Union Oyster House

Posted by Edmund in Boston, Featured Articles, Restaurants, Seafood | 0 comments

Dec 13, 10

Cuisine: Seafood, Bostonian.
Specialty: New England Clam Chowder, Lobster, Indian Pudding.
Location: 41 Union Street, Boston, MA 02108-2494.
Price: Entrees run $20-$34. Desserts are $6.50-$7.50. $5.95/$7.50 for Cup/Bowl of Clam Chowder.

Ah, the tourist trap. Every city’s got to have one, and Boston is no different. But, as with everything in Boston, it’s got to be just a little bit different, having that quirky historical charm that so permeates every inch of the city.

Historical charm, however, doesn’t even begin to explain the Union Oyster House. In a dining scene that’s increasingly modernizing and evolving, the Union Oyster House stands out as a stalwart of Bostonian cuisine, having survived the throes of time for over 180 years to serve up all of Boston’s classics to a never-ending swarm of people.

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It sounds gimmicky, I know, but hey, there are some things that a tourist just has to do. Going to Boston’s oldest restaurant is a no-brainer. After all, if a restaurant has survived for 180 years in such a cosmopolitan, sophisticated dining scene, it’s got to at least have a couple tricks up its sleeve, regardless of how touristy it may be. Plus, I’d heard that when it comes to Boston’s specialty of specialties, clam chowder, the original was still the best. Do you need any more reason to go?

Thus, I took the plunge into Boston’s culinary past on my very first night, somewhat ready for an inevitable disappointment. Yet, to my pleasant surprise, while I did find the Union Oyster to be as gaudy and touristy as I expected, I was somewhat perversely drawn to it.

Let me clarify. You walk in. There are ads on the wall, a bar, old-style paraphernalia like casks and barrels, and (the kicker) a whole gift shop. Everything must also be preceded by “Ye olde,” as though you’re at a geek convention where you must role-play a colonial and speak in incomprehensible phrases.

Still, the scene really speaks to the American in me (which says a lot, since I identify more with my Armenian culture than my American one). You have paintings of scenes from the American Revolution spread all over the walls, rooms named after different American periods/concepts (like the colonial room), and old colonial-style lanterns in every booth. It’s those lanterns that really did it for me, warming me up to the quaint gaudiness of the Union Oyster House. It may all be corny, but it’s rather inviting, to the point that I’d call the ambience the highlight of the whole night.

I was, in fact, too busy admiring the scene to really notice much about my waiter. It was normal service—nothing extraordinary, but nothing bad either. It was, however, forgettable, and I honestly don’t recall enough to make a fair evaluation.

The food, too, is somewhat forgettable, though it’s good nonetheless.  Of the five plates I tried, only one, the fresh steamers (or steamed clams), were something I’d order again, but most dishes were acceptable. The clam chowder wasn’t the stuff of legends I’d been told about, but it still was overloaded with very fresh clams and had the appropriate thickness. The cornbread had the proper touch of honey sweetness. The lobster was cooked extremely well, with just a bit too much toughness, and it came whole so that I got a bit of everything.

The one downfall of the meal was the dessert, Indian pudding, a Bostonian tradition. Honestly, I’d never even heard of Indian pudding until that day, and if you were to ask me even now I probably couldn’t pinpoint what it is exactly. I can tell the pudding is some type of oatmeal-like concoction with a gingerbread, spiced, cinnamon taste, but I still don’t know much about the dish. What I do know, though, is that it tasted like mush. It had an oatmeal-like grittiness but with so little flavor and such a light cinnamon sweetness that I was left wondering how it was actually supposed to be a dessert.

Regardless, the Union Oyster House is a seafood specialist, and it actually knows its stuff, for the most part. That also makes the dishes somewhat tough to evaluate, since the restaurant doesn’t really do much to the seafood except for boil or steam it. I do think everything could have used more seasoning, but the seafood is in general very fresh, as I could tell from just one look at my huge boiled lobster.

A better reason to come, though, is the value. On first sight, $7.50 for a bowl of clam chowder and $20-$35 for entrees may not seem like a bargain, especially for a touristy joint that’s supposed to cater to the average consumer. This is seafood, though, meaning it’s going to be on the pricier side. Even so, the portions are humungous. When I ordered my lobster, I didn’t just get shreds of meat, but rather the whole lobster presented to me on a plate, along with a couple sides. Moreover, the steamers weren’t just a few steamed clams, but rather a mini-net’s worth of them. If nothing else, you will leave full.

Still, that probably won’t keep you coming back to the Union Oyster House. While it does have a fantastic air of history about it, that just isn’t enough to draw me back to its slightly above-average seafood fare, especially in a city like Boston where good seafood is to be found right around every corner. Regardless, it’s worth a one-time visit just for the experience.

What I Tasted

1. New England Clam Chowder: This chowder definitely has its merits. It’s one of the thickest I’ve eaten, so it has that great creaminess that you want in a true chowder. And it’s just chock full of ingredients and especially seafood, to the point that it doesn’t really even need its own salt. It gets enough from the large chunks of fish and shellfish. And because there’s so many large chunks, you have a great contrast of extremely creamy and extremely chunky. Still, for all the hype it got as the best chowder in town, it’s just a normal chowder, with very little extra flavor. In fact, I needed to add pepper, because all I was tasting was some raw vegetables, some plain, tasteless fish, and heavy, fatty cream, without any seasoning whatsoever. I’m all for the classics, but this is really just too bare-bones and really does nothing with the flavors. Also, the salt is problematic. Either it’s too much or too little, depending on how much fish you get in the bite. The soup itself doesn’t have much balance. 2.3/5.0
2. Cornbread: Again, another plate that’s good, without really doing anything above what it should. The bread itself is a bit too tough for me. While the inside is okay, it’s a bit too clumpy, and the outside is overcooked/baked, so that you have to literally munch on it over and over until you shred it. The flavor is there, with a touch of honey that’s really noticeable throughout and a very controlled sweetness. But really, it does nothing notable. 2.5/5.0
3. Steamers (Steamed clams): It’s not surprising that the dish that requires the least work on the part of the restaurant is excellent (especially considering the restaurant is named after shellfish, too). The clams are about as fresh as can be, and that’s saying a lot, since this is New England. In fact, the sand is not even washed off. You get a whole small net of clams (again, a touristy gimmick I’m sure. Gives you the sensation that you’ve just “caught” something), with the shell on so that you have to peel away the shell and the black tissue connected to the edible meat, wash the clam in a cup of boiling water, and then soak it in a butter broth. While it’s a pain to some degree, I do have to say it’s extraordinarily fresh, and if you love clams, there is no way you will not love this dish. 4.0/5.0
4. Boiled Lobster, with potatoes and corn: This is monstrous. Not only do you get a WHOLE BOILED LOBSTER, you have the “pleasure” of peeling the shell away all by yourself. You’re even provided a bib, just to add an extra touch of “professionalism” (and it even has a picture of a lobster on it—yeah, it’s THAT touristy). On the positive side, the lobster is absolutely delicious, and it’s so fairly priced it’s hard not to think that I got a steal on this dish, even though it’s so simple. The lobster is served whole, like I said, so you get a taste of every single part, even the normally neglected ones (like claws, etc.), helping to give the dish some variety. It’s very plain, with almost no seasoning or anything (not that you could season a whole lobster when you’re boiling it whole), but it is boiled well, so that every bite is extremely succulent and flavorful. I will say that it can be a bit tough or chewy at times, especially in the tail, but all in all, it’s a great job done. Then again, having to do all the work of peeling is somewhat of a pain, so the least they can do is cook the meat right. The one big negative about the dish is in the sides, none of which are appetizing in any way. The corn is served steamed on the cob, which isn’t a bad choice in itself, but considering how plain the lobster is, I’d have expected at least a little bit of seasoning on the corn. It doesn’t even have any pepper or salt! The potatoes, on the other hand, actually are seasoned with greens (basil/thyme I think) and drenched in oil, but they taste even plainer than the corn and aren’t even cooked right—they’re mushy on the inside, meaning they’re a mess in the mouth. So, not only are the sides plainer than the lobster, they’re very poorly executed, too. 3.3/5.0
5. Indian pudding with vanilla ice cream: Honestly, this is my first time eating Indian pudding, and I only did so because it’s a Bostonian tradition. So I really don’t know anything about the dish. That said, there’s really not much to it. It tastes like an oatmeal/cornmeal made of some type of spiced bread, like a gingerbread (which I know it’s not) or a pumpkin bread. It’s very, very gritty, much more so than oatmeal, especially since the grains/bits are much finer and more plentiful, and it’s not really creamy or smooth because water instead of milk is used (at least that’s what it tastes like. Regardless, there can’t be any cream in here). The effect is somewhat unsatisfying, as the pudding is watery and gritty, with the textures conflicting with each other instead of combining harmoniously. And the pudding really doesn’t have much flavor of its own—it has very little sweetness. Instead, the focus is on a slight spice, cinnamon flavor, but it’s so light that, while you taste it, it’s completely overpowered by the overbearing gritty, watery slop. Really, the only satisfying part was the ice cream, and that wasn’t even anything to note.  0.2/5.0. I will never in my life order Indian pudding again.

Scores

Ambience: 4.0/5.0
Service: N/A
Taste: 2.5/5.0
Value: 3.5/5.0. HUGE portions.
Verdict: 3.2/5.0