Rocking Out With Rainy Day Oysters

Road trip! Took off for Portland last Saturday, my oyster-eating accomplice Greg in tow, and after devouring pizza at Micucci’s, attending my pal Libby’s once-a-year-blowout-sale of imported Italian scarves and such, and a chilly damp walk on the pier to view the ships on Casco Bay, we ended up at Eventide Oyster Company. Of course we did.

This recently opened spot is a hip version of an old-fashioned oyster bar. Creative cocktails, craft beers, and wines are scrawled on a blackboard above the bar where one can sit and enjoy sophisticated small bites (i.e. fried mussel salad with orange-fennel vinaigrette) and about 16 varieties of oysters, half from Maine and half “from away.” On that gloomy afternoon, Motown provided an upbeat soundtrack to our oyster-sampling extravaganza.

The Temptations : “Just My Imagination.”

Oysters: Kumamoto (Washington), Gold Creek (Washington), Katama (Mass.), John’s River (Damariscotta), Nonesuch (Scarborough) Winter Point Select (West Bath).

As late afternoon gloom settled over the city, we didn’t care. Rocking out with oysters was our theme-du-jour.

Michael Jackson: “Billy Jean”
James Brown: “I Feel Good!”

For the second dozen we traded in our too-sweet sparkling wines for a Dirty Dirty Martini, possibly the best I’ve ever tasted, made with vodka, oyster brine, olive juice, Tabasco and Dolan.

The Supremes: “You Can’t Hurry Love”
The Four Tops: “I’ll Be There”

Oysters: Pine Point* (Scarborough), Basket Island* (Casco Bay), Standish Shore (Mass.), Fire River (New Brunswick), Blue Point (Conn.), Wellfleet (Mass.)

Aretha Franklin: “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”

One of the joys of eating oysters and writing about oysters is that I get to meet the most interesting people. Our shucker on Saturday afternoon was Matthew Moretti. When he’s not working at Eventide he’s out in Casco Bay growing mussels on ropes off 40’ x 40’ rafts for his company, Bangs Island Mussels. (On the menu here!)

Night arrived, and as the staff began preparing for the Saturday night crowds, it was time to head back to Boston. Did we dance our way out the door? You decide.

Cool and the Gang: “Celebrate Good Times”

Come on!

*Personal faves of the day.