Fodor's Expert Review Pearl Dive Oyster Palace

Chef Jeff Black does serve three kinds of po'boys, but that's about as working-class as it gets at this dazzlingly decorated homage to the bivalve. East and West Coast oysters come raw, with perfect dipping sauces—at half-price all day on Monday and during happy hour every other day—or warm in five irresistible guises, from bacon wrapped to crusted in cornmeal and sprinkled with sweet-potato hash. If you eschew shellfish, Black has you covered with a grass-fed steak lovingly bedecked in blue cheese. Expect to get the best and pay for it here, where craft cocktails are $12, and each warm apple pie serving comes baked in its own miniskillet. Upstairs, the classy crowd endures lengthy table waits with Peroni on tap at the breezy Black Jack bar.