Island Creek Oyster Bar

I've been twice now with my nephew, Nicholas. It's his Sunday night haunt and actually I couldn't think of a better place to usher out the weekend when you're in town. Boston's Island Creek Oyster Bar is located at the Hotel Commonwealth in Kenmore Square. This candlelit bar and restaurant bears the same name as the delicious oyster that's farmed in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Skip Bennett started his oyster farm with a dream to "grow the world's finest oysters and have the best possible time doing it" and lucky for us he teamed up with Jeremy Sewall and Garrett Harker to open this restaurant which adheres to that same mission. They work closely with purveyors to find the best oysters and freshest seafood that's available daily. They also feature top quality meat entrees for those who prefer eating from the land. The staff is knowledgeable about every aspect of the menu and will guide you through your selections to ensure you have an superb dining experience. 

It's a hip, rustic decor with a slew of candles gracing the tables and the bar. We ate at the bar which is what you do when you're hanging out with Nicholas. Sunday night is especially nice as the place is full, yet not crazy crowded like a weekend night. We started with a dozen of a newly featured Island Creek oyster called Tumblers. They're a bit smaller than the original and Nicholas tells me, "they grow them on a line that constantly rotates, very slowly, making them tumble over each other as the line turns". I don't begin to know the science behind it, but I can tell you that this process produces one sweet, briny delicious oyster. While I encourage you to try a selection of the oysters they feature on their menu, don't forget to include these little gems.

We shared a prawn entree (it was a special that evening) and roasted corn. Next it was on to the appetizers which seems kind of backwards, but it worked. The Crispy IC Oyster Slider was so good I could have eaten a half dozen, but I needed to save room for the Pan Fried Jonah Crab Cake which was outstanding. The standard menu fare never disappoints and the nightly specials are always enticing.

Our bartender was attentive and surprised me with a lovely French white burgundy which happens to be one of my favorite wines.  That's just how the evening went...one delightful surprise after another. 

 Stop in, you'll be glad that you did.

Island Creek Oyster Bar

500 Commonwealth Avenue

Boston, MA

Phone: 617-532-5300
http://islandcreekoysterbar.com/

Here's a link to my post from last year's Island Creek Oyster Festival. It was my first encounter with these delectable little gifts from the sea.

La Voile, Boston Brasserie

It's the real thing. La Voile, which translates to "the sail", serves authentic French food at this charming Boston brasserie. My nephew, Nicholas, recommended it when I asked him to suggest a nice spot for lunch. The moment we stepped through the door I had a very good feeling and the story on the menu confirmed it.  How had I missed this place?

Nicholas, Ally, Avalon and I sat down to what was to be a leisurely two hour lunch enjoying some divine French food. The French country decor includes several stunning wooden boat models representative of those commonly seen on the French coast. Close your eyes and dream of Cannes.

Now back to Boston. They offer a very reasonable two or three course prix fixe lunch menu ($19 or $25), or you can chose a la carte from a full menu. I opted for the two course prix fixe and started with the mussels in a light lemon curry sauce. 

They were sweet, tender, perfectly cooked and the sauce was so delicious it was drinkable, but I refrained and scooped up every last drop with my spoon. Avalon tried one and swooned, so of course I shared.

Nicholas started with the foie gras and pate that was accompanied by crisp toast, a delicious apple compote and mixed greens. Parfait!

When the entrees arrived we were so engrossed in savoring every bite that photographing was no longer a priority. Plus, it gets a bit obnoxious if one takes pictures throughout the entire meal. I like to snap a few shots to whet your appetite, but you'll just have to stop in to try the delicious grilled salmon over greens that Ally enjoyed and the fresh mozzarella and tomato panini on French country bread that Avalon savored. I throughly enjoyed my grilled steak with asparagus and Nicholas had the mussels as his entree, and yes I dipped into his sauce. Who could resist?

And the pièce de résistance.... which we shared...

Our charming waiter even offered to snap a picture of us. Merci.  The food, charming ambience and the wonderful staff transported us back to the south of France. We can't wait to go back and we're so happy to have discovered this little piece of France just an hour away.

La Voile

261 Newbury Street

Boston, MA 02119

617.587.4200

Boston: The South End

We headed into Boston's South End on Saturday.  As one of its oldest neighborhoods, it's home to some of the loveliest Victorian brick row houses in the city. Back in the early 1800's renowned architect, Charles Bulfinch, designed these elegant bow-front town homes with wrought iron railings and small gardens which attracted the younger upper class families of that day to the area. By the turn of the century the well to do moved on to the Back Bay, or out to the suburbs, and most of the homes turned into tenements and lodging houses. In the 40's the area began attracting the gay community, and in the 60's residents began to refurbish the town homes to their former glory. At this same time the South End Historical Society was formed to protect and preserve the architecture of this historic district. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places as the largest Victorian neighborhood in the country. As we strolled down this gorgeous street we met a friendly couple who had just returned from a bike race on the Cape. We chatted about the race, their lovely neighborhood, and shared a laugh about how we had traded places for the day.

Our next stop was the Stanford Calderwood Pavillion, at the Boston Center for the Arts, to see The Drowsy Chaperone.  This clever homage to the American musical is told by a narrator, know only as man in chair, who sits in his tiny apartment and brings his favorite old musical to life. While deconstructing the characters and elements of the show he delivers witty commentary on the farcical, yet poignant message behind each performance. It was laugh-out-loud funny, and pleasantly introspective, which meets my criteria for an enjoyable performance.  It runs through the 19th, and it's worth a trip.

We headed over to Stella on Washington St. for dinner, which made the girls happy as they love Italian. My nephew recommended it, along with a few other spots which will come in handy on a return visit...

The contemporary, well decorated dining room was at the pre-rocking stage when we arrived. We do eat on the early side, but I could definitely feel it picking up as we dined. As you'd expect the wait-staff is young and hip, friendly and efficient.

David and I were going to split the Parmesan Arancini / buffalo mozzarella / in a  spicy pomodoro fondue as a starter, but when the girls got a look at those gorgeous golden-brown rice balls it ended up being a four way split.  More like an amuse-bouche for the table, which actually was the perfect palate teaser and left me with plenty of room for the main course.

I had the Seared Local Scallops / sweet pea risotto / fava beans / with tendril salad and it was perfect! Just look at it. It was the essence of early summer on a plate. Tender juicy scallops over risotto, with fresh crunchy fava beans and sweet peas:

David order the Honey Glazed Salmon / spaghetti squash / cherry tomato / with a citrus vinaigrette. He was pleased, and I was very pleased with the spaghetti squash. The girls has pasta; Tagliatelle / bolognese / reggiano and Stella Homemade Gnocchi / tomato / basil / reggiano. Both were delicious. We skipped dessert as the girls wanted to head over to Newbury Street for a little Pinkberry, but this gives us a good reason to go back. 

As we strolled back to the car we passed the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. Splashed with the glow of the fading sunlight against the brilliant blue sky, it was quite a site.

Avedon and the New American Cafe at the MFA

Yesterday was the last day to see the Richard Avedon fashion photography exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, which a friend invited us to see, and I was so glad that she did. This traveling exhibit was organized by the International Center of Photography in New York City, and featured  an impressive collection of his work spanning from 1944-2000. Included were both photographs and magazine covers from Harper's Bazaar and Vogue, featuring top models such as Suzy Parker, Dovima, Twiggy and Lauren Hutton. 

Although time has run out to see this exhibit, there's still much to see at the MFA with the  recent opening of the new Art of the Americas Wing. This historic renovation is worth a trip into the city. The contemporary structure sits between two existing wings of the museum, and houses collections from North, Central and South Americas. The contrast of architecture is striking, and it does very good job of bridging what some have said were separate and disjointed wings of the original museum. The dramatic glass atrium serves as a central meeting place between the existing museum and the new wing, and features the New American Cafe which serves up some creative and delicious fare. For lunch, Lee and I chose the burger on a brioche bun with fried onions. It was high quality family farm raised beef, nice sharp cheddar, and the brioche was perfection:

Nicholas had the short ribs over wide noodles with mushroom sauce. The beef just melted in your mouth, and it took all of my willpower to keep my hands off his plate. I'd go back just for this dish:

Ally tried the turkey panini with bacon and a fruit inspired mayonnaise served with homemade chips. She was very happy:

And the pièce de résistance was the apple pie with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. We all agreed that we'd never had a flakier pie crust. Oh, to find out the secret to this little gem:

You can review the current exhibitions to plan your day, and be sure to include the New American Cafe as you'll be in for a most pleasant experience.

To learn more about the new wing read Sebastian Smee's piece, Continental Connection,that ran in the Boston Globe this past November.