I once had the best king crab at Ivar's Salmon House. I think it was around $20, which was really reasonable (it was half a crab, lots of meat). So that's my suggestion. (Granted, that was about nine or ten years ago - it might be more expensive these days.)
Seven Stars Pepper, International District:
Szechuan or Ginger Crab, stir fried. Plus get some hand shaven noodles and dried cooked string beans while you're at it.
Over the winter, Monsoon had a great Dungie crab deal on Sundays and Mondays; not certain it's still going on. Another place to check is the kick-ass Little Uncle, they frequently do a whole crab special and it's insane.
Chinook's and Ivar's and the others are good. Whatever you do, though, DO NOT GO TO THE CRAB POT on the waterfront. Unless you like the smell of fish going off. The waterfront in general is a good place to avoid for fish, seeing as how that's not where fish come from (Chinook's is at least at the real Fishermen's Terminal).
I like Chandler's Crabhouse on Lake Union. Nice ambience, good service, and not too pretentious. They don't give you gruff about ordering your crab chilled either, which I have experienced elsewhere.
I don't know about the crab at Taylor's but the oysters in the tanks are disappointing. For all the excellent super-fresh oysters available in restaurants in this town nowadays it's incredible that buying them that fresh yourself is so difficult. Tank oysters taste like tank water. That's what's in them. Iced oysters get desiccated quickly. The farmer's markets have the best but why havent' the retail outlets figured out how to maintain and sell a fresh oyster?
Just this about Bar Sajor - the atmosphere was lovely, and perhaps the crab is fine, but it drove me nuts that when I was there they did not have one thing on the menu that was simple. Every dish had some offputting ingredient. Every one. Maybe I would have loved the rancid lime butter. Perhaps the picked oxtail was fantastic. But it's disrespectful to not have a single dish that isn't gilded with some pretentious addition. For that reason, I'd avoid it as a destination for your 10th anniversary. Go for lunch sometime, see if their sensibilities suit yours.
We had crab last weekend from Pike Place Fish Market, and it was unbelievable. I don't remember having better crab in Seattle (Vancouver Chinese style crab is just not beatable).
Etta's has a 3-5 crabby hour, but I haven't gotten there in time to try it. I'm certainly interested in reviews if others have.
salt and pepper crab at sea garden in the i.d ,,i especially like how they bring it over to the table to let you approve of it before they take it back to the kitchen to fry it up.. plus.. washing your hands with lemon and warm tea.
..and maneki in the i.d. has delicious tempura spft shell crab..and if you order the fresh spot prawn sushi, they tempura the heads and bring them crispy delicious noggins over with dipping sauce. you get two dishes in one !
I don't have a specific suggestion but some places in the ID must have some excellent salt & pepper crabs.
"Crab Feast. Available every Sunday and Monday night guests can enjoy a whole two-pound Dungeness crab for $32. In addition to the classic Saigon salt and pepper crab, Eric and Sophie will now offer a Singapore-style Yellow Curry Crab and a Scallion & Ginger Crab. All of the crab preparations are sautéed in the wok with bright spices and served with mango and papaya salad." Also 30% off of bottles of wine.
Seven Stars Pepper, International District:
Szechuan or Ginger Crab, stir fried. Plus get some hand shaven noodles and dried cooked string beans while you're at it.
Etta's has a 3-5 crabby hour, but I haven't gotten there in time to try it. I'm certainly interested in reviews if others have.
Nicely done.
We usually buy it at the Pike Place Market, have them clean it, and then bring it home and steam it ourselves. Very tasty.
2. Go to nearest crab house
It really is your only option.
Oh you mean the food. *rimshot*