February RC, aka the early bird special RC. I guess a 5:30 reservation for 10 people is to be expected for a restaurant that was just named #22 on GQ’s 25 Best New Restaurants in America 2014 list. It also got a pretty good review in the Boston Globe (Oysters, beer, good cheer: Row 34 is hard to beat). ROW 34 is a workingman’s oyster bar. We serve great oysters and pour unique beer in one of Boston’s best neighborhoods.
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| Oysters for everyone! |
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| White wine mussels with scallion butter |
The space is brick and warehouse-y, and the prep stations and whiteboard with staff notes are part of the decor. We had a wine, water, and roll station right behind our table. Oh yes, and I’m supposed to give a shout out to the rolls, which were peppery and delicious. The bar area seemed lively, though I didn’t get to spend any time there due to our early bird reservation and some public transportation woes on my evening commute. By the time I arrived, I had already been “checked in” to the restaurant on Facebook, the table had been seated, and drinks and oysters had been ordered. I loved that I didn’t have to make any decisions! The multiple bottles of Sancerre (Serge Laporte 2012) were also one of the best white wines I (and Julie Spanos) has ever had.
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| Bucatini with clams and garlic crumbs |
We started out with, you guessed it, oysters. Oysters for everyone (except Mark who got ceviche)! We tried five different kinds: Row 34 (Duxbury), Island Creek (Duxbury), Big Rock (East Dennis), Katana Bay (Martha’s Vineyard), and Northern Cross (VA). We also tried littlenecks from VA which were a little disappointing after such yummy oysters. I’m always a fan of Island Creeks, and those were the favorite for about half the table. I also really liked the Katana Bay. Two people voted for “the oysters” as their favorite…as in all of them. Sometimes it’s just too hard to pick just one favorite.
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| Fried clams |
Next came…everything. Well maybe not everything, but it seems like we definitely made a dent in the menu because we ordered 1-2 of everything and shared it all. From the starters we had white wine mussels with scallion butter and ordered a shrimp slider (with chipotle and b&b pickles) for everyone. I had high hopes for the slider (see comment above about oyster slider), but it was one of the lowlights of the meal. It was all bun and pickles, and I didn’t finish it…though I did like the pickles. The mussels were tasty, especially the broth which I might have enjoyed more than the mussels themselves!
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| Dessert! |
From the fried portion of the menu we ordered hand dug clams and beer battered fish and chips. I super loved the clams, and the spicy ketchup and the black pepper aioli we ordered to go with them. For a main dish we ordered the housemade bucatini with clams and garlic crumbs. The garlic crumbs tasted like butter, so what’s not to love about that? I really liked this dish as well, especially the broth. Great sauces and broths seem to be a theme here. For sides we ordered the roasted cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and broccoli. The cauliflower and brussel sprouts get two thumbs up. The broccoli gets a thumb down – it was mushy and underwhelming.
Kara Cooks and Eats 