Fun Playing With Food in South Florida

We did something completely different for Thanksgiving this year. Instead of visiting friends or Bob's family or cooking, we winged it to Highland Beach Florida and spent a long week and the holiday with my parents. My sister and brother also joined us for several days, so it was a nice family reunion. We enjoyed a nondescript Thanksgiving Dinner at my parents' club, then proceeded to do some playing with the local restaurant food. 

The siblings all stayed at Delray Sands Resort Collection in Highland Beach. This was Bob's first trip following cervical spinal surgery, and we were distracted by a few health issues over the first few days. But the weather was mostly delightful, as were the ocean views from the beachfront hotel.

We were even treated to some rainbows!

Our first meal outside the hotel was at the Green Owl Restaurant, a small, cash-only breakfast-and-lunch establishment in downtown Delray Beach.

Bob's Corned Beef Hash & Eggs,

Mine: Cheese Omelet with Grits

We each received a serving of rye toast on the side. Even though Green Owl is owned by Steelers fans, we recommend them for a nice breakfast and the lunch food looked good also.

Our first dinner out together was at City Oyster, also on the Atlantic Avenue strip in Delray Beach. 

Bread Service

We started out with a smoked fish dip for appetizer, which was accompanied by the most lovely house-made crackers.

Whitefish dip with homemade crackers and pickles,

Bob's:  Yellowtail Snapper Hong Kong Style

Bob's fish was pan roasted, and accompanied by Jasmine Rice, Sesame & Ginger Sauce, and Vegetables.

Mine

This dinner special of Swordfish over fresh tomato ragu and polenta offered a refreshingly different take on the fish dinner. Both dishes featured fresh fish prepared well. I couldn't finish mine and enjoyed the leftovers at my parents' place the next day. Yeah, City Oyster is a little pretentious and expensive - but the food and service were very good. 

Just a few doors down from City Oyster is a newish place called Tryst, where we had another aquatically themed dinner, this time composed of small plates which we shared. I confess, I missed the house-made crackers with the fish dip, but the dip itself was delicious. 

This dip, rather than relying on whitefish, was made from salmon and yellowtail. Different than the whitefish dip, but very tasty. 

IPA Steamed Florida Clams  with Housemade chorizo, serrano chile, basil, orange, blistered grape tomatoes & ciabatta

Plate-licking good, though they need to serve it with a spoon (or two). The only plate we came close to finishing (we were a little overly generous in ordering).

"Angry Pig" Slider: Sicilian Pulled Pork, Orange Marmalade, Pickled Fresno Chilies, Fennel Slaw, Basil

This sandwich is as small as it looks, but packs a lot of flavor! We split it in half and it was enough, given how much else we'd ordered.

Nueske's Bacon Mac & Cheese

Proving that I am capable of ordering a non-fish/seafood dish when in Florida. It had Neuske's bacon, after all! One of the best mac n cheeses we've sampled.

Tuna "Poke" Lettuce Wraps: Toasted cashews, pineapple sambal

More pristine fish with beautiful accompaniments. Tryst was my favorite culinary find of the trip.

On Sunday, we treated my parents to the Unlimited Champagne Brunch Buffet at Latitudes Restaurant, at the Resort. The Resort was formerly a Holiday Inn, but the entire property (including the food service) has been renovated over the past 2 years. My parents had brunched here before in the old incarnation, and we all looked forward to seeing what the renovations would bring. Given the $50 per person price point, I expected better than average hotel food service, and Latitudes did not disappoint. 

My "first course" plate

Though the sushi rice lacked profundity, the fish and seafood was of very good quality. The smoked salmon and trout, and seared tuna were nice, and yes, those are shrimp at the back of plate - no smell or taste of pyrophosphate on them. The crab gazpacho was mostly gazpacho and a little crab, but the shellfish was pristine. 

My "second course" plate

Staying with the seafood theme, I can endorse both varieties of scallop and shrimp on this plate. The pulled pork (which I put over potato cake rather than tortilla) and guacamole were both good but nothing to write home about. I did not care for the coconut crusted fish, left middle, which didn't taste fresh.

 The buffet included a selection of charcuterie, carved meats and casserole-type dishes.

And a bountiful selection of sweets, many of which were food-service grade. Despite it's likely Sysco origins, I really liked the red velvet doughnut.

The blintz, which is also offered on Latitudes's regular breakfast menu, was also food service and not made from scratch (the cheese filling suffered a little from the freeze-thaw cycle). The key lime parfait was very tasty. And of course, I could never say no to caramel.

Carmel Parfait

The Mimosas (and coffee, for those who care about coffee) kept on coming, and there were many other food options on the buffet that I didn't try or photograph, as well as an egg/omelet "made to order" station. We enjoyed our brunch in a most leisurely fashion and never felt rushed as we enjoyed the food, beverages and the built-in ocean view. We ate at Latitudes several times over the course of the trip, and the service was always exceptional and the food mostly good to very good. Prices were reasonable.

Our next adventure took us to Gary Rack's Fat Rooster, also on the strip in Delray Beach, for brunch. As of Thanksgiving 2015, they've eliminated separate brunch and lunch menus in favor of a single midday menu 7 days a week. Worked for us!

Fat Rooster has a "fun playing with food" feel and an eclectic environment and menu. Our server used to live in Northeast Ohio, near to us!

Bob's

This "Special" consisted of a housemade biscuit, pulled pork. 2 fried eggs, tomato, hollandaise, potato-sweet potato hash. 

Mine also featured their signature biscuit, topped  with Fried Green Tomato, Avocado Smash, Fried Egg, BBQ Hollandaise and served with the same potato-sweet potato hash. I loved this slightly lighter/smaller take on the typical Eggs Benedict.

For Bob's 65th birthday, my folks took us all out to City Fish in Boca Raton for dinner. And here I hit the culinary motherload: a perfect stone crab claw. I loved the way the fishes and seafood product were displayed where the diner can see them, and the server was expert on everything served.

A thing of beauty, loaded with sweet crab meat

This salad comes with every entree. Pre-plated and a little cold, but very nice.

Bob's: Blackened Black Grouper and Fries 

Mine: Sauteed Black Grouper and sweet potato 

My sister had to leave on Monday, but since Bob's actual birthday was Tuesday, we who remained assembled at Josephine's in Boca Raton for dinner accompanied by a song stylist. We had a great time, though I don't think I'd order fish there again (though the clams were excellent - the taste of the veal I sampled was even better).

You can see that the bread isn't really fresh; toasting saved it.

This clam appetizer was lovely; a shame that the fin fish didn't have the same freshness and skill of preparation. Beautiful shellfish, cooked just right.

The salad was way too cold, and a bit slimy. First fail.

Bob and I both got this; he ate his

Fish "special": Swordfish, olives, capers, tomato sauce, pasta. Fish was overcooked and old, pasta from a box nothing special. Mom gave me a few clams from her dish that she didn't want, and I was good.

For our last meal in Florida, we headed south on the Intracoastal to Prime Catch in Boynton Beach, where we enjoyed a lovely lunch. 

CRISPY THAI SHRIMP

Sweet Thai Chili Sauce, Rice Paper & Scallions - this shrimp passed inspection, though frying does cover a thousand sins! The fried rice paper was a nice touch and deftly sopped up the chili sauce. A very successful dish.

Bob and I both had Yellowtail Snapper: Bob's grilled with the Thai Chili Sauce on the side and fries, mine pan seared with paprika, sweet potato fries. The oil must have been a little too hot when they dropped my fries, because they were a little overcooked. But other than that, a fresh and delightful lunch to see us out of town. We had fun playing with South Florida food!

2012 Fun Playing With Fish in Destin FL, P.2: Marie's Bistro

We return now to Florida, specifically the town of Blue Mountain Beach. Last year, we'd discovered the newly minted Marie's Bistro (warning - music will start as soon as the webpage opens) located in a very small restaurant space on 30A. Our memories of that lunch (Best Shrimp of Trip 2011), to-go sushi, and the genuine hospitality of the place were so strong, dinner there would end our first full day. In December 2011, the restaurant grew from 1,208 square feet to 3,000 square feet, adding a full bar and entertainment space along with a more contemporary room, and we couldn't wait to visit. 

However, a word first about the term "fresh" as applied to shrimp in this blog. I believe that about 98% of shrimp available in the United States is frozen, most on the boats where the shrimp is harvested. The only place where any of that 2% or so of never-frozen shrimp has ever been consistently available at retail is on the Gulf Coast. I've enjoyed it in New Orleans (where I had my "shrimp epiphany" at Brigsten's in 2005) and occasionally the Emerald Coast. The reality is that shrimp is so perishable, and the supply so effected by financial and environmental issues, that almost none of the shrimp we tasted this year was "fresh" in the sense of "never frozen." Therefore, please read the term "fresh" to refer to shrimp that may have been previously frozen, but is otherwise pristine - good quality to start with, handled properly, and neither treated with the nasty chemical sodium tripolyphosphate, nor ammoniated (old and smelling of ammonia). The element that distinguishes never-frozen from frozen shrimp is the texture - never-frozen shrimp melts in the mouth, frozen shrimp requires a little more chew. We found only one never-frozen shrimp on this two week search, at the very end. We'll get to that!

Meanwhile, we enjoyed Hanie and Marie Nasri's hospitality on four occasions this year, which is why Marie's is getting its own blog post. That first meal, like all dinner entrees at Marie's, began with a choice of soup or salad. Bob and I both selected the soup, the name of which didn't make it into my notes, but which you see below.

Pristine pieces of shrimp predominated the tomatoey goodness, together with some crab meat and other goodies. By the time we'd gotten a few bites into our soup, Hanie remembered us from our sushi pick-up on the way to the airport last year, and it was as if we were old friends. Watching Hanie in action this year, it became quickly apparent that he and his staff treat all of their customers like family.

Ah, the joy of shrimp that doesn't smell or taste like soap. We'd see as soon as the next day, and throughout our trip, that the Gulf shrimp industry is hurting badly and lots of lousy-tasting shrimp is being sold. But not at Marie's, where they take great care when selecting their fish and seafood purveyors.

Bob selected sauteed Triggerfish topped with lump crab meat and finished with Ginger Orange Hollandaise. The rice in the photo must have come from my plate; Bob's garlicky mashed potatoes are under his fish. We had the same veg, which obviously was NOT from a food service bag of pre-cut vegetables, and therefore didn't have any of that "triple wash" bleachy flavor or wooden texture. But the fish and crab played the starring role on the plate. The sauce combined eggy richness with tangy citrus, with the ginger bringing the two happily together. The fish and crab were so fresh and well prepared that they didn't even need a sauce, though this one was most worthy. 

My seared gulf tuna barely kissed the grill, and wore a tangy-savory Apricot Apple Chutney. The rice accompaniment was delicately spiced, and crunched from bits of pistachio, which contrasted with tart currants. I loved the combination of flavors and textures in the rice, but again, the fish was the star:

Everything served at Marie's, except the bread, is made in-house, with love that you can palpably experience when you eat. As my plate became disproportionately empty (the zucchini in the veg was the last item standing; it's just not my favorite), Hanie asked if I disliked zucchini and would like another veg, and began rattling off options. Heavens no, as the tuna, rice and other veggies had done their job wonderfully. Nevertheless, after clearing the plates, Hanie insisted that we must try a dessert, and brought this plate to the table:

Marie's flan melted in the mouth with the succulence of fresh eggs whipped and cooked just so. Most caramel we taste is so full of heavy corn syrups and artificial flavors; Marie's "from-scratch" caramel delicately complemented the other ingredients without overwhelming them. Topped with freshly whipped cream, Marie's caramel and custard was like a vacation on a plate, and our taste buds floated away to a happy, happy place. 

We returned to Marie's for lunch on Valentine's Day and both enjoyed the Shrimp and Grits. The dish contained a perfect balance of creamy, buttery grits, sausage, sweated onions, and fresh tasting shrimps. I wish I could have this for lunch once a week for the rest of my life.

Meal number four came during our second week on the Gulf. The soup that evening again featured tasty shrimp, and also contained corn and bacon, which always pair well with shrimp.

By this juncture, Bob was ready to landlubber a bit, and so he sampled a Special - Pork Tenderloin (which had a nice ring of fat around it) with mushroom stuffing and gravy over rice, with sauteed veg.

My entree was grilled Cobia, with butter, garlic and lime, then topped with sauteed spinach and also served over rice, with another side of veg.   

Again, my fish was expertly cooked and a delight to eat. Only one of the four dinner entrees we enjoyed was over $20, and most price points were between $15 and $20 for dinner. Given the sizes of the portion,  we felt that Marie's offers a very good value.

But Hanie wasn't finished yet - he asked if we liked baba ganoush. When I responded in the affirmative, he said we had to taste some grilled eggplant spread Marie had just made for a wedding. Though we were stuffed, we agreed to a little taste. We were barely able to dent the plate he brought us, but it was so delicious:

The baba is front and center, and freshly made hummus is on the other side of the bread. For over 25 years before opening the restaurant, Marie and Hanie operated At Your Service Catering and Marie still does catering for all types of events.

The tradition we started in 2011 of taking sushi from Marie's to eat on the plane ride home continued in fine style in 2012. Our last tastes of Florida were among the best, from Marie's partner-in-kitchen, Chef Mike Tran:  

Spicier Tuna Roll (sans cucumber): Spicy tuna topped with Sriracha and Wasabi Aoli               

Da Bomb: Spicy Tuna, Crab Salad & Sriracha

Red Dragon: soft shell crab, avocado, green onions, tuna, spicy mayo

Christmas Roll: shrimp tempura, topped with avocado and tuna)

Of course, the soft shell crab was previously frozen, and the crab salad was at least partly surimi - though I could have sworn that it also was part real crab meat. The various sauces and toppings enhanced the flavors without overwhelming them. The sushi survived the afternoon nicely, and we started digging into them around 6:30pm, when it was announced that our flight would be delayed an hour. Even the tempura held up surprisingly well. We ate 2 rolls during the boarding delay, and finished our dinner during the first flight segment, savoring every fish-flavored bite.

As we had prepared to pack up the sushi rolls with frozen fruit to keep them cold during the journey, Marie handed me this loaf of frozen cranberry nut loaf that she had baked - the better to keep things cold,  she explained, and to enjoy for breakfast at home tomorrow in Cleveland. Thank you Marie!

Though the bread wanted to crumble once it defrosted, good ingredients in skillful hands always lead to yumminess, and it paired nicely with simple scrambled eggs and butter for Thursday breakfast. We still have some of this bread in the fridge; once crumbled, it made a wonderful addition to pancake batter on Sunday.

Sorry, you really can't see Marie's bread in there until it's cut open, and I'd already put the camera away - but you get the idea! Marie and Hanie (and their kids who sometimes work in the business with them) are all about having fun with food, which makes them my kinda people!

You will not find anywhere on the Emerald Coast a more honest plate of freshly prepared food containing freshly sourced and delicious ingredients at fair prices, and delivered with genuine joy, as you will find at Marie's Bistro, 2260 West Hwy 30a, Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32526, 850.278.6856.

The next post will begin with lunch at the barely one-year old Nick's on the Beach, also on 30A. Would their seafood live up to the never-frozen shrimp and crabs we've savored at their sibling restaurant Nick's Seafood Restaurant in Freeport? Stay tuned.