My first time in, I sat at the crowded oyster bar and made the acquaintance of Mary's clam juice-enhanced cousin, the Bloody Caesar. This classic cocktail, rimmed with lip-smacking Old Bay seasoning, supported a chilled prawn big as a baby's arm. Spotting little-neck clams on the blackboard menu, I special-ordered them raw on the half-shell and was immediately pegged as an Other Coaster — already obvious from my little love-fest with the complimentary relish tray filled with this Philly-girl's favorites: hot cherry peppers and pickled herring.

Call it a co-ink-y-dink, but Oceanaire, open less than a year, shares my January birthday, as well as my universal affection for fresh seafood in all its global glory. Granted, I'm keen on the Northwest's holy triumvirate of salmon, halibut and Dungeness crab as much as the next person, but sometimes you just have to break out of the Seattle seafood mode. I do it here at this high-energy, steakhouse-style seafood house, where old-fashioned can-do service, a fresh sheet updated twice daily and a soundtrack that swings to a '40s-era beat conspire to ring my chimes.

At Oceanaire, chef Kevin Davis runs a seafood emporium in classic steakhouse style, offering a globe-trotting selection of fish that's as expertly prepared as it is served.

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