A Killer Oyster Happy Hour at...Whole Foods?

Let me be candid--I like oysters. It's a taste that has ratcheted up my dinner tab on countless occasions. Seattle has a number of solid oyster happy hours, but a few weeks ago I picked up a few items at the Westlake Whole Foods and was waiting by the elevator when I noticed an entry on the store's event calendar that seemed too good to be true.

A $0.69 oyster happy hour? At Whole Foods? Are you kidding me?

Right on cue I saw a man walk past, wheeling a cart piled high with ice and oysters awaiting shucking. And dammit if I didn't have dinner plans that night, rendering me unable to drop what I was doing and start sucking down bivalves.

The monthly oyster happy hour usually falls on a Tuesday mid-month, but the next one happens to be tonight due to the wonky holiday schedule. The $0.69 oysters run from 6 to 8 p.m., and from what I hear lines stretch all the way to the back of the store. You can also get $1.99 beers and $4.99 glasses of wine.

Whole Foods has a bunch of other happy hours that actually sound fantastic, if you don't mind piles of produce and spelt muffins as ambience. Seattle Weekly's Voracious blog checked one out this fall. The store has lobster tail, moule frites, vegan and wing events scheduled for the coming weeks--the full calendar is here.

I'm planning to attend the next installment on Tuesday, January 18 and will report back on the exact type of oysters and libations offered.