row 34

I used to live in Fort Point, before it become the hip foodie destination it is today—so when anything new opens there I get really excited. My mom heavily looked into the building that is now Dragon 8, before she died, to open a dining establishment. I went and scoped out the building with her several times with its property managers. This area holds a place in my heart and I love to see it flourishing. The vibe of the culture, food, drinks, atmosphere speak to me.

I’ve been trying to get into Row 34 for weeks! They got some really good press really fast; I think that made it hard! But finally I was able to score a reservation for their first ever brunch with our foodie friends Laura and Abe. I was particularly excited to eat here with Abe because he can eat like I can and we don’t disgust one another with our habits—like ordering A LOT of food.

The restaurant is an atmosphere that I like a lot—very lofty and contemporary, minimalist almost, with concrete floors and metal but doesn’t overwhelm with that sterile feeling that can sometimes happen. This was the first time they were doing brunch and they had a lot of great options. We each ordered an appetizer and meal. Abe couldn’t decide between their two lobster rolls—he ordered both, which is why I LOVE to eat out with him.

Abe and I started with the obvious—oysters, this is after all something they are famous for. Their namesake was my favorite! 

 

We continued with tuna crudo, which was good. It was fresh and had a nice taste to it. The addition of the avocado was great, as usually citrus is presented with such a dish. I'll admit I had the best tuno crudo of my life a week prior at Tarry Lodge so anything would be hard to measure up after that. 

 

Laura ventured more into brunch territory and ordered the scones! They were plentiful and had a nice texture--not too hard or dry, as scones tend to be. The jam and butter that came with it was obviously homemade and very yummy.

 

I ventured out from lobster roll terrain--shocking because lobster is my favorite, and ordered shrimp and grits with a poached egg. It seemed different to me, and I love all of those components separately so I thought it should be good! It was a nice flavor combination, and great textures mixed together--a little gooey, a little grainy.

They had two different lobster rolls. One was creamy and cold, while the other was buttered and warm. We were all torn. Abe did the right thing by ordering both, but we did agree the buttered was the way to go! Not that you can ever go wrong with lobster, really.

 

I will be thrilled when I get a chance to return to try some of their other sea creature dishes.  Grab a reservation if you can!

One note: they do not have a full liquor license here and are more into craft beer.