Quick as a blink, Sonia Salazar had the oyster shell open. She slid the opaque flesh into a shot glass — and a Barracuda oyster shooter was in progress.
The Colombian-born Salazar has been making the signature dish for three weeks now at the restaurant she has just opened at Chapel and Park streets, Barracuda Bistro & Bar near the corner of Chapel and Park streets (formerly home to the New Haven Meatball House).
As she prepared the dish (in video above), she revealed a secret that begins before the shucking: She gets about 100 oysters from a neighbor in Millford. By the end of the day they’re all gone. No previously frozen oysters here from parts unknown.
The oyster shooters have emerged as a hit among nearby Yale School of Drama theater-goers, Salazar said.
To the shot glass, Salazar added some finely diced shallots and cucumbers. In a shaker she combined some of her Bloody Mary Mix, Grey Goose Vodka, and ice.
Shake, shake shake … She poured the mix over the oysters. A quick stir with the oyster shucking knife, and the Barracuda oyster shooter was born.
Salazar doesn’t reveal the secret to her house-made Bloody Mary mix, but it tasted of fresh tomatoes, cilantro, maybe a little citrus, and finished with a surprising heat at the end. No prepackaged mix here, that was for sure.
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Salazar shucks oysters with the obvious skill of someone who does this more than a few times a week.
Salazar described the cuisine at Barracuda Bistro & Bar as “American fare with a Spanish flair.” She draws the flair from Spain and Latin America, but especially from her own roots.
Salazar cooked her first meal at 7 years old. Under the watchful eye of her grandmother and mother in Colombia, she learned to follow a recipe until she could get it just right. “Colombian grandmothers are very picky,” she said.
She said she thought she wanted to be a nurse. Then she realized that she’d rather wear a chefs uniform instead of scrubs.
“I enjoy music. I enjoy people,” she said. “Cooking for me is fun.”
For the last 20 years, she has cooked for hotels like Hyatt and Westin, along with Morton Steakhouses and, for a turn, at New Haven’s Union League Cafe. She said she took a chance of opening her own restaurant because she said she wanted to bring something a little different to the New Haven food scene.
The fish that is the restaurant’s namesake symbolizes how Salazar sees herself as the new face on Chapel Street, she said. “A barracuda is a small powerful fish that can swim with the sharks. “I’m a little fish, but I’m like the barracuda. I can swim with the big established sharks on Chapel Street.”
Barracuda boasts a menu that is about 60 percent seafood. You’ll find flat breads with Manchego cheese next to Colombian-style empanadas with homemade picante sauce, next to chorizo mac & cheese. You can wash it all down with any of the varieties of wine from Spain, Chile, Argentina, or a cocktail featuring Colombian rum, or organic tequila.
“We’re all about fun, good drinks and good food,” Salazar said. “Eat. Drink. Enjoy. That’s our motto.”
This was one of the best burgers I've had. Maybe I was just really hungry but I don't think I'm using hyperbole. They also actually cooked it medium rare which is rare for a restaurant in personal experience.