A little over a year ago, a group of 12 bloggers got together at
Lord Hobo for Sunday brunch. The next month, that group just about doubled in size for a morning rendevouz at
East Coast Grille. After that, the
Boston Brunchers was officially launched, with dedicated founder
Renee Hirschberg at the helm.
Ever the brunch enthusiast, Renee began lining up exclusive events, beginning with an intimate gathering at
KO Catering & Pies, followed by a grand scale buffet at
Cafe Fleuri. The buzz about this community took off, and one year later the success is measured by all the fantastic new and re-discovered brunching options in Boston; among them countless eggs benedict and french toast, mimosas and bloody marys,
blog posts and
tweets. Brunching with this crew is always a wonderful way to begin a weekend morning, this was especially true for last Sunday's Birthday Bash held at
Island Creek Oyster Bar.
Located at The Hotel Commonwealth in Kenmore Square, the welcoming modern meets beachy ambiance is clean and bright. White and gray tones define the Oyster-centric space; the back wall is constructed entirely of their shells encased in mesh wire, met by a photographic mural of farming cages and equipment. On the opposite side, driftwood-esque weathered boards act as shutters.
Attendees scoring tickets were treated to coffee, cocktails, breakfast pastries and a main course,
in addition to receiving awesome SWAG bags containing numerous goodies from our twenty some odd sponsors.
I started with an effervescent libation titled
McCarthy's Crossing an eye opening mix of Clear Creek Pear Brandy, spiced honey, Rose Vermouth, fresh lemon and bubbles.
Others enjoyed
Spicy Bloody Marys with house made "clamato." Tables shared baskets of
Freshly Baked Pastry which included a blueberry muffin, doughnut muffin, cinnamon roll, butter croissant, raspberry coffee cake and a citrus scone.
Sharing with my dining companions, I attempted to sample a bite of each. The raspberry coffee cake and the cinnamon roll were particularly memorable!
For my main course I chose
Ethel's Lobster Roll, named after the owners Grandmother.
The inherently fresh ocean delicacy was generously (a tad to much for my liking) dressed in a mixture of mayo and creme fraiche laced with crunchy celery and red onion, all of it piled high onto a soft rosemary roll.
Despite the bulkiness of the roll, the lobster meat was hard to contain. I made a mess of myself in the process, and after a loosing battle, succumbed to eating my lobster with a fork. This was some deliciously prepared lobster, but the roll as a whole wasn't my favorite.
The delicate slivers of kettle chips were nicely seasoned and crispy, the accompanying cole slaw was zesty with a light crunch.
I normally learn towards the breakfast side of brunch, wanting to start my day with an egg centered dish, but the lobster lover in me could not pass this up!
Plus, this is a restaurant know for their way with seafood. (Of course, oysters in particular, which I must return for!)
Just a few of the 40 attendees, pictured below, photo compliments of
Megan. L to R, top row: Elina of
Healthy & Sane, Bianca of
Confessions of a Chocoholic, Melissa of
The Foodies at Work, Michelle of
Fun and Fearless in Beantown, Elizabeth of
Free Food Boston; bottom row: me, Meghan of
Travel Wine Dine and Megan of
Delicious Dishings.
Cheers my fellow brunchers, to a year of memorable morning meals and to delicious discoveries in the one ahead!
