This story is presented as part of The Stranger’s Guide to Food and Drink 2018: the Well-Done & Rare Edition, which features our favorites of Seattle’s most bountiful tastes, and where to find more elusive flavors, like Jewish food (delis, bagels and more).
The wait at this acclaimed Renee Erickson oyster bar in Ballard, which doesn’t accept reservations, is famously long, and rightfully so. To kill time and prepare your belly for all the bivalves you’re about to slide down your gullet, go sip an aperitivo made with one of the many amaros from the bar’s extensive collection at Erickson’s Barnacle next door. Once you’re back, get ready to glut yourself on a parade of chubby, buttery oysters from Hama Hama and other local suppliers, along with frites and sourdough bread from the excellent local Sea Wolf Bakery. Cap it all off with an order of salty roasted medjool dates for dessert.
