On the Pier

Pier 4 on the Boston harbor is the classic New England seafood restaurant, with waterfront views, fresh lobster, and a full raw bar. Pier 4, the best way to put it, is simply old school. It has the old-fashioned nautical interior with the wooden ship end replica and seafaring decor, the tried and true seafood menu staples such as clam chowder and raw oysters, and the sense of throwback to another era, the time of dirty martinis and cigars. Perhaps it never left the time when Pier 4 was the place to go in Boston, the standard for seafood restaurants in the region, the hot spot for the best lobster, caviar, and the most exceedingly expensive bottle of wine. The restaurant is surely steeped in history, with a wall of photos paying homage to the famed celebrities that have dined at Pier 4 over the years - shots of the owner Anthony Athanas posing with the likes of Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Bobby Orr, Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minelli, Pope Paul IV, and of course a few Kennedys.

In this way, dining at Pier 4 is like stepping back into a moment in time, when dinner was an unhurried, lavish affair, and there was no better celebration than the meal.

Our celebration began with a plate of complimentary marinated mushrooms, juicy little nuggets of flavor, and steaming hot popovers, soft and fluffy and practically spilling out of the basket. Pier 4 has what one might call a "serious wine menu" with such an extensive selection including rare, good wines, that it would be daunting to the inexperienced diner. Yet the wait staff was unpretentious and the service incredibly attentive, helpful to answer questions about the multi-tiered menu and serve the diners' every needs. From raw to fried seafood, they had it all, so we naturally chose some appetizer classics, fresh clams and fried calamari, which were executed incredibly well. For entrees there was the bouillabaisse a la Marseillaise, shellfish and finfish in a robust broth of tomatoes, leeks, garlic and saffron, so sumptuous it had to be sopped up with bread; lobster Newburg, tender morsels of lobster meat swimming in the rich bath of butter-cream with a kick of sherry and cognac; and golden, glistening sea scallops seared to perfection.

I chose the Boston sashimi, a gorgeous plate of raw seafood presented on a bed of light greens and shredded carrot to provide a nice crunch to accompany the soft meat, a note to Japan with soy and pickled ginger. The fresh chunks of fish were gleaming jewels before me, the salmon melting in the mouth like butter, the swordfish clean and light, the finnan haddie - smoked haddock - providing a nice smoky contrast, and the tuna like pink rubies on the plate. Slurping down raw oyster, scallops and cherrystone, I had a feast to behold, and all as fresh as if it had been pulled from the sea and slapped down on my plate.

Watching the ships come in to the dock through the huge glass windows overlooking the harbor, we had a perfect scene before us to watch twilight give way to twinkling night, the smell of ocean breeze and the sound of splashing surf. We finished with a chocolate souffle served with a decadent zabaglione sauce, for an elegant culmination to the epic meal. Pier 4 hasn't changed in decades, frankly, because there's no need to reinvent the wheel. For traditional seafood that tastes damn good, go for dinner on the pier.