by all means go to the W & C; just get there when it opens up or you'll wait an eternity.

Shiro's was the most aggressively mediocre -- and aggressively overpriced -- sushi meal I have ever eaten in my life. (And I'm one of those sit-at-the-bar-try-absolutely-anything sushi people.)

Don't bother, Dani. Retire already, Shiro.

Also, I love Mashiko's in West Seattle -- which is sustainable fish only. AND it's delicious. (I love the Atomic Tuna.)

For oysters, it's also worth checking to see what's on the menu at Gastropod. I've had some amazing oysters there!

Oddly, one of the best sushi restaurants in Seattle is Toyoda Sushi in Lake City. Kind of a crappy location, but great food.

I really like Ten Sushi on Mercer. It is an upscale kaiten place, however the owner really takes a lot of care in quality and presentation. He's consistent knows what he is doing. Frankly, I have given up on most of the places mentioned in this piece.

If you want the real thing, you need a Real City.

Vancouver, BC

Blue Water Cafe

http://www.bluewatercafe.net/

Fantastic oysters. Had a half-dozen with Grey Goose chaser.

Shiku sushi in Ballard is also good:
http://www.shikusushi.com/home.html

And another vote for Mashiko's in W. Seattle:
http://www.sushiwhore.com/

OP here! We were there last week (unfortunately didn't get Bethany's email in time) and went to Shiro's and The Walrus and the Carpenter. Both were excellent. The best dish we had at Shiro's was actually the hamachi collar, so cooked fish.

We hit up King's Hardware in Ballard before The Walrus and the Carpenter because the wait was, like, two hours long. Oysters were good, but we were already kind of full by foolishly eating too much at King's. My partner has been to Vancouver and said the best oysters he's ever had were there, so we should probably just make the trip over the next time we're in Seattle.

We made the unfortunate mistake of going to Cafe 56 instead of Elliott's. The service was AWFUL and the food was mediocre. It involved crusted over cocktail sauce containers for the oysters . . . next time we'll just hit up Elliott's.

We also tried Bathtub Gin & Co. and were super disappointed with their cocktails. Maybe it's because I've been to so many great cocktail bars / speakeasies across the US, and Minneapolis, where I'm from, has a really thriving cocktail scene. But the drinks we had were almost undrinkable. Overly bitter, not nuanced at all.

There were also some cool food trucks on, like, 4th and Pike I think? One was a fish & chips / British truck, and their fish & chips were very, very good.

I was there for a work conference, so I couldn't go to many other places. But -- we have friends that live in the area, so we fully expect to be back soon!

Kisaku is wonderful. I lived in the neighborhood for many years, a short, leisurely walk away, and I loved going there. Kisaku was always a treat, with terrific food, reasonable prices, and great service. It's a very elegant spot, with its relatively minimalist décor making for an extremely comfortable and pleasant atmosphere.

Years ago I took some Japanese food-loving friends to Kisaku, and now they make a beeline for it whenever they are in Seattle (a couple of times a year). My acupuncturist's office used to be right around the corner; he ate there frequently, and always raved about the restaurant and owner Ryuichi Nakano.

Before or after, make sure you also visit Hiroki, which is a Japaneseish bakery a block east of Kisaku, in the former Dutch Maid Laundromat location.

@5 Sssshhhh! It's already crowded in there!