Awww.. Shucks!
Posted by Tammy, October 18th, 2007 at 5:21 am
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My girlfriend Ami and I went to B & G Oyster’s last night for a long overdue Girl’s Night Out. It was my first visit but her 4th or 5th… that, in itself, says something. We called ahead and found out that they do have valet ($16 bucks a pop) but do not take reservations for parties smaller than four. We were assured that if we went “early” we should not have a problem being seated right away.
Having worn high-heeled boots all day my dogs were killing me, so we opted to drive and valet it — even though Ami only lives a few blocks down the street. We arrived around 6:45pm and were seated right away, but at the bar. There was a significant wait for an actual table. We didn’t mind though, as we got seated right in front of the oyster shucker. On the menu that night were probably 8 to 10 different types of oysters, all laid out nicely in front of us.
We hadn’t seen each other in a very long time, so we were gabbing away and not ready to order our drinks the first time the waitress came by; she did however read us (off a piece of paper) the daily specials. There were two; one appetizer — salmon tartare with a cucumber and yogurt sauce and I think chopped avocado (it was VERY difficult to understand our server, she had a very thick accent) and one entree — Wahoo in some type of sauce with olive tapenade (again, couldn’t really understand what she said, even asking her to repeat it).
When we finally decided on what to drink, we realized our server had not been back in what seemed to be an unusually long time. We had to finally flag down the hostess for our drink order, who in turn, was very knowledgeable and very helpful. Ami ordered a glass of Prosecco (a dry, citrusy, Italian sparkler) and I had a glass of the Trimbach Muscat, (an Alsatian white wine with a delicate and floral finish). Shortly after our drinks arrived, our server was back to take our order.
We began with a dozen raw oysters; half a dozen Blue Points and half a dozen Island Creek — our shucker’s recommendation. The “Blue Point” oyster is sort of a catchall name for any oyster from the Atlantic Ocean that is 2 to 4 inches long, (they were originally named for Blue Point, Long Island). According to the Food Network, these are the “best oysters for eating on the half shell”. Let’s just say these oysters were at least 2 to 4 inches… freaking me out a bit (note picture at top of blog). They were very good though; sweet, briny and smooth. The “Island Creek” oysters — our schucker’s favorite for the evening, are farm-raised locally (in Duxbury, MA) in Cape Cod Bay. These oysters were tasty as well, plump, briny and downright delicious.
After our oysters, we decided to go with a few dishes B & G is famous for. I had the Maine Lobster Roll with French Fries ($22) and Ami had the B.L.T. with Lobster (I think this was also about $22). Pricey? Yes. Good? Yes. Worth it? I think so. I am not a huge lobster roll fan… I prefer my lobster served warn and dredged in butter. This lobster roll was surprisingly good though… loaded with (finely-chopped) lobster meat, light mayo and the typical accompaniments — it was even served on a split-top hotdog bun. The fries that came with it appeared to have some type of herb seasoning and were especially good.
We opted out of dessert; we were just too full. According to their website, they offer three options… Banana Royale, Chevre Ice Cream and Chocolate Almond Cake. All sounded good to me… especially the Chevre Ice Cream.
On a final note… even though I would not have considered this place kid-friendly, when we arrived we noticed a couple sitting at a high bar table with (their own) booster seat attached to a chair and a 1+ year old joining them. They seemed to be content and enjoying their evening. A little later, we noticed another woman sitting across from us rocking (a pretty young) baby back and forth in her arms while she and her partner enjoyed their dinner. What are the odds? Two babies within a 2-hour period? Perhaps this is a place to consider for a little raw bar action with the mini-me’s?
Date-night worth? Definitely. Would I go again? Sure… there are many other varieties of oysters to try and several other items on the menu that looked interesting. Would I bring my (almost) 3-year old? Probably not… only because it’s a small space and pretty dark. I think he would get bored and want to run around. You might be fine with a smaller child though… as the two couples we saw proved.
Having worn high-heeled boots all day my dogs were killing me, so we opted to drive and valet it — even though Ami only lives a few blocks down the street. We arrived around 6:45pm and were seated right away, but at the bar. There was a significant wait for an actual table. We didn’t mind though, as we got seated right in front of the oyster shucker. On the menu that night were probably 8 to 10 different types of oysters, all laid out nicely in front of us.
We hadn’t seen each other in a very long time, so we were gabbing away and not ready to order our drinks the first time the waitress came by; she did however read us (off a piece of paper) the daily specials. There were two; one appetizer — salmon tartare with a cucumber and yogurt sauce and I think chopped avocado (it was VERY difficult to understand our server, she had a very thick accent) and one entree — Wahoo in some type of sauce with olive tapenade (again, couldn’t really understand what she said, even asking her to repeat it).
When we finally decided on what to drink, we realized our server had not been back in what seemed to be an unusually long time. We had to finally flag down the hostess for our drink order, who in turn, was very knowledgeable and very helpful. Ami ordered a glass of Prosecco (a dry, citrusy, Italian sparkler) and I had a glass of the Trimbach Muscat, (an Alsatian white wine with a delicate and floral finish). Shortly after our drinks arrived, our server was back to take our order.
We began with a dozen raw oysters; half a dozen Blue Points and half a dozen Island Creek — our shucker’s recommendation. The “Blue Point” oyster is sort of a catchall name for any oyster from the Atlantic Ocean that is 2 to 4 inches long, (they were originally named for Blue Point, Long Island). According to the Food Network, these are the “best oysters for eating on the half shell”. Let’s just say these oysters were at least 2 to 4 inches… freaking me out a bit (note picture at top of blog). They were very good though; sweet, briny and smooth. The “Island Creek” oysters — our schucker’s favorite for the evening, are farm-raised locally (in Duxbury, MA) in Cape Cod Bay. These oysters were tasty as well, plump, briny and downright delicious.
After our oysters, we decided to go with a few dishes B & G is famous for. I had the Maine Lobster Roll with French Fries ($22) and Ami had the B.L.T. with Lobster (I think this was also about $22). Pricey? Yes. Good? Yes. Worth it? I think so. I am not a huge lobster roll fan… I prefer my lobster served warn and dredged in butter. This lobster roll was surprisingly good though… loaded with (finely-chopped) lobster meat, light mayo and the typical accompaniments — it was even served on a split-top hotdog bun. The fries that came with it appeared to have some type of herb seasoning and were especially good.
We opted out of dessert; we were just too full. According to their website, they offer three options… Banana Royale, Chevre Ice Cream and Chocolate Almond Cake. All sounded good to me… especially the Chevre Ice Cream.
On a final note… even though I would not have considered this place kid-friendly, when we arrived we noticed a couple sitting at a high bar table with (their own) booster seat attached to a chair and a 1+ year old joining them. They seemed to be content and enjoying their evening. A little later, we noticed another woman sitting across from us rocking (a pretty young) baby back and forth in her arms while she and her partner enjoyed their dinner. What are the odds? Two babies within a 2-hour period? Perhaps this is a place to consider for a little raw bar action with the mini-me’s?
Date-night worth? Definitely. Would I go again? Sure… there are many other varieties of oysters to try and several other items on the menu that looked interesting. Would I bring my (almost) 3-year old? Probably not… only because it’s a small space and pretty dark. I think he would get bored and want to run around. You might be fine with a smaller child though… as the two couples we saw proved.
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