Hi Nolan,
Following up on your other requests -
Re oysters, Taylor Shellfsh supplies the oysters to Walrus & Carpenter (& Zuni Cafe & Per Se) - they have I think 3 locations now in Seattle and are excellent. The one I go to - on Capitol Hill - also let’s you do corkage, so with those stunning oysters, it is pretty hard to beat…
Re pizza, I have not been to Independent, but I’ve found the best Napalitano pizza to be Verace (Serious Pie is good but not as good, Tribunali, etc., not even close); Verace also does a Salumi pie which is pretty crack-like. They recently raised their prices, and I’m not happy about that, but they have the real deal (short of Naples). For NY Pizza - don’t waste your time; there is nothing to be had here.
For burgers, there are a couple of good places, but +1 on Uneeda Burger. The owner went to Napa, and to Taylor’s Refresher specifically (now renamed), and LOVED the concept, so he stole it, and brought it here. But, he also had a fine-food background from his other capitol hill restaurant, so frankly, he blows Taylor’s Refresher away - it is very good, and precisely cooked to order.
For Asian, +1 on Eric Banh’s Monsoon. Monsoon is basically the Slanted Door from 20 years ago (i.e, before the move to the Ferry Building, and general bloat) - tiny (although they just added a new bar), and very, very good. Ask for the Reserve List - plenty of excellent Alsatian & German white choices. Also 100% corkage friendly. Also +1 on Revel in Fremont, very, very good (although very different from Monsoon).
French bistro - +1 on Le Pichet. If you find yourself eating at 1 or 2am (or want a very casual place), +1 on Caffe Presse. Cafe Campagne, 2 blocks from, Pichet, is also good.
Finally, for something very different, consider Mamnoon - beautiful restaurant, outstanding middle eastern cuisine (and a list deep in Chateau Musar); 2 doors down across the street from Taylor Shellfish Capitol Hill.
Theo