Tag: oyster

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OysterFest Returns to The Sole Proprietor

OysterFest at Sole Proprietor

“Oysters are the most tender and delicate of all seafoods. They stay in bed all day and night. They never work or take exercise, are stupendous drinkers, and wait for their meals to come to them.” -Hector Bolitho

If you’re one of those crazy people who hates seafood, you may have interest in reading on. But if you’re a seafood fanatic like myself, keep reading, you’re going to love this.

OysterFest at Sole ProprietorThe beloved Sole Proprietor’s OysterFest is back and the offerings are seriously out of this world. You can enjoy baked oysters, raw oysters, fried oysters, stewed oysters and everything in between. With 8 hot appetizer options ($10.99), 4 entrees ($21.99) and 5, yes 5, $1 oyster options between 4-6PM, it’s mandatory that you make time, and sneak out of work a little early if need be, for this buck-a-shuck oyster extravaganza!

Here’s how it works – you can sit in the bar area from 4-6PM Monday thru Friday for a variety of dollar oyster happy hour offerings, or you can enjoy the OysterFest menu (excluding dollar offerings) from open to close.

When I walked in on Tuesday at 5:30PM the bar area was slammed. The after-work crowd, young and old, getting their oyster and cocktail fix with coworkers made it a lively atmosphere.

I was told by my server that the $1 oyster menu ends strictly at 6PM, so I immediately ordered a dozen Blue Point Oysters and a few of everything else. Here’s the breakdown:

Blue Point Oysters – From Long Island, NY, all 12 of my oysters were a respectable size with mild salinity and a faintly sweet finish. The cocktail sauce added a kick but they were perfect on their own, too!

“Be Hoppy” Oyster Shooter – The Wormtown oyster shooter is so New England. One shucked oyster, cocktail sauce, horseradish, and lemon juice, served in an oversized shot glass full of Worcester’s own Be Hoppy IPA. Fantastic.

Buffalo Oyster – Huge fried oysters drenched in a spicy buffalo sauce. So good it could have passed as buffalo chicken!

Bang Bang Oyster – Tangy and sweet with a touch of spice, the fried bang bang oysters were my favorite of the bunch.

Kimchi Oyster – This was a fried oyster atop of Korean kimchi and a pita crisp. It had nice spice to it and reminded me of an oyster nacho. Now there’s an idea!

After finishing all of the dollar offerings, it was now 6:15 and I was full, but still wanted to try something off of the Hot Appetizer section. I went with a bowl of Classic Oyster Stew which consisted of cream, butter, sherry, celery, shallots, a dash of Tabasco, and a lot of oysters. It had good consistency, creamy but not too thick, with a hearty serving of vegetables, and finished with a hint of heat from the hot sauce. Although it did take a while to cool down it was absolutely delicious and would be perfect on a chilly fall night.

Other items off of the Hot Appetizer menu included an Oyster Po’ Boy, Rhode Island Style Shrimp and Oysters, Oysters Casino and Smoked Bacon and Spinach Oysters, all just $10.99 each. The entrees included a Fried Oyster Dinner, Oyster Ritz, Haddock with Crispy Oysters or Creole Oysters and Shrimp Jambalaya, $21.99 each.

As if all of this hasn’t made you excited enough, The Sole is also hosting an Oyster & Champagne Dinner on October 25th which is just $75, tax and gratuity included. Seats are limited so reserve your seat when you’re in for happy hour!

The world is your oyster, and remember, the first man gets the oyster, the second man gets the shell, so dive into The Sole Proprietor before it’s too late!

OysterFest at Sole Proprietor

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Wine On The Half Shell: Oyster Happy Hour

Oyster Happy Hour at The Urban on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA

Oyster Happy Hour At The Urban on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA

“Happy Hour: A period of time in which an on premise establishment offers reduced prices for certain beverages.” Use of the term in Massachusetts has been illegal until very recently. Happy hour was banned in 1984 after a person was killed by a drunk driver coming home from happy hour.   But in 2013 the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission (ABCC) changed the restriction on use of the term in an effort to give establishments a fighting chance against casinos that give out free alcoholic beverages. Mmmm, OK, a little slack is better than none at all. Creative and industrious restauranteurs, like Ian Nal at The Urban Kitchen and Bar, have slowly begun to capitalize on the small change by offering steep discounts on certain appetizers at the bar in an attempt to put the happy back into happy hour. The thing that makes me happiest of all, it involves oysters!

I am a bivalve addict. Without some self-restraint, I could easily slurp down 100 oysters in a sitting and then have a few dozen more for dessert.  There are very few places outside of 10 miles from the coast I would trust to put out a perfectly cleaned, shucked, and brimming with brine half-shell. Worcester now has two and The Urban is one of them. Deliveries are made several times a week, thus the raw bar menu changes on a daily basis. They source the oysters from a local company with exceptionally high quality control standards. As a result, oysters can be a pricey appetizer for someone like me. Normally, prices range from $2.25 to $3.00 per oyster, but not during happy hour. Every day from 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM in The Urban’s Bar, oysters range from only $1.00 to $1.75. I tried them all and I even found a new favorite.

Oyster Happy Hour at UrbanNamed for the area where they are harvested each “brand” exhibits distinctive flavors and textures which are unique to the environmental conditions in and around the beds where they are cultivated. Nothing shows “terroir” more consistently than oysters, not even wine. Of course, while you’re at the bar you will want to pair the oysters with a beverage that will not overpower the range of delicate flavors. My knee jerk wine pairing for oysters is always Chablis, for others it is oysters and Guinness. Nal says, “I just don’t get the oysters and Guinness pairing. The flavor is just too overpowering.” The best way to find the perfect paring is to break away from what is expected and experiment! I selected the Plum Island Belgian White from Newburyport, MA. The wine was Roth, Sauvignon Blanc, Alexander Valley, CA. The cocktail, Nal suggested, a grapefruit shrub.

I will start with the grapefruit shrub since I had never had one before. I found the drink to be a very good cocktail companion for oysters. Refreshing grapefruit aroma and effervescence are balanced perfectly with rum and a hint of vinegar. Yes, vinegar, this is what makes this cocktail work so well with the oysters. The cocktail provides the balance of citrus fruit and savory notes which highlights the complimentary components of the clams. The cocktail worked particularly well with the Pemaquids from Demariscotta River, Maine. Large, plump, little oyster steaks with a complex, lemony brine that needed a hearty beverage as a partner.

The Belgian White displays a brilliant straw yellow, intensely aromatic floral hops, lemongrass, earth, mushroom, and yeast with a light, creamy body. While a suitable companion for the Pemaquids it was a match made in heaven with the Blue Points from Long Island Sound, Connecticut. The Blue Points were exceptionally salty and sweet with compact, firm texture. The creamy, refreshing effervescence toned down the salt to reveal the satiny flavors and texture of both bivalve and beer.

The wine was the most complimentary companion across the board for all of the oysters I enjoyed at happy hour. In addition to the oysters I mention above, I paired the three beverages with Daisy Bays and Summersides from Prince Edward Island, Canada and Wellfleets from the Cape. All were beautifully presented, clean, and unique in flavor. I never expected to find a new favorite but I think it had a little help from the Roth Sauvignon Blanc. Powder Points, Duxbury MA were the reigning champion for my palate until I had the opportunity to try Thatch Islands from Barnstable, MA.   The pairing was profound. The wine exhibited a high, juicy, acidity, and medium body harmonized beautifully with the plump, firm texture of the wine. Tropical aromas in the nose and citrus on the palate made a spritz of lemon completely unnecessary for the oyster. Clean, crisp, complex, happy!

I can understand why the great state of Massachusetts is against happy hour. Discounting drinks might make people go overboard which is a dangerous thing. However, discounting oysters is never a bad thing. If you aren’t into mollusks, The Urban also offers shrimp cocktail during happy hour. If shellfish isn’t for you the creative cocktail menu, craft drafts, and wine list should be enough to entice you into the vibrant, upscale, and comfortable bar scene. Happy hour sure beats closing time.