Earlier this week, I wrote about October being National Vegetarian Awareness Month. Turns out it's also National Seafood Month. 

As someone who grew up in the midsection of the country where fresh seafood is not just a few hours' drive away, I have to tell you we are very fortunate here in Birmingham to have fantastic seafood from the Gulf of Mexico. And, of course, we are able to get very good seafood flown in from all over the country.

So where are some of the best places in town to get seafood? What are some of your favorite dishes? Here are a few of mine, off the top of my head:

• Sushi and sashimi at Jinsei
• Fried crab claws at Bright Star
• The crabmeat, watermelon and cucumber salad at Veranda on Highland
• Trout at Chez FonFon (OK, it's freshwater fish rather than being technically seafood, but still a fave)
• Salmon tartare at daniel george
• Pistachio-crusted oysters at GianMarco's
• Marinated crab claws at the oyster bar at Highlands, or any Gulf fish on the menu
  
• Seared scallops at Cafe DuPont
• Seafood kabobs at Pita Stop
• For inexpensive and casual, Greek seafood specialties at the Fish Market downtown, which has fresh fish in their own tanks.  
• For cooking at home, we love fresh fish from Sexton's in Cahaba Heights (and frozen fish from Whole Foods is a great option for easy weeknight meals.)

(Thanks to McCormick & Schmick's for bringing National Seafood Month to my attention; the restaurant is celebrating the month by making contributions to the American Heart Association. As the restaurant chain notes, the American Heart Association recommends eating at least two servings of fish each week for better health.)