Emily the Oyster Girl

Surprise!  My husband, Matt, took me to Boston for the weekend to celebrate my birthday.  It was a very happy coincidence that this trip encompassed National Oyster Day, Aug 5th.  There are very few places that would’ve been better to celebrate National Oyster Day (and my birthday for that matter) than Boston.  I was determined to eat all of the seafood and all of the oysters and take pictures of all of the things like a good blogger should.

We are HUGE fans of Boston – the vibe of city, the Red Sox, the FOOD.  If there is one place I could name that has been instrumental in the development of our relationship over the years, I would say Boston.  It is OUR city.  The same conversation plays like a song on repeat, over and over.  Where could we work?  Where could we live?  When are we moving here?  Though I was not-so-seriously-but-I-wish-it-was offered a job at an art gallery a few visits ago, we will find bank jobs similar to what we have now, just to ensure we have regular paychecks (and oyster funds), and we will live in Back Bay.  I don’t think either of us have given up on the idea, but for now visiting 2-3 times per year will just have to suffice.

We have our routine – the T, Red Sox Game(s), restaurants, shops, and markets.  Same thing every time.  Load the Charlie Card with enough to get by on the Green Line, and come away with Italian specialties from the North End like fresh pasta and sopressata, cannolis from Mike’s Pastry, fresh produce if we happen to be there during the Copley Square Farmer’s Market, and bags of Red Sox merch when we are feeling spendy.  It is our Boston fix.

This trip was no different.  We left on Thursday night, hit up Black Duck Cafe in Westport, CT for their Fried Whole Belly Clam basket and stayed in a nearby hotel.  We’ve recently started splitting up the 5.5 – 6 hour drive up that way.  It ensures dinner at Black Duck, a cheaper hotel room, and that we get a longer day when we finally arrive in Boston.

I got to enjoy my first oysters of the trip on Friday.  We ate lunch at Summer Shack which was a short walk from our hotel, The Colonnade.  We scored such a good deal on Hotwire for the hotel…$188 per night vs. $400…yes please, and our room got upgraded when we checked in, so we had a “wicked quaint” view.  And it was a wicked quaint view of Back Bay.  Shopping on Newbury Street and the Copley Square Farmer’s Market followed lunch and then it was off to the Red Sox game where they won on a walk off home run in the 11th inning.

Our big plans for Saturday which included whale watching and the Oyster Festival in SOWA were both cancelled due to rain.  So, we hit up Oak & Rowan for lunch where I had Fried Oyster and Pork Belly tacos, so good.  We headed to the North End.  At this point, I wanted some raw oysters, so we put our name in at Neptune Oyster knowing that we would have a long wait.  We walked toward Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall (where we met Josh Gates from Travel Channel’s Expedition Unknown, became best friends and proceeded to have an intellectual debate on Amelia Earhart’s final moments…just kidding, we said hi and that we enjoyed the show and kept it moving) then found an outdoor market with local vendors and artists.  3 hours later, it was finally our turn at Neptune Oyster.  We did our regular shopping in the North End and headed back to the hotel.

Our dinner reservation wasn’t until 10pm because we booked so last minute, but no Boston trip is complete for me without a trip to Island Creek Oyster Bar.  We’ve been going there for years and it is my favorite restaurant of all time.  It also makes the perfect post Red Sox game stop for cocktails and oysters while you wait for Kenmore station to clear out.  It was one of the most perfect meals I’ve had in a long time and worthy of a blog post all it’s own…as are most the eating experiences from this trip are.  I’ve got a lot of writing to do…

Despite our original plans be rained out, I was still able to get my oyster fix and enjoy them at almost every meal.  Boston has this remarkable restorative effect on me, and just when things were feeling overwhelming here at home, this weekend was perfection and a much needed change of scene.  I came away feeling relaxed and renewed and ready for the next oyster adventure.