Late last week I was experiencing the opening of blueacre seafood in Seattle and ran into the most interesting people.

One of them was Taylor Shellfish's own "Oyster Bill" slurping down some of Hood Canal's finest.

He put me on notice....my favorites -- the Virginica oysters -- are coming into short supply. There are a few dozen held out for next week's Taste Washington Grand Tasting.

Lucky me, after snacking on my Virginicas pre-dinner, I ran into Efeste's winemaker Brennon Leighton at the bar and he offered me a Virginica for dessert. Who says chivalry is dead?!