One thing about island life is that I no longer have my finger on the pulse of the dining scene in Boston. And so I took full advantage when my dear friend Abby was in town for Wine Festival. I told her I was escaping the madness of Figawi weekend and heading to my old/new city for the long weekend. When I said, where should I eat, without hesitation, she said “Row 34“.

So of course I raced home and took to my trusty computer for a little research. I was thrilled to see that Row 34, which opened last November in Fort Point (one of the coolest neighborhoods in the city, in my humble opinion), is the latest collaboration from the Island Creek Oyster Bar team: Skip Bennett and Shore Gregory, restaurateur Garrett Harker, and chef Jeremy Sewall. For my frequent readers, you know Island Creek is one of my all-stars. Their vision was to make Row 34 a working man’s oyster bar. And the name, a kind of oyster raised at the Island Creek Farm. I like it already.

I wasn’t the only one looking for a reservation for Saturday night… the only openings were 9:00 pm and 10:15 pm. Boston is the new New York! When we arrived at 9 pm, the restaurant was abuzz. The bar packed and the open kitchen and oyster bar instantly caught my eye. While Row 34 is known for their beer program, I opted for a glass of rose… the Gobelsburger Cistercien to be exact. Delicious.

Now onto the important stuff… what did we eat. We started with a sampling of oysters (the Chatham’s were my favorite) and then moved onto bluefish pate with toast, white wine mussels in scallion butter, striped bass ceviche and the highlight of the meal… the lettuce cups with a crispy oyster and pickled vegetables. Our waitress was a doll and was attentive but not overly so. And she made our meal by sending over the butterscotch pudding, which I must admit I was a bit hesitant to try as I’m not a butterscotch fan but it was simply divine.

Row 34 has certainly joined my all-star list. Thanks, Abby for the wonderful recommendation!