While enjoying dinner at Seastar Seattle (see the post of March 10 for a complete review), I ordered the Northwest Oyster Sampler. It was a lovely presentation on a wavy white plate and included (left to right) Shigoku oysters with wasabi tobiko, Kumamotos with crème fraîche and caviar, and Virginicas with pomegranate-citrus relish.

I “relished” them all, but was particularly taken with the Shigokus, a new variety of oyster recently introduced to Northwest waters and being marketed by the good folks at Taylor Shellfish. They’re Pacifics, but their small and deeply cupped shells really set them apart from the often much larger variety. Our buddy and fellow Seattle Times writer, Nancy Leson, blogged about her first experiences with the beauties.