was a tad overdone, but the fish is naturally oily so it helped to retain the flavor.  The lemon sauce was a great compliment, but not overpowering at all.  I never thought I would say this, but the veggies were actually my favorite part of the dish!  They were tender-crisp, very fresh, and absolutely amazing.  I'm assuming they were sauteed in the lemon-parsley sauce.  I could have easily eaten another plate of just the veggies...again, something I never thought would ever come out of my mouth.

Will I go back?  Definitely!  I've eaten here several times and never been disappointed.  The service is good, and their staff are very knowledgeable about the different items on the menu.