Union Oyster House   

With its storied past and central locale, the Union Oyster House attracts almost as much traffic as the Freedom Trail. And, even in a landscape cluttered with upscale options like Kingfish Hall and Great Bay, the "olde" eatery has managed to hold its own in the city's seafood wars. Though some might say its status has little to do with its cuisine, the UOH maintains lofty standards for its fish and has a raw bar that compensates in quality for what it lacks in variety (standard offerings are blue point oysters, Cape Cod cherrystones, littleneck clams and a cold seafood sampler). Lipids are writ large in the menu's cooked selections, with entrees like Lazy Man's Lobster (served en casserole with seasoned breadcrumbs, sherry and drawn butter) and baked stuffed filet of sole (its innards brimming with ricotta and spinach) tempting diners to throw dietary caution to the wind. In keeping with its status as America's oldest continuously operating restaurant, the Oyster House looks little different than it did when Daniel Webster was a regular, sheltering diners beneath hand-hewn ceiling beams and hosting barflies at a semi-circular oyster bar installed in 1825. Insiders claim the downstairs tavern is atmospherically superior, but those tolerant of tourists may prefer to take a page out of JFK's book and dine in the upstairs "Kennedy Booth."