Sauced

Dollar Oysters at Pike Street Fish Fry

A new seasonal happy hour offers bivalves big and small.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Feb 07, 2012 at 10:50AM 1 Comments

This giant hotel pan of oysters: yours for $12 during happy hour.

Pike Street Fish Fry ushered in the month of February by joining the new dollar oyster club. The discounted oyster action happens from 5 to 8pm Sunday through Thursday, and beers are $4. There are fancier dollar oyster experiences to be had around town: experiences that involve mignonette, tiny oyster forks, and actual platters. But I’m a sucker for this Pike-Pine hideaway, both for the rippingly good fried seafood and the diner-meets-pirate-fort ambiance, punctuated by warm-up bass thumps from nearby Neumos.

Last week I stopped in for a dozen, along with an Odin’s Gift, the Beer Formerly Known as Ruby. I wasn’t sure how an establishment specializing in battering and frying would treat happy hour oysters, but you can opt for raw or grilled bivalves. Thank goodness there wasn’t a crowd at 5:30, because the two-person kitchen team had to seriously wrestle with those oysters. Arriving at work one day and being told that your job duties now include speed-shucking for beer-swilling masses is probably an occupational downer, though these two were awesome. One even took cell phone shots of her handiwork before bringing out the newly shucked dozen.

Oysters arrived in a hotel pan filled with ice, and we used standard-issue plastic forks to wrest the meat out of the shells. Apparently ours was the first dozen-oyster order since Pike Street initiated the happy hour. The takeaway: There’s no shame in rolling in for two or three of these guys if you so desire.

What you won’t find at more upscale oyster happy hours: a bigger oyster for your buck. The selection varies by week, but right now Pike Street lets you choose between dainty Olympias and behemoth Pacific oysters, nearly the size of my splayed fingers. Unsure if my companion would dig the Olys’ coppery flavor, I opted for 12 Pacifics: six raw; six grilled. This might be the first time in my life I preferred a grilled oyster to a raw one, perhaps due to the addition of the same crunchy purple cabbage slaw that accompanies the Fish Fry’s pulled pork sandwich and fish tacos.

Pike Street plans to continue the oyster happy hour for the remainder of the season, though plans could certainly change. While there aren’t any other discounts besides the $4 beers, the drafts are solid. Wines are just a few bucks more, and a far nicer selection than you’d expect to find at a punky fried fish shack. And if dollar oysters don’t entice, there’s always free fry Friday.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Happy Hour, Oysters, Happy Hour of the Week, Seattle Happy Hours, Pike Street Fish Fry

Bastille Joins the $1 Oyster Crew

Hama Hamas and oyster-friendly beer and wine: Yours for a pittance Monday through Wednesday.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Jan 05, 2012 at 11:50AM 0 Comments

Hama Hama oysters. Photo via Ballard Farmers Market.

Never forget how lucky you are to live in a region where dollar oyster happy hours are possible. And look—here’s another one. Ballard spot Bastille announced today that it’s joining the dollar oyster club as of Monday, January 9.

The offering: Local Hama Hama oysters for $1 apiece with ever-changing accompaniments from chef Jason Stoneburner. And to wash these down, $5 glasses of Cremant and Chuckanut Brewery’s excellent kolsch for just $3.

The oyster happy hour will run Monday through Wednesday, from 4:30 to 6pm (Bastille’s regular happy hour is still 4:30 to 6 daily and Sunday through Thursday from 10pm till midnight).

The restaurant’s Capitol Hill sibling Poquitos has been running a series of “meet the distiller” happy hours. Not to be outdone, Bastille is hosting Hama Hama head oyster farmer Adam James at the February 1 oyster hour of happiness. And by “hosting” I mean “putting him to work shucking.”

So, Ballard. Now you have a place to go when you’re desirous of discounted oysters and can’t deal with the wait at Walrus and the Carpenter.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Happy Hour, Oysters, Bastille, Seattle Happy Hours

Melrose Market Taylor Shellfish Shop Now Boozing It Up

Beer and wine to go with your bivalves.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Oct 18, 2011 at 10:52AM 0 Comments

Even better with wine.

To follow up on a post from several weeks ago, the Taylor Shellfish shop in Melrose Market is now pouring beer and wine.

Manager Kevin Bartlett says three vinos are on offer, as is beer from Pike Brewery. In a few weeks he’ll stock more—“I’m still working out the kinks,” he explains. He mentioned suds from Elysian, for example.

With the booze comes new hours: the shop stays open until 10pm on Friday and Saturday. But Bartlett says you can sip whenever, even when the shop opens at 10am.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Oysters, Melrose Market

Upcoming Drinking Events: Ginger Bliss release party; Mezcaleria Oaxaca Opens

Plus: Boozing it up at Pike Place Market, oyster HH returns to Whole Foods.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Oct 03, 2011 at 09:23AM 0 Comments

This Saturday, celebrate the release of a new collection of cocktail recipes from Seattle author A.J. Rathbun.

Bargain oysters = happy times. On Tuesday, October 4, Whole Foods Westlake reintroduces oyster happy hour; from 6 to 8pm the slippery suckers are just 69 cents a piece. (Oh and lookie here, on Wednesdays it’s 50 cent wings.)

Thursday: Long-awaited Capitol Hill distillery and tasting room Oola throws itself an opening party, your chance to check out its vodka and gin and get a look at the Graham Baba-designed tasting room.

Pike Place Market hosts Arcade Nights on Friday the 7th. The $25 admission is purchasable at Brown Paper Tickets. For that you receive 10 tokens, each good for a beverage or snack. It’s 21 and over, drinks on offer include wine, beer, and hard cider.

A mezcal collection AND food from the Carta de Oaxaca folks? That’s more than a little exciting. Saturday, October 8 is opening night at Mezcaleria Oaxaca at 2123 Queen Anne Avenue N. You never know what Seattleites are going to show up for, but if the consistently clusterfucky crowd situation at Carta is any indication, you’ll want to arrive early.

Also on Saturday: Rob Roy celebrates the release of Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz, the new cocktail book from local writer A.J. Rathbun. Meet the author, buy a book, and sample some of the cocktail recipes between 2 and 4pm at the Belltown bar.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Cocktails, Seattle Bars, Books & Authors, Whole Foods, Mezcal, Oysters, Drinking Events, Queen Anne, Cocktail Recipes, Belltown, Books About Drinking

Wine and Beer Service Imminent at Taylor Shellfish Shop

The oyster emporium will feature wines from a carefully selected list of bivalve-friendly bottles.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Sep 30, 2011 at 10:04AM 0 Comments

Need something to wash that sucker down? Taylor Shellfish is about to add wine and beer to its list of offerings.

Photo: Taylor Shellfish Farms via Facebook

Fans of Taylor Shellfish Farms’s charming new Melrose Market shop have been looking forward to the day when they can order up a wine or beer with their dozen Virginicas or Mediterranean mussels.

That day will soon be upon us.

“Pike Brewing’s ale and stout will be offered for sure,” says Taylor founder and famed oysterman Jon Rowley. “We might just go with one oyster wine and one crab wine to start off.”

The wines will be picked from among those on this list. Rowley creates this list by assembling a group of judges each year; the chosen ones spend hours sipping wine and slurping oysters, scoring the bottles based on how well they pair with the succulent bivalve bounty of the Pacific Northwest.

Rowley says it will likely take a few days to get the accounts set up, so stay tuned for the exact date when the alcohol will start flowing. Meantime, you can enjoy Taylor’s sea-plucked fare with a glass of wine next door at the equally charming Bar Ferd’nand.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Capitol Hill, Oysters, Melrose Market, Jon Rowley

Ferry Call: A Wine Weekend on Bainbridge

Next weekend, do the whole island thing with a wine buzz.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Sep 22, 2010 at 10:32AM 3 Comments

Behold, your designated driver.

There are seven wineries on Bainbridge Island, did you know this? There’s also a distillery called Bainbridge Island Distillery, but this isn’t about that. This is about wine, and how the weekend after next, October 1-3, the island is celebrating its wine with a series of events knows as Bainbridge Island Wine Weekend.

On Friday there’s a free concert and street party. The all you can eat oysters—Port Madison petites—are at Pegasus coffee house, and cost $50. These you slurp with melon de Bourgogne from Perennial Vintners. (Melon de bourgogne is the grape used to make muscadet, the classic oyster-pairing wine.)

Saturday is the day for a farmers market tour with a local chef and a roving restaurant graze. Sunday is the big general tasting day—it’s $35 for general admission. Get all the details here.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Wineries, Oysters, Wine and Food Pairings, Bainbridge Island

Happy Hour at the Walrus and the Carpenter

Renee Erickson’s new Ballard Ave oyster bar is now offering discounts on weekday evenings (not Friday).

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Aug 24, 2010 at 07:39AM 0 Comments

Oysters are half off at the Walrus and the Carpenter from 4 to 5pm. From 5 to 6, it’s a quarter off the regular price of $2 or $3.

As of yesterday, the Walrus and the Carpenter, Renee Erickson’s pretty little oyster bar in the Kolstrand Building on Ballard Ave, has a happy hour. And while it does have one twist, the plot of this HH isn’t nearly as difficult to follow as that at Chef Erickson’s other white-on-white eatery, Boat Street Cafe.

For one thing, you don’t need a reservation. If fact, Walrus doesn’t even take reservations. HH is from 4 to 6pm Monday through Thursday.

But here’s the thing, the earlier you get there, the cheaper the oyster. Like at Elliott’s. It’s called a progressive happy hour, because it gets progressively more expensive. At Walrus between 4 and 5pm, oysters—Kumamotos, kusshis, etc.—are half off (so, $1 or $1.50, depending on which types you choose.) Then from 5 to 6pm, they’re only a quarter off (so, $1.50 or $2).

Drink discounts are not progressive. From 4 to 6pm, the restaurant takes $1 off glasses of muscadet, the classic oyster pairing wine, $1 off draught beers, and $2 off craft cocktails.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Happy Hour, Oysters, Ballard

Happy Hour of the Week: Frank’s Oyster House and Champagne Bar

All hail the happy hour oyster: joy for the palate, cure for workday woes.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Apr 19, 2010 at 10:57AM 2 Comments

• HOURS: Tues-Sat (closed Sunday) from 5-6:30pm; 10-11pm parlor only.
• PRICES: Sparkling wine, cocktail of the day $6; all other cocktails $1 off; house red/white wine $5; beer $3.50. HH food items $1-$6; other snacks and small plates $2 off.

Frank’s Oyster House and Champagne Bar is a highly specific name for a restaurant. Don’t let that dissuade you from meeting your raw-oyster eschewing friends here for happy hour. For in addition to oysters, this HH menu offers steak sliders on housemade rolls that slap the tongue with an assertive hit of horseradish (three for $5), compulsively crunchable bacon-chive popcorn ($2), fried Quinault razor clams ($6), and a salami plate served alongside veggies pickled on the premises ($5).

As a person who eats a lot of sliders, I can tell you these are about as good as they get. The popcorn is well-seasoned and generously portioned, and who in their right might would argue with Salumi salami and pickled vegetables washed down with a whiskey cocktail on a weekday evening? In fact, in my experience the only thing to steer clear of on this menu are the truffle skins—potato skins blanketed too heavily in fontina then doused with way too much truffle oil. They smell great, but they are exactly the sort of palate buster to avoid after experiencing the eye-widening, joy-inducing flavor dance of fresh oysters sprinkled with a little mignonette and followed up with a sip of dry champagne.

In fact, even if the kitchen had employed a lighter hand with that truffle oil I probably wouldn’t order potato skins again at Frank’s. I might not even order those tasty little sliders. Because unless lunch has been skipped or HH must double as dinner on this particular day, what’s the point of eating workaday happy hour fare—even such finely wrought workaday happy hour fare as this—when there are Kusshis in the kitchen?

Frank’s serves up three to four types of oyster each day at HH, they are $1.50 each. Order them alongside the house champagne—currently a French brut, $6 a glass and born to wash down those sweet, succulent, slippery little somethings. All hail the happy hour oyster: joy for the palate, cure for workday woes.

[ Photo source ]

Add a Comment »

Tags: Happy Hour, Sparkling Wine , Oysters, Ravenna