Review: Pearl Oyster Bar, New York (4.5 out of 5 bear paws)

Pearl Oyster Bar in New York's Greenwich Village outshines many of the San Francisco seafood eateries, and certainly the ones on Fisherman's Wharf.

It's seafood so fresh you wish you had it this way all the time. The only downside is the long wait when you don't get to the restaurant early.

The 2Bears perched our behinds on our barstools just after opening time at 12 pm, before the lunch crowd reared its ugly head, and snarfed down oysters and steamed mussels in a creamy sauce. Pearl Oyster Bar is reknowned for its Lobster Roll, but due to a recent hike in lobster prices, the dish retails at USD 27, and we thought we'd better spend that money shopping in Century 21 or Woodbury Common !