Oysters! (All photos Peter Majerle.)

But of course, one must start with some oyster wines. Would you like a pinot gris, a sauvingon blanc, or a pinot grigio?

You really can't go wrong. Here, let me pour you a glass of the pinot grigio.

Be sure to study the menu carefully.

See? There's a lot to choose from.

Oysters served with alder-smoked apples and pepper bacon, and done up Rockefeller-style, with spinach, bacon, and hollandaise.

A plate of seafood and a glass of white wine. What more does one need?

Audrey's typically hazy oysterface.

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year: Oyster New Year at Elliott’s Oyster House this Saturday, November 12th, starting at 5:00 p.m.

Your entry fee ain’t cheap ($95, and the $125 VIP tix are already sold out), but it gets you tons of seafood and booze, as well as the good feeling that comes from helping to restore the Henderson Inlet shellfish-growing region in South Puget Sound.

Along with being a benefit, it’s also the biggest oyster party on the West Coast, with more than thirty varieties of local oysters shucked to order and a seafood buffet with just about everything you can think of (geoduck tartare, anyone?). Get a taste of what to expect in the photo gallery above. There’s also live music, microbrews care of Pike Place Brewing, Boundary Bay, and Maritime Pacific, and vino from over forty wineries from Washington State, Oregon, and beyond.

Oyster New Year offers up so much to do that you might want to eat and drink yourself sick while tweeting your good time with the hashtag #ONY. Don’t miss out on the oyster luge, which is an impressive interactive eating experience, especially after a few glasses of wine, and be sure to cast your vote for the most beautiful oyster. As always, beauty is in the eye of the bivalve beholder.