Island Creek Oyster Bar, Kenmore Sq., Boston, MA

 Did you say Oysters for Brunch? I'm game!

A few days ago (actually, ages ago, but we are still trying to catch up and go back to normal blogging mode after our unexpected break), we decided to try a rather new cool place in Kenmore Sq. It is called Island Creek Oyster Bar (ICOB, from now on). The name comes from the infamous local oysters (Island Creek) that are produced in Duxbury, MA. They are certainly the more popular type of oysters you'll find in the Boston area. However, you shouldn't be fooled as IC oysters are just the tip of the iceberg at ICOB...

First off, I should say that oysters and brunch are a match made in heaven. If you don't appreciate this as a self evident truth, as, say, human rights, you have no business reading a Brunch Blog :). In any case, if you do enjoy oysters and brunch, ICOB is the place to go.

This establishment is decorated in a very post-modern fashion that makes you feel as one of the cool kids in school. Although, I have not been to ICOB for drinks or dinner, it looks like the kind of place to see and be seen.

The menu is quite nice and it is prepared especially each day. Although they print the menu, it simulates a handwritten list of items you might find in a local clam shack in New England; very clever. Although they offer many different dishes, the indisputable highlight of the menu is the great offer of oysters. I won't go into a comprehensive description of each kind of oyster, so you should probably go there and try them for yourself. Needless to say, we opened our brunch excursion with a selection of a few different types of oysters.

Being the case that ICOB is set up as a bar, they offer many interesting drinks. I decided to go with a Clamato (Tomato juice mixed with clam juice!) Bloody Mary while Ana had some sort of sophisticated  Mimosa. Although the drinks looked impressive on paper, they were nothing to write home about. In particular, the Clamato Bloody Mary here can't rival the wonderful self-serve bar (which includes clamato) at East Coast Grill.

After our drinks and oysters arrived we did not see much of the waiter for the next 40 minutes. After having a nice chat with the manager, she apologized and said our entrees would be on the house. Not only that, she brought over some wonderful crab cakes so we could wait for our dishes with a happy stomach. All in all, we felt we were being taken care of, although we did not catch a single glimpse of our waiter for the rest of our meal.

So, what did we order? I could not resist to order the Oysters Benedict. They were fantastic. They consisted of English muffins with a layer of Spinach, topped by fried oysters with Hollandaise sauce. Yummy. Although, the dish was awesome as it was, I could not help feeling nostalgic about the missing poached eggs... To my great embarrassment, Ana order a Seafood free dish. Some sort of grilled cheese sandwich (which tasted great, I have to say) coupled with Sriracha fries. If you have never tried Sriracha, let me educate you. It is some form of  VERY hot sweet and sour thai version of ketchup. Delicious, yet devilishly hot and spicy. Although I love this sort of thing, it is still a mystery to me why Ana would order such a thing...

I have to say that, in spite of the uninspiring drinks and the absent minded waiter, I had a great time at ICOB. Their cool decor and impressive oyster menu more than make up for any issue we may have experienced. I am sure that, next time we have an oyster brunch craving, we'll put ICOB at the top of our list.