Snackshot Of The Day: Swan Oyster Bar Crudo In San Francisco

The Daily Meal's editors, contributors, and readers dig into some pretty great restaurants, festivals, and meals. There's not always enough time to give a full review of a restaurant or describe in depth why a place, its food, and the people who prepare it are noteworthy, so Snackshot of the Day does what photographs do best, rely on the image to do most of the talking. Today's Snackshot is a photo of the off-the-menu "Italian-style" crudo at Swan Oyster Depot in San Francisco.

Swan Oyster Depot was founded in San Francisco by the four Danish Lausten brothers as a fish market in 1912. In 1946, it was bought by Sal Sancimino and his cousins Frank, Al, and Pat LaRocca. Sal's kids took over in the late '70s, but little else seems to have changed. That fishmonger sensibility and sense of humor continues behind the some 20-odd stools facing the counter. You get fresh oysters, Dungeness, shrimp, oyster, clams, smoked fish, Maine lobster, and Boston-style clam chowder. There are two power moves at Swan. There's ordering the chowder and adding some jalapeño mignonette to it, and then there's ordering the off-the-menu crudo. Watch the jocular guys give each other a hard time (there's a reason we named them among the 60+ Coolest People in Food and Drink), while one delicately lays out thin slices of fish dressed with chopped onions, capers, and olive oil.

Read more about The Daily Meal's Snackshot feature. To submit your own photo, email jbruce[at]thedailymeal.com, subject line "Snackshots."

Arthur Bovino is The Daily Meal's executive editor. Follow Arthur on Twitter.