Row 34

When word got out that the folks behind Island Creek Oyster Bar were opening a new restaurant in the Fort Point area, we definitely paid attention. Upon opening, Row 34 was consistently packed, and getting reservations were a bit difficult to come by. So, on a random Tuesday night, Nick and I went over for an early dinner.

The space is nice and open, with lofted ceilings and an industrial mix of wood and metal. I decided to start the evening with a glass of bubbly - it turns out that the wine buyer is big into sparkling wines, so Row 34 has a great collection with plenty of options by the glass and bottle. Nick went with one of the draft brews from the extensive beer list.

Oysters

State Park - A Total Throwback

It's no secret that Kendall Square has become a major food destination in the last couple of years. With all the fantastic new restaurants over there, I find myself drawn to it more and more. Most recently, Nick and I decided to have a classic date night - dinner and a movie, but in reverse order. After enjoying a film at the Kendall Square Cinema, we wandered over to State Park, the new restaurant from the group behind one of my favorites, Hungry Mother. Where Hungry Mother is classic Southern Food in a refined atmosphere, State Park is like walking into your best friend's basement in 1984, complete with the pine paneled walls and decor pulled directly from your childhood - it's a total throwback!

Beers!

Mei Mei - Double Awesome!

Since I work over in Brookline Village I don't get to experience the local food trucks too often. So, when we found out that a Boston favorite, Mei Mei Street Kitchen, was going brick-and-mortar nearby my coworkers and I immediately scheduled a lunch meeting to check it out!

All the of the food at Mei Mei is locally sourced, so many pieces of the menu change daily, though you usually can count on a few items. Going in, our group knew that we wanted to sample the dumplings AND the fritters because we just couldn't choose between the two.

Dumplings!

Ostra

Its no secret here that I am a fan of Columbus Hospitality Group restaurants, having had not only amazing meals but great overall experiences at L'Andana, Mistral, and Sorellina. When I heard they were opening a new restaurant, Ostra, in the Back Bay I had high expectations for the final product. After the initial reviews were positive, Nick and I decided to suck up the higher price point and celebrate nothing in particular on a Saturday night date night out in the city.

Wonderful foccacia bread

Our reservations were at 8:30 and after the hostess checked us in (we barely made it at 8:29) she said they were running a bit behind, so we grabbed some drinks at the bar. Even with our reservations we had to wait about a half hour to be seated - turns out they somewhat ambitiously schedule their evenings, but the menu doesn't necessarily fit well will turning the tables over quickly. Fortunately we had no where to be, and they had a pink sparkling wine served by the glass for me to enjoy and a yummy cocktail for Nick, so we were happy to relax at the bar.

Hasselback Potatoes

If you are anything like me, you read a LOT of food blogs and notice that certain foods start trending, e.g. bacon bourbon brownies. Lately, one of the more popular items I have been seeing is hasselback potatoes. I was totally intrigued by these, not only because they looked delicious with their crispy tops, but also because the presentation is dynamite!

After doing a little internet searching on how to make those cuts and realizing it was actually doable, I sorted through some recipes and went for it! Surprisingly, these are pretty straightforward and taste terrific.

Hasselback Potatoes

Raymond and Buena Vista Vineyards

It's time to return to wine country (at least on the blog). On our second day, the same day we did a barrel tasting at Westwood, we visited two of Jean-Charles Boisset's family vineyards. From what we saw, this guy must be quite a character! Our first stop was Raymond Vineyards, which we were excited to visit since we had a couple of their table Cabs at home and enjoyed them.

Biodynamic Farming at Raymond