Boston – Oysters, Chinatown and a Lobsta Roll (2019)

We only had two nights in Boston and one was slated for an event, but Priscilla was determined to find some great seafood. The first stop on our trip was a hip seafood place called Select Oyster Bar, with lots of innovative side dishes, drinks, and a full selection of local oysters. I grew up about as far away the sea as possible in Missouri, so I am definitely no pro at eating oysters. I have had them less than a handful of times and they were never a food that I have seeked out. I really did not know what I was I getting into… We did not really know where to start, so we just ordered one of each and a tray of different shaped oysters showed up in front of us fully equipped with sauces and lemons.

I squeezed some lemon over the tray, we each grabbed a shell, wielded the mini fork and went for it! Wow… There was fresh taste of the sea with some great umami flavors and then it was over. We both could not wait to try the next one. As we learned, the custom is to arrange the oysters around the tray clockwise with the lemons as your starting point. Then you take a tour down the list through the different varieties from the area. Each variety is listed along with its origin, so of course I pulled out my phone to map where in the world these tasty morsels were coming from. Our favorite ones were from only 15 to 30 miles away, no wonder they tasted so fresh! Then we had to order a second round.

We were talking about oysters for the entire visit, so decided to squeeze in one more tray right before we jumped on the plane back to Chicago. We wanted to try one of the most popular seafood places, Neptune Oyster, but had heard the lines can be hours long. We arrived just after it opened at 11:00 AM and got lucky enough to grab 2 seats at the bar right by their showcase of oysters in the window. Neptune had awesome oysters and the side dishes were delicious too. To get the full Boston experience, I also tried a Lobsta Roll, which is essentially a ton of steamed lobster tossed into a fresh white roll. It is completely decadent, and with fresh lobster, I will admit it was amazing.

We visited Boston in December and it is cold, for real. We did not have to tromp through snow, but we did get to experience some of their fully drenching chilly rain. The city center covers a pretty small area and it seemed that you would walk to most anywhere in about 20 to 30 minutes. It is a compact downtown with good stuff hiding down all of the small streets. Compared to the wide streets and spread out feel of the midwest, Boston feels a lot more European with tight winding streets and lots of small establishments. Don’t be surprised if you are sharing your table and squeezed into a tiny spot at the best restaurants, the seafood will be worth it!