Row 34

          After much anticipation, I finally made it into Row 34 this weekend! It was everything I hoped it would be. The place was packed shortly after opening at 5PM, but the level of service was above and beyond from the moment we sat down. The manager stopped by our table to greet us while we were still looking over the menu. At our request she went through the entire list of the day's oyster selections including a detailed description of each varietal. She was clearly knowledgeable about the wine, so we asked for the geekiest bottle on the list. She recommended an orange wine (yay, my current obsession), and we were off to an amazing start!

          We tried three kinds of oysters, Island Creek, Moonstone (RI) and third I can't remember but they were described as the most briny on the menu. These came served with a traditional mignonette, house mignonette with cilantro and jalapenos, and cocktail sauce with horse radish. I loved the house mignonette, it was perfect with the oysters and didn't over power the delicate flavor at all.

          We also tried two of the crudo selections, fluke with jalapenos, lime, and pickled peppers and tuna with avocado, black garlic, and lemon. These were my favorite (other than dessert)

          The smoked seafood board was a perfect way to try most of the dishes on the smoked menu. It included: trout pate, smoked scallops, shrimp, and mussel salad. The pate spread over crostini was my favorite. We skipped the other accompaniments and enjoyed the simpler, clean flavors of the seafood on its own.

          Row 34 has two lobster rolls on the menu, and the manager told us a bit of an internal debate over which is the best. I tried the hot buttered version and the bf tried the more traditional creamy version (with mayo and crème fraiche). We both enjoyed ours and came no to closer to helping them solve the debate!

          Before we ordered desserts, the in house beer expert came over with a pairing for us. Since we were so into wine, she wanted us to experience a beer that would pair really well with any of the three desserts on the menu. The foret noir was like a cherry infused stout, and went perfectly with the candy bar.

          The candy bar...by far my favorite, and one of the best desserts in Boston. If you don't eat seafood, I would still suggested going to Row 34 for this dish alone! It's their interpretation of a snickers with layers of homemade chocolate, nougat, and caramel topped with peanut brittle. We cleaned our plate in about two seconds.

          I would definitely go back to Row for a full multi course meal, or to just sit at the bar and have some oysters and wine. And of course the candy bar!