REVIEW

This review was provide by Matt Terl. click here to read Matt's Bio

If you want oysters, and especially if you want something more interesting than the Chincoteague/Blue Point/James River/New Orleans stuff that makes up the bulk of the halfshell plates at local restaurants, Mama's is a terrific stop. Their selection is always fresh, always changing, always well-shucked, and their shuckers are free with advice and opinions. The Conway Cups have been terrific this season, and some college football on the flatscreens, an almost-too-cold draught beer, and a dozen terrific oysters makes up a great afternoon. As long as you're gone when the bouncer gets there and the girls in too much makeup start getting drunk and falling down. (Unless you still like that sort of thing, in which case, hey, best of luck.)

It's a bar in Canton, so if you go at the wrong time, you know what you're going to get: guys in cocked baseball hats and the girls in tight clothing who love them. And if you're looking for that sort of thing, there are far worse places to go; at least at Mama's, you can suck down some top-notch bivalves while you get wasted and do things you'll regret in the morning. But if you're just out for food and your barroom makeout sessions are well in your past ... well, Mama's still has the bivalves, at least.

Let's be frank: the hot food here is inconsistent at best, and mediocre at worst. Steamed seafood ranges from excellent to mushy, and if you're going to spend this much on a steak, go somewhere where the raw seafood isn't the main selling point.