Boston (Massachusetts, USA) - What and where to eat

Leave the first response November 5, 2009 / Posted in Food & Wine, Travel

Mai with a friend at B & G Oysters restaurant at Boston Southend

I’m not a food freak but I am happy to almost try anything at least once :P. In Boston, I was told the must things to eat were clams (deep fried or in chowder), lobster (a whole or in a roll), and the infamous Boston pie. I managed to try all of them throughout the time I was in Boston.

Quincy Market

My Boston culinary adventure starts with Quincy Market which is within walking distance from downtown Boston. In Quincy Market you can certainly find any fresh food to fit any taste at budget price. You can certainly get all the ‘must eat’ mentioned above :). I opted for a Lobster Salad instead.

Lobster Salad from Quincy Market

Fried Clams and a Crab Cake

Boston Legal

Moving on from the market, I decided to try one of the chain restaurants called Legal Sea Foods. I went to the one at Copley Place after shopping for a few hours :). This time I tried their clam chowder and had a boston pie for dessert. Talking about chowders, I was told that there were many variations depending on which New England area you were in. New England is formed by the following areas - Connecticut (my other favourite city :), Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. The one in Massachusetts (Boston) has a creamy sauce. There’s another chowder variation which has a tomato base. In Boston I tried both the lobster and clam chowder.

On another topic - Boston Cream Pie! I’m not a big dessert person but I decided to fit in dessert and had a Boston Cream Pie. It’s basically a layer of chocolate coated pastry filled with custard/cream.

Legal Seafoods restaurant at Copley Place, Boston

Clam Chowder similar to the one I had at Legal Seafoods with oyster crackers on a side

The modern take of Boston Cream Pie at Legal Seafoods

Union Oyster House

This time I was keen to have a whole lobster at the historic restaurant Union Oyster House. Union Oyster House was established at 1826. I went with a group of mates. One of my mate was trying to book a table and was told that we had to wait for half an hour and that we could not sit at the same table. My other mate who’s from Boston decided to give them a call, then 30 seconds later, with his Boston accent, we were told to just walk in, there was no need to wait for and we managed to all sit on the same table :). It’s a huge advantage to have a Boston accent :).

union_oyster_house

A selection of fresh bread including corn bread (very sugarish) - it felt like having dessert before my main course :)

A whole lobster a la naturale with boiled potatoes - Union Oyster House

A broiled lobster with butter on a side

B & G Oysters

We went to the South End of Boston’s district where there were many restaurants and bars. It felt for a moment like being back in Melbourne, Australia :). The restaurant we managed to get a table at was called B & G Oysters. The ambient was really nice, with dimmer lights, softly buzzling conversations and modern decor. My mate and I opted to sit on a bar. My mate recommended me to have a lobster roll and we would share a starter and a dessert :).