Select Oyster Bar

One of the foods I can truly say I eat the most of (this time of year, especially) is oysters. I never seem to tire of these pristine specimens, and Boston does them oh-so-well. Take the recently opened Select Oyster Bar where an irreproachable selection is matched by stunning crudi and inventive fruits de mer. 

what we ate:

raw oysters ($2.75) | wellfleet, marthas vineyard, kumamoto

dressed maine lobster ($29) | fine herbs + lemon

faroe island salmon crudo ($14) | togarashi, pistachio oil, lime

flash seared hamachi ($19) | sweet corn salad, whipped avocado, lime slaw

spanish octopus ($18) | roasted tomatillo, chimichurri, blistered snap peas, serrano chili

and drank:

Ulacia txakolina rose ($15/glass)

hemingway daquiri ($13.5) | privateer rum, maraschino, fresh citrus

green issac's special ($13.5) | cap rock gin, coconut water, bitters, lime

Gramona Imperial cava ($65/bottle)

While I will admit that I can hardly keep up with Boston's booming restaurant scene, I was so happy that the ladies and I made it a point to visit Select in its infant state. Tucked neatly into a small, narrow space on Gloucester Street in the Back Bay - this bright, cheerful oyster bar with a charming back patio is a welcome addition to the seafood scene. 

Read Meghan's recap of our evening on Travel Wine Dine here.

Select Oyster Bar

50 Gloucester St

Boston, MA 02115

five boston greats

Hi, Boston! How've you been?!

If you're in need of some local inspiration, or happen to be planning a trip to the city this summer, these are a few spots where I've been eating and drinking the last couple months for group dinners and date nights, ladies evenings and bar hopping - it's all here! 

Highball is a vintage cocktail lounge with a playful edge; the drink program is serious while the rest of the scene evokes a childhood nostalgia. There's a room full of old school board games, (think Candy Land, Trouble, Guess Who), a menu board with brightly colored magnet letters, and anything from a rubber duck to a plastic bendy straw could end up in your drink.

The bar bites focused menu may be small but dishes deliver big time. The Tater Tot Nachos ($11) mean business. A tower of crispy tots comes in a mini cast iron pan piled with chunky guacamole, black olives, pickled red onions and dollops of crème fraiche. A heavenly melted cheese sauce pools at the bottom, so make sure to take advantage and dig all the way in. The Crab Rangoon Spring Rolls ($9) are also a really satisfying choice. I'm drinking an Epiphany ($11) with plymouth gin, bianco vermouth, agave, lime, cucumbers and pomello soda in a super cute retro glass. 

Highball Lounge | Beacon Hill
90 Tremont Steet
Boston, MA 02108
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An impromptu Friday night date at Eastern Standard turned into a group dinner (we ran into a few friends, who are meeting other friends) next thing you know, we're all slurping a couple dozen Oysters ($2.75 ea) and perfectly shaken, always strong cocktails are flowing. Combining gin, st Germain, lime, peychauds and parsely, The Thaw ($13) was a bright, herbal ode to springs arrival. In the Calypso ($10) vodka, celery and lemon keep things tart and fresh. The Friday Special: Saffron Fettucine with Shellfish ($26) proved to be an outstanding entrée. The pasta dish arrives with mussels and generous chunks of sweet, plump lobster meat, fava beans and cherry tomatoes all laced with green garlic and a terrific uni butter. Wow.

Eastern Standard | Kenmore Square

528 Commonwealth Avenue

Boston, MA 02215  
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A few weeks later, ES's sibling-neighbor Island Creek Oyster Bar plays host to a crew of 17 ladies to celebrate Tracy's bachelorette party. We started with oysters and cocktails (and a trend in this post emerges, but it must be said!) The cocktail menu keeps you guessing and I have fun interpreting - Juniper = Gin, Agave = tequila, The Spice Island = rum based. The Salt Washed ($13) it is, with juniper, tarragon and celery. Lately, I'm all about celery and herb based libations. This one is an awesome pairing with some briny Island Creeks.

The first course presents a baby arugula salad in a light dijon vinaigrette and a gorgeous Salmon Tartare shared family style, along with individual cups of Clam Chowder. Their chowder is something to marvel at, featuring hand dug clams, house cured bacon and buttermilk biscuit crackers. The entrée pictured is the Pan Seared Gloucester Halibut atop a spring vegetable chowder and ICOB Bacon, paired with a bottle of the Ameztoi Getariako Txakolina Bianco ($38) a mineraly, slightly effervescent, food friendly Basque white wine. Desserts are divine, we share caramel milk chocolate pot de cremes and lime-coconut crème donuts with mango jam. (We paid $85 for the prix fix meal, inclusive of tip - arranged ahead of time.) For one of the freshest seafood and raw bar selections in Boston, featuring inventively prepared New England classics, Island Creek is one not to miss!

ICOB | Kenmore Square

500 Commonwealth Avenue

Boston, MA 02215   

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 The youngest sibling of the former two restaurants, Row 34, located across town in Fort Point Channel is the self described workingman's oyster bar. The lively industrial space was the perfect spot for Friday after-work drinks and to celebrate a friends new job. Our bartender provided superior service; he was friendly, attentive (always noticed a newcomer) and kept the cold beers and impeccably shucked oysters and clams flowing. With a wide selection of craft brewed and funky European choices on draft and in the bottle, the beer menu (plus that raw bar!) is reason alone to make this place a destination.

 Row 34 | Fort Point

383 Congress St
Fort Point, MA 02210 

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Oh, Shōjō. I adore you, but, what an incredibly confusing experience with the hostess(es). I rarely rant, but here goes....

• We arrive and hostess #1 affirmatively tells us the wait will be 45 minutes and takes my cell number. 
• The bar is packed so we head out and just as we are ordering a beer five minutes down the street, hostess #1 calls back and we are told our table is ready. (It has been five minutes. So from 45 to 5. What?!) 
• On our walk back, hostess #2 calls me again. (um, why are they calling me again?! So confused.) I assure her we will be right there!!
• Upon arrival, hostess #1 explains our table is not ready, it will be 20 more minutes. What is going on here ladies!? Do we stay? Do we go? 
• In that moment two seats open up at the tiny bar, so we stay. 
• Before we even order drinks, not a minute later, hostess #2 appears with menus to seat us. What?!? Meanwhile, the table she appears to want to lead us towards has been open the entire time. 
• As we are now comfortably seated at the bar, we tell her no thanks to the table. This was all super annoying!

I still want to recommend Shōjō despite the hostesses antics. They were apologetic, and we're over it because we've been here before and know their creative take on Asian food and drinks are worth it. Everything has always been really freakin GOOD.

They focus on small plates, so plan on ordering a bunch to share. We devoured the Crispy Shrimp Bao ($9) with charred shishito and yuzu aioli, the Tiger Ribs ($9) with thai basil, shallots and peanuts and a bowl of Kimchi Fried Rice ($12) with a sunny egg. Cocktails are superbly done, like my Sum Ting Wong ($12) with ocho, campari, lime and rhubarb shrub. They have a unrivaled Asian craft beer and spirit list and then there's also a solid selection of the one's you know - Sapporo on draft and Singha (Thai), Asahi (Japan) and TsingTao (China) bottles. Service from the bartender is perfectly normal and attentive. Despite being really crowded, I still feel like this place flies under the radar. They take reservations for parties of 10 or more, otherwise, you'll just have to try your luck with a table.

    

Shōjō | Chinatown

9A Tyler Street

Boston, MA 02111 

Sarma

Sarma means wrapped - enveloped - rolled up: a bundle of food that is bite sized and served as a meze. From the chef that brought us Oleana and Sofra, Sarma is Ana Sortun's version of a Turkish tavern known as a meyhane. Here in Somerville's Winter Hill neighborhood, a warm embrace of little dishes with intriguing spices and herbs delights.

Painted in a deep cornflower blue with turquoise and green accents, decorated with an elaborate set of painted plates, dangling exposed lights and Turkish mosaiq lamps, the restaurant is colorful and comfortable. Megan, Emily and I caught up one evening, deeming the majority of the plates a hit with a few misses in the mix as well. 

In order of appearance the Basturma & Cheese Rolls ($8) with chive and fenugreek fell somewhere in the middle. A lovely bite, but nothing that knocked our socks off. The Haloumi Fries ($7) with kimi white fig ketchup and the Brussels Sprout Bravas ($9) with hazelnut migas fell on the awesome side of the spectrum. Even right now I find myself craving these terrific bites! The Haloumi was warm and melty, while the brussels were rich and spicy. From the bar I sipped an Old Soul ($10) with Bourbon, pineapple, fenugreek and bitters. This was followed up by a glass of crisp, food friendly Txakolina. I'm a big fan of wine menus offering this Basque Country gem - a dry slightly sparking white wine.

We expected to love the Fava Bean Pate ($7) with capers, red onion and dill, but some abrasive salty-spice in the pate itself plus those capers overpowered the usually bright and fresh tasting favas. Green Garlic & Zucchini Keftedes ($10) were soft and light patties topped with refreshing almost palate cleansing ingredients - crisp cress and cucumber tzatziki. The heavier meat and seafood based dishes we ordered were hits. Persian Beef & Swiss Chard ($12) with sweet potato, cilantro yogurt and lime, and the Octopus Skewer ($15) with grilled avocado, grapefruit charmoula and Israeli couscous both proved to be boldly flavored yet balanced dishes with welcome spices. 

For dessert there's about 15 toppings to customize either the thick and tangy Greek style Frozen Yogurt ($5) or the Loukamades ($5) a ricotta doughnut dusted in powdered sugar. We wisely chose both and paired them with the heavenly Banana Pudding ($2) and the ethereal Passion Fruit Curd ($2). This was definitely a fun way to end the meal without being too heavy. Even if you happen to over do it on the small plates (an easy feat, the menu is pretty large) I would not pass on dessert.

Sarma
249 Pearl St. 

Somerville, MA 02145

The Blue Room

My recent bachelorette party dinner at The Blue Room felt like discovering a hidden gem in Kendall Square. While they have attracted a crowd of regulars for 20 years now, the Blue Room dates back to when this area was rather desolate from a culinary perspective. 

On their subterranean patio embodying a rustic elegance flanked with a mash up of large blue flower pots and surrounded by eclectic greenery; the ladies and I were treated to impeccable service and polished, thoughtfully prepared dishes. 

From the first taste of a luscious Cava Rosato paired with a terrific rendition of tangy, creamy cheese stuffed gougeres, to the addicting bite size rounds of crispy seared blood sausage served with Txtakoli, a sparkling wine from the Basque region of Spain (takes me right back to San Sebastian!) to a chilled tomato basil soup that embodied summer evening comfort, each gesture delighted and spoke to their hospitable nature and knowledge of food and wine pairings. These starters were sent out with the chefs compliments. 

We ordered two appetizers beginning with the One Perfect Cheese ($9) accompanied by a house made rhubarb confiture and delicate crostini drizzled in olive oil. The Wood Grilled Octopus and Squid ($13) truly raised the bar on a favorite delicacy by pairing tender, lightly charred coils with a zesty aioli, red onion agrodolce, black olive oil and fingerling potato chips. At this point we've gotten into a bottle of Cremant de Loire Rose ($42) the non stop flow of pink bubbly a beautiful thing! (so tipsy now! See the afternoons festivities here and here.) 

My entrée of Buttered Farro ($19) was a generous portion with wild Berkshire ramps and pistachios matched with a deliciously runny soft poached egg. We ordered the Chocolate Terrine ($10) with rosemary ice cream, salted pistachios and olive oil caramel for dessert. Chef also sent out a trio of fruit infused sweets - a Blood Orange Parfait, Lemon Panna Cotta and Berry Sorbet. We paired the grand finale with an espresso each and bid our outstanding waitress and lovely patio spot farewell as we made our way over to Naga in Central Square. Commence: the dancing portion of the evening. 

The Blue Room provided a truly memorable celebratory meal. That being said, this is not the type of place you need save for a special occasion to visit. Fairly priced with gracious hospitality in a sophisticated meets fun atmosphere, it is the type of place you will want to visit often and again. 

The Blue Room

1 Kendall Square

Cambridge, MA 02139

Pintxos Crawl | San Sebastian

"A pintxo should be eye-catching, original,

and petite enough to eat in two bites"

~Patxi Bergara

In a city known for its Michelin Stared restaurants, we favored the more affordable but no less appreciated haute cuisine of the region - Pintxos. The highly regarded Basque style tapas reign as a collection of mini masterpieces lining bar counter tops in most notably the city's historic district. The atmospheric Parte Vieja (Old Town) encompasses tiny charming streets limited to those on foot, where the most common activity is gallivanting from one pintxos bar to the next.
Among lively crowded spaces, the amicable bartenders nod to locals and welcome out of towers. The tab is on the honor system. A spirited pintxos crawl kicks off an evening that turns into a party in the street, which might lead to playing slots at the small unassuming casino, making friends over darts and beers, and hitting up a seemingly hidden discotheque till the wee hours. It is an enticing scene as a whole, the pintxos alone are reason enough to embark on a bar crawl even if you decide to call it an early night. (You likely won't want to.)One of my favorite traditional pintxos is a briny melt in your mouth oil and vinegar marinated anchovy woven with a spicy pimento pepper, speared on a toothpick with a juicy green olive, topped with a colorful confetti of finely diced onions and peppers, and bathing in a vat of golden olive oil. Pintxos are a highly adored cuisine for their impeccable attention to detail, both in taste and presentation. A tuna stuffed piquillo pepper here, a thin slice each of jamon, pimento and a hard boiled egg stacked gracefully on on a toasted baguette there, followed up by a cube of cod fish sandwiched by pickle halves dusted with peppers and onions, and you've got yourself a meal. Wash it all down with a glass of Txtakoli, the fizzy white wine of the region notorious for its dramatic pour. Sparkling wine streams out of an emerald green bottle from nearly a foot above the glass, it is poured this way to aerate the wine for optimal taste. Move onto the next bar and prepare to do it all over again, and again, until you are feeling sufficiently full and buzzed. Pictured at a local "sports" bar where everyone was playing pool or darts. Our crawl one night started first with a glass of Cava and then Estrella on draft at A Fuegro Negro - a stark contemporary black and red space amongst a slew of traditional wooden clad tavernas. Here we consumed bar snacks of bocadillos and tortillas. We quickly learned that even the "average" bar snack around here are pretty sensational. We popped into Casa Vergara for chorizo sausage and crouquetas and were warmly embraced by Bar Ganbara where the pulpo de gallega - octopus dusted in rock salt, paprika and olive oil delighted. After that point, I officially lost track of bar names.That's the great thing about a Pintxos crawl, wander into any one that appeals to you and you're pretty much guaranteed a reasonably priced excellent bite of food. Same goes for the glass of wine.At least, that was our experience. There are definitely beloved spots and many we had read about and researched, but in the end, wandering into the unknown, maybe even unnamed spot proved to be just as rewarding as seeking out the recommended. Inside a traditional pintxos bar on Calle 31 de Agosta we feasted some more and drank a glass or two of Rioja, the ever reliable red wine choice. You also might want to wander into the Basilica of Santa Maria at some point, or at the very least, you'll notice it along your crawls. It stands as an impressive 18th Century Baroque church at 46 Calle 31 de Agosto. Just when I thought I had experienced Spanish nightlife to the fullest in Madrid, and ate some of the best cuisine of life to date in Barcelona, I traveled to San Sebastian where the two merged in extraordinary fashion. The dreamer in me imagined what it would be like to take up permanent residence (the beaches playing a huge part), while my younger self wished I studied abroad here (stemmed after we hung out with kids from England spending a semester in town, naturally) while my still not rational self is planning a trip back when I win the lottery so I can afford to eat at restaurants like Akelare and Arzak. Otherwise, I remain beyond content with the city as I experienced it; my affections for San Sebastian run deep.