A Taste of "South" at East of Eighth

Today was my second official day at my new OpenTable post (last week consisted of three trail shifts), in Chelsea and it turned out to be a double. With an extra long break to lunch with, I decided to head east to East of Eighth. I'd thought about lunching with a tasty and satisfying East of Eighth burger, but instead was led astray by their "Monday Lunch Specials" menu toward an oyster po' boy ($9).

oyster po' boy lunch special; click image to enlarge

The coleslaw (selected in place of French fries), for starters, was exceptional! Clearly made in-house--that, I do not doubt. Next: the fried oyster po' boy, dressed with whole grain mustard, (and was that a reduced balsamic vinegar I noticed?) was also exceptionally fresh. The oysters tasted distinctly of the ocean--like they had been dredged along the bottom of the sea for all the right reasons. My server told me that they had put the oyster po' boy on Friday's lunch menu, but their oyster [shipment] never came in. They had to replace it with soft shell crab and "it just wasn't the same." 

with East of Eighth's house-made coleslaw

Although by the time I'd finished my po' boy I was completely stuffed, I decided to take a look at the dessert menu--just in case. I decided upon dessert of the day, peach and apple crisp ($5). "They're usually good," my server told me, from which I gathered that the dessert of the day is also made fresh...

peach and apple crisp

My peach and apple crisp arrived atop a paper doily, just like at Mr. B's, as my (wonderfully attentive) server informed me,

"They usually top it with whipped cream--but the boys didn't make it yet--so they topped it with gelato instead (which is actually better)."

A flub in my book, but for all the right reasons; if it's not fresh, they won't serve it. Why East of Eighth is still an "under the radar" restaurant, after all these years, is beyond me...