# Seattle abalone **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 4, 2008, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-abalone/458751 "2008-08-04T00:16:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-abalone/458751/1 "2008-08-04T00:16:08Z")
Anyone know of a restaurant in Seattle that has good abalone? ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-abalone/458751/2 "2008-08-04T02:31:41Z")
Since so many kinds have become endangered, I haven’t seen it in years. I found [this restuarant](http://seattle.about.com/od/fooddining/fr/palisade.htm), but the reference isn’t dated, so I don’t know if it’s current. If you find one, let me know. I love it, if prepared well. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-abalone/458751/3 "2008-08-04T02:36:38Z")
[QUOTE=picunurse] I found [this restuarant](http://seattle.about.com/od/fooddining/fr/palisade.htm)… [/QUOTE] Hm. Doesn’t sound very promising. > [@](#): > > The Mendocino Red Abalone (market price) was disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-abalone/458751/4 "2008-08-04T03:04:24Z")
I thought abalone was currently outlawed. Or is that just in California? (Except, it was a key point in an episode of _Law and Order: Criminal Intent_, so then it’s either California and New York, or it’s a Federal thing.) ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-abalone/458751/5 "2008-08-04T03:32:12Z")
Red abalone is farmed in various central and northern coastal California locations. My mom and I had some at a restaurant in Monterey a few months back, and it was hugely over-priced and not all that good. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-abalone/458751/6 "2008-08-04T03:34:08Z")
[QUOTE=phouka] I thought abalone was currently outlawed. Or is that just in California? (Except, it was a key point in an episode of _Law and Order: Criminal Intent_, so then it’s either California and New York, or it’s a Federal thing.) [/QUOTE] The taking of wild abalone is prohibited south of the mouth of San Francisco Bay, and can only be done by free diving in Northern California and the PNW. Abalone is raised commercially in a number of places. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![straykat23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@straykat23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straykat23)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-abalone/458751/7 "2008-08-04T03:55:30Z")
Abalone is legal in California; it’s just often scarce and expensive. [Monterey Abalone Company](http://www.montereyabalone.com/contact.html) I’ve had affordable abalone a few times in Mexico over the past few years (Acapulco and in various Baja locations), hoping each time that it would taste as I remember it; sadly, no. It was never pounded and was tasteless and rubbery. I kept trying though, hoping that some day someone would pound the hell out of it. No go. I recently read of a resurgence in abalone farming and can’t wait to sample the outcome. [Abalone Growers Eye Mollusk Resurgence](http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?cid=124109&sid=2&fid=1) Remember when people used abalone shells to decorate and border their gardens? Talk about tacky. I have a single shell that I have in my laundry room that contains change, keys, etc., that I’ve found in pockets of things to be laundered. [Abalone Shells](http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=abalone+shells&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2) I’m going to be in Port Townsend this fall for a week or so and am looking forward to any replies you get about where we can find it.