100 Very Best Restaurants 2013: Pearl Dive Oyster Palace

There are plenty of places around town where you can eat like a frat boy, counting “fried” and “butter-drenched” as the only food groups. Jeff and Barbara Black’s folksy Logan Circle fish house is one of the few worth the calories. That’s not to say it’s all about the fried chicken or fabulously messy barbecue shrimp with baguette.

There’s a terrific array of oysters—have them on the half shell or order a round wrapped in bacon and drizzled with vinegar reduction. Hour-plus waits are common—the restaurant doesn’t take reservations after 6:30—but if you can squeeze into the bar, you’ll be rewarded with strong cocktails and, from 4 to 7 on weekdays, two-for-the-price-of-one oysters and $5 glasses of wine. Don’t miss: Grilled oysters with chili butter and gremolata; a ceviche-like mix of seafood in salsa; seafood or duck-and-oyster gumbo; fried-oyster po’ boy; fried-shrimp dinner; pecan pie; apple pie; Bardstown Derby cocktail, with bourbon, grapefruit, and honey. Open: Monday through Thursday for dinner, Friday through Sunday for brunch and dinner. Moderate.