Harford Hotspots: Main Street Oyster House Will “Excel at Everything from a Business Lunch to Happy Hour to a Celebratory Family Dinner”

I can’t tell you how excited I was when I previewed the menu at Main Street Oyster House before their grand opening. FINALLY, I didn’t feel the need to trek down 95 into the city to escape the plethora of chain restaurants in Harford County. There are 2 things that Louisiana natives take VERY seriously – college football and oysters.

So I didn’t have to do too much begging to get my husband to take me to Main Street Oyster House on a Saturday night to watch the LSU Tigers. It was the second weekend since The Dark Horse had reopened as Main Street Oyster House, and there was a crowd at the door. But the wait for our table was very short and the manager led us to a secluded corner and made sure that our game was playing on that particular television. So far, so good.

Kickoff started off with a bang as we sampled the Angels on Horseback and the grilled oysters, both delicious, but the Angels were the star of the show. Fried oysters served in their shell, topped with a huge piece of crispy bacon and a horseradishy remoulade sauce. The grilled oysters were flavored with garlic and were sweet and juicy but a bit small.

Next my husband moved onto the Cajun pork chop served with smashed taters and a side of veggies. The chop had just the right amount of kick, although my husband’s theory is that you can never have too much spice. Although the potatoes looked like gray lump of mush, they tasted great and had a nice chunky texture to them. Looks can be deceiving!

It’s rare that I will order crabcakes anywhere other than Box Hill Pizza, but truthfully, it was my “cheat day” for my diet and I wanted those waffle fries bad! Both the crabcake and the fries were well worth a Sunday morning workout.

The beer and wine list is quite impressive, so if you can’t find a beverage to suit your taste, then shame on ya! I tried the Martini for Him, a classic dirty martini, because the female version was just too girlie for this chick.

Dessert lifted our spirits as LSU lost to Ole Miss. The flourless chocolate tart was the same version served in many other restaurants and in hindsight, not really worth extra time on the elliptical machine. The baked apple with vanilla ice cream was a great Autumn dessert for a rainy night.

My next trip to MSOH was on Halloween night with my 12 year old nephew who has a palate worthy of a food critic. The Angels on Horseback were even better the second time around, and much to my chagrin, my nephew was licking the empty oyster shells of the remoulade sauce.

He ordered the Oyster Burger which is a half pound of premium meat, hand formed, and topped with 3 fried oysters. It was a nice twist on an American classic, but the junior critic at our table suggested that the chef put the oysters inside the burger with some bleu cheese. I have to say that would be a great experiment because the oysters do tend to get a bit lost on such a large burger. And the cheese was ordinary rather than being “knock your socks off”. So hopefully we will see Noah’s Burger on the menu soon.

The Surf & Turf salad was a gigantic bowl of mixed greens with heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion, gorgonzola and corn topped with grilled steak and a small crabcake. At $18 I would have liked for the crabcake to be a smaller version of the one that is served on their sandwich, but this one had too much filler. The steak was tender, plentiful and grilled to medium-rare perfection.

The staff here could not be more accommodating and genuinely happy to serve you. Dirty plates are quickly cleared away, water glasses are topped off immediately and all tasks are done with a smile. This will be a restaurant that will excel at everything from a business lunch to Happy Hour to a celebratory family dinner. Dueling pianos are featured on Saturday nights.

Harford County – THIS is your new hotspot! Enjoy!