Shamil Velazquez, Delaney Oyster House (Charleston, SC)

It's time to come clean here. When Delaney Oyster House opened a few years ago, I was prepared to dismiss it as part of a group of oyster bar openings in my home city of Charleston, SC. I just thought things were getting too saturated, and it was a trend that was gearing more toward tourist dollars than unique flavors. But from my first bite at Delaney, I knew whoever was behind the stove wasn't cooking for trends, but working from an artistic and very particular point of view. That person is Shamil Velasquez, a native of Puerto Rico and graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY., whose tenure at Husk Greenville introduced him to South Carolina foodstuffs. He's passionate about sourcing, focused on teamwork, and with an island background, an expert on seafood. It's my favorite time of the food year -- oyster season -- and I can't imagine a better conversation partner to celebrate it, with a squeeze of lime, of course.