More Chat.... finally

And even a quick review......

I know I've said before that I'm going to post more often... but for the last couple of years all the posts have been.... well thought out and well written and that takes time, more time then I have.  I'm not going to proof or rewrite.  I really hate doing that, it's a blog after all not the New  Yorker. 

It also won't be predominately reviews like it has been in the past.  I don't go to that many "new" places, actually I tend to go to the same places over and over again!  So I'm going to leave some of the reviews to other publications.  If I go to a new spot, of course, I'll review it but I'm also just going to chat... about my life, my family, my dog, Cape Cod issues; whatever is on my mind. 

I went to the "new" Naked Oyster the other night with Marty; my friend and former writer for this blog.  Many of you who know me also know Marty who is happily splitting her time between two households - Boston and the Cape.   It was great to catch up with her again and we had a drink and dinner at the bar in Naked Oyster at 410 Main Street in Hyannis.

They always had great food but the former location, while in Hyannis, was just out of the way...... a funky little strip mall that was hard to find.  I rarely went there because I hated that location.  When I heard they were going into a long narrow space next to Puritan, I have to say, I had reservations about that location too.  To me, downtown Hyannis, means tourists.  I hardly ever venture to that area during the summer, it is just too crowded, there's no parking, and it's all families with kids or the 20-something crowd.

I parked in the big lot behind the restaurant on North Street and there is a back door so you don't have to go all the way around to the Main Street entrance. That back door just opens into the rear dining room and I was uncomfortable weaving my way through the tables.  Once through that back dining room you enter the bar area.

This is a cozy area with dark mahogany woods, exposed brick, stone bar top, some high top tables and lower ones in the front dining room; which has a great street view.  The feel of the place was great.. a comfortable, upscale bistro.  I sat at the bar waiting for Marty, ordered a drink (which was perfectly made) and chatted with the very nice bartender.

Marty arrived, tasted a wine that the bartender recommended (which she liked) and we began to investigate the menu.  We could see the fresh shellfish on ice at the bar.  Naked Oyster has their own oyster farm in Barnstable Harbor, 2 acres that are farmed by employees - it doesn't get much fresher then that.  

They are truly locavores... most of their food is local, organic, or both.  Veggies from CapeAbilities, ENT Farm, and Cape Cod Organic Farm.  Organic beef is from Wolfneck Farms in Maine, local fish caught same day from Barnstable and Chatham, Stony Island Mussels, and Great Hills Dairy (love their Blue Cheese).  

Naked Oyster has always been very gluten aware and I noticed that they had some of their food marked as gluten free on the menu, which makes ordering easier for me.  However, they clearly didn't mark everything with their little GF symbol and I'm not sure why that is.  I hope with the next menu they print up they go all the way with the GF symbols.  Clearly raw shellfish is gluten free but it wasn't marked.  They have a bunch of side dishes that were not marked either yet when I asked I was told all the sides were gluten free.  I wish the GF marks were for the entire menu.

They offer 4 great salads that you can eat as is or dress up with Kobe flank steak, Thai shrimp, blackened scallops or grilled chicken.  They have stand-out appetizers:  the Raw Bar (which they are known for), beef carpaccio, cheese platter, and a duo of sushi grade yellow fin tuna.   The Oyster Stew was marked as gluten free but a girl can only eat so much so I'll try that on my next visit.

For entrees they have a couple of beef dishes (Kobe), a chicken dish, and of course they specialize in seafood.  I had the Haddock and Lobster in Champagne Beurre Blanc.  It was a great dish served with fresh veggies and roasted Yukon potatoes.  I'd order it again.

By the time Marty and I had finished our dinner the crowd had come in.  It looked like mostly locals (I saw my doctor there.... she must be following me because I saw her at the Islander last week!) and it was a really friendly, big crowd.  I think Naked Oyster is going to be one of my hang outs, trust me it will also be yours.