Meet Your Winemaker at Island Creek Oyster Bar: Oysters meet their match with Chablis wines from Christian Moreau

Join us in welcoming esteemed winemaker Christian Moreau of the Domaine Christian Moreau Pr0065 & Fils for a dinner celebrating Chablis and its perfect pairing %u2013 seafood!

Christian brings his portfolio of Chablis wines ranging from unadulterated AC through Premier and Grand Cru holdings to ICOB on Tuesday, May 14. The terroir of Chablis is the perfect match for our sea-to-table fare. The soils in the Chablis region of France contain fossilized oysters shells giving the wine notes of mineral and salt from old sea beds %u2013 an oyster bar's dream!

We're pretty meticulous about the fisherman from which we source our seafood and farmers that grow our wines so the Moreau family's tradition of carefully harvesting and sorting grapes by hand for optimal quality is an ideal match for not just the our menu, but also our ethos.

DETAILS

Tuesday, May 14th

6:30pm

$115pp includes four courses paired with wines

events, wine

Red Sox Season Hours: April and May 2013

As you may have heard, hours are changing with the seasons here at ICOB. We will still be open for dinner 7 days a week with brunch on Sundays, but we are also opening our doors 2 hours before games at Fenway.

That's right: ICOB open for lunch when there is an afternoon Sox game! Perfect for before and after the game or a great place to watch the game with oysters sidled up to our bar.

See below for extended hours during April and May of 2013:

April 8 OPENING DAY

11:30am Raw Bar

12pm-2:30pm Lunch

2:30-4:30 Midday Menu

4:30pm Dinner

April 13 1:05 vs Rays

11am-2:30pm Lunch

2:30pm-4:30pm Midday Menu

4:30pm Dinner

April 15 MARATHON MONDAY 

8am-2pm Brunch Menu

2pm Dinner

April 20 1:10 vs. Royals

11am-2:30pm Lunch

2:30pm-4:30pm Midday Menu

4:30pm Dinner

May 11: 1:35 vs Blue Jays

11:30am-2:30pm Lunch

2:30pm-4:30pm Midday Menu

4:30pm Dinner

May 25: 1:35pm vs. Indians

11:30am-2:30pm Lunch

2:30pm-4:30pm Midday Menu

4:30pm Dinner

events

Events at ICOB: East Coast/West Coast Tasting 3.11.13

ICOB is excited to host a collaborative dinner featuring east AND west coast seafood this March! 

Dinner will feature dishes prepared by our own Chef Jeremy Sewall, also of Lineage and Eastern Standard, and west coast rep, Chef Gregory Gourdet from Departure Restaurant in Portland, Oregon. Each will showcase their local seafood and items both on and off their restaurant menus. 

Details:
6 courses
$75 per guest
Optional wine pairings, add $45 per guest
Monday, March 11; 7pm at ICOB

Dinner includes raw bar and desserts, tax and gratuity not included

Give us a call for reservations or more info at 617.532.5300

events

ICOB CLOSED FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8

Due to the car ban for Nemo, ICOB will be closed for the duration of February 8. 

Pending weather conditions, we will reopen for normal hours tomorrow evening at 4pm for drinks and raw bar and 5pm for dinner.

BUT don't worry - Eastern Standard Kitchen and Drinks (also located in Kenmore Sq) will be open tonight! For more info call them at 617.532.9100 

Stay warm and see you soon!!!

events

Learning about Austria: Wachau's wine classifications

Thanks to all of our staff who spent hours of time researching Austrian wine regions, but one presentation stood out among the rest. Last week, ICOB team was treated to a one time only dramatic performance of this monologue from the eyes of Smaragd:

I remember growing up with my my sisters, Steinfeder and Federspiel.  We were inseparable. We were happy. I thought nothing could ruin the bond that we had while we were young and on the vineyard; but I was wrong. You see, when it came time for harvest, without hesitation, Steinfeder was gone.  So young and innocent, they plucked her away. She couldn't resist. She was too light to fight back. Just a simple child with bright hopes and dreams (and flavors). I just pray that they don't kill her fruity disposition (or taste).

So Steinfeder was gone. It was just me and Federspiel. Feder and I, we had our differences. She was strong, and had a lot of character, but it seemed that people could tolerate her more than they could tolerate me. I guess you could say that Federspiel's company could be enjoyed throughout  the night. Whereas my company might be better enjoyed in smaller doses. I like to introduce myself slowly to people. They need time to really think about my complex personality. Federspiel was easier than that. People just understood her. Naturally, I was jealous and held a bit of a grudge.  But I had to overcome my bitterness. After all, neither of us knew how much longer we would be together.

I like to remember the sun. We both loved the sun. I remember spending all day just laying there listening to the wind blowing in through the trees while the heat from the east kept us warm. We didn't have much; just the stems on our backs, and the soil at our roots, but we were happy again. Until one day not too long after the loss of Steinfeder, they came. Once again they came and took my best friend, my ONLY friend away from me.

And then, I was alone. Left on the vine to rot. The days became a blur to me. Nothing mattered anymore. All I could do was lay there and absorb as much sun as possible with the hope that if they came for me, I would be ripe and strong, and I could fight back. And so I waited. I could feel myself gaining flavor and getting heavier and wiser and I knew my time was near. I knew they would come for me. And finally, they did. Although to my surprise, when they pulled me from my stem,  I didn't resist. I was tired and old. I was ready to leave the vine. So I went willingly. 

They took me to an unknown world in large steel tanks where I sat there surrounded by others like me. We were left there for so long that I lost track of time again, but I could tell that something was changing. All of the sweetness that I gained from bathing in the warm sun was turning into something more powerful. something that I had never felt before. Everything was blurry again, but in a different way. My speech was slurred and I couldn't quite stand up straight. I had never felt this free before.

My new friends told me it was called alcohol. I grew to love it.

Its been years since I was harvested. And here I am bottled up with age and wisdom on my side. And the best news is, Steinfeder and Federspiel are right next to me. I know now that they were taken so early not to be ruined, but to be preserved at their perfect age. Steinfeder will forever be bright and young and light, Federspiel always practical and delicate, but with a mature fruitiness that will never be matched. And me. Smaragd. The oldest. With age I have gained a depth of flavor that neither of my sisters could understand. My body is stronger, and richer, and I possess the strength to intoxicate anyone who lets me into their life.

I look forward to the day when Im finally taken out of this bottle and my life will be fully appreciated by someone who can understand where I came from and what I've been through. I will never forget.

- Emily Smith, ICOB server

events, wine

Crazy 'bout pinot noir

Here at ICOB, we drink wine - and lots of it. There isn't much we like more than sharing our passions with you, so we've been diving into this beverage to learn more about the juice so you don't have to. For the entire month of December, we put our focus on one grape in particular - pinot noir. It's kept us warm at a time that it's only getting colder.

Ain't no shame in loving yourself a good bottle or two while having dinner with us, but how to decide? When drinking red with fish, we suggest pinot noir as it's generally a solid choice to pair with these winter flavors: hints of mushrooms and fungi, dark greens, cranberry, baking spices; you get the picture. For us, we love the delicacy that 100% pinot noir wines tend to have. It's less than tannic tendencies won't overpower your halibut, monkfish or lobster, but instead complement these proteins and enhance their seasonal accompaniments. 

Here are a few examples of how styles of pinot noir can vary across regions throughout the globe. Just a few heavy hitting locations:

Burgundy is an ideal location for growing pinot noir. It's one fickle variety to grow, and oddly enough, peaks in cooler climates with calcareous soils. BINGO Burgundy!!!  It just so happens that these folks have been at it long enough (as far back as 2,000 years ago!) to understand this very delicate grape. Flavors and textures do vary quite a bit throughout this region, which is not the only place you can find pinot noir in France, but here we find the greatest expressions of the terroir. Very light and tart pinots coming from Chablis, the slightly rustic in the Cote D'Or, fuller expressions with richer red fruits in Mercurey, just to name a few. 

Northern California has become one of the US's most well known wine producing regions, and pinot noir has become no exception. However, the warmer climate, sun exposure and richer soils tend to produce riper grapes. You'll taste pinot noirs with a fuller texture, darker fruits like plum, blackberry and strawberry jam from Monterey and Sonoma, but the light, tart styles still pop up in the most northern areas of CA from Carneros and Santa Maria. 

Oregon is the third region we find compelling to chat about when discussing pinot noir, particularly the Willamette Valley. It is a new (relatively speaking) endeavor in the wine industry here, but has proven to be a fast improving one. The terroir in this region of the US is shockingly similar to that found in Burgundy. Eureka! We already knowpinot noir develops the most nuanced and complex expressions when it has to work hard and this soil is marked with limestone, granite and remnants from a long-since-active volcano. The farmers and vintners are becoming better and better at understanding the land and how the grapes react to it, but we can't wait to see what this wine tastes like with some age on it.

If this isn't proof enough that we're not one track minded on white wine at ICOB, ask our educated staff. Josh was so excited about the stuff, he had 30 tables jazzed about drinking a bottle of pinot in the month of December! Now that's love. Need a peek of our current offering? Just click HERE.

Questions? Comments? Email us directly at kelly@islandcreekoysterbar.com or come visit!!!

wine, food, icob news