Island Creek Oyster Bar

Overview: Island Creek Oyster Bar recently opened in the space vacated by Great Bay in Kenmore Square. The restaurant was founded by Skip Bennett of Island Creek Oysters in Duxbury, Jeremy Sewall, and restaurateur Garrett Harker.  The management tag team of Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli, formerlly of Craigie on Main, and Bob McCoy of Eastern Standard also means the cocktail list is top notch.  The dinning room is innovatively decorated themed after the oyster farm that shares its name; the back wall is adorned with crates of oyster shells and the side wall has a curious upside down picture of the shore.

Medium Dead:  The burger at Island Creek Oyster Bar is a well thought out and executed burger.  Just from looking at it you can tell this isn't just an obligatory burger for the seafood averse.  Island Creek Oyster Bar actually wants you to come in and order the burger, albeit with a dozen oysters on the side.  The presentation is fun with the fries served in an aluminum pail lined with paper baring the restaurants logo. The burger has a great grilled crust but has no crunchy bits and was cooked with a perfect red rare center. Paired with the fresh onion roll to soak up all the flavor there wasn't a bit of left over juice on my plate. The burger is the perfect size -- not an overbearing monstrosity but also not a minuscule slider. I finished everything plus oysters and didn't feel like I needed to be rolled home.  The fries were the best I have had in some time.  Every one of them was golden brown and exceptionally crispy; like they were fried individually until each was perfect.  The side of house made pickled vegetables is a perfect accompaniment to the burger, cutting through the bite of the sharp cheddar. Its been a while since we have had a burger and this was a great slump buster.

Medium Well:  Hello Dear Friend, we meet again. I have to apologize for my long hiatus, and explain that it was partly due to my desire to avoid the fate of third season Adam Richman (I love you burgers, but you're unhealthy) and partly due to the burger boredom I had fallen into. After consuming many restaurant burgers that were nothing more than, well, blase, I quite frankly became sick of cheeseburgers. Alas, an oyster bar, yes an oyster bar, has saved me from the slums of the anti-burger community. Served on a tender poppy seeded roll that was topped with caramelized onions, my medium-well burger came out of the kitchen smelling of sharp Grafton cheddar (and not of *ahem* burnt meat).  The presentation was far superior to even the best pub burgers and right on par with what you would expect from a top restaurant in Boston.  These factors in combination with superior service and excellent drink options put Island Creek Oyster Bar on the list of our favorites. 

The Verdict:  We came to Island Creek on a whim after indecisively walking around deciding where to eat, but left with a new favorite restaurant in Kenmore Square.