Grouper OD

Just got back from T-Giving week-end visiting RevAndy on Florida's west coast. Everywhere you go it's grouper, grouper and more grouper. I wish there had been something else on the menus.

Right. And I suppose you wish it had been colder and snowier as well.

Got back Saturday AM and it was just starting to snow. As of this morning, we've had a total of about 18" and I have plowed my driveway and my neighbors three times. Colorado is great!

Dear Better Brother,

Grouper, grouper, grouper, is that all you Blooms can talk about, grouper. Geeeesh, ok, yes, you got me, I have a jones for grouper that simply was not satisfied by my visit to the East coast of Florida. Boca Raton, which I have taken to referring to as the Bagel Coast, as opposed to Treasure, Sun or Gulf, is lousy with bagel bakeries. Boca Bagel West, Boca Bagel East, Boca Bagel, Boca Bagel Country, Boca Bagel 18th Street, Boca Bagel Maven, and on and on and on.

Some of the bagel are pretty good, chewy, dense, flavor and texture from good ingredients, a not-rushed rise and quick dunk in boiling water. Others, sadly, are of the Dunkin Donut poofy, steam not boil, rush rise, white bread in the shape of a bagel variety.

Lox varied from hand cut and flavorful to overly salty and colored with dye, the one example of smoked pepper sable I had was so salty as to be inedible, but the two corned beef sandwiches I ate were good. Not great, but good. One of the corned beef sandwiches was at Nestor's in Boca Raton, home of the .50c upcharge. (See Nestor's post)

I did have a fried grouper sandwich, which was pretty damn sad. There were hints of greatness, attributable solely to the grouper, but, while the crusty batter was good, the fish was still frozen in the middle. I felt sorry the grouper had to give it's life only to be so ineptly handled.

There is light on the horizon though, we are visiting the not-so-better brother for New Years and I plan on a grouper fest. Though RevrendAndy decided to torture me a bit as he recently left a lengthy, detailed message describing how Fish and Wildlife put a grouper ban into effect due to over-fishing and there would be no grouper available during the entire month of January.

Note to JeffB, I saw your grouper reference as well, must all you Gulf Coast natives constantly remind us of your grouper superiority.

Enjoy,
Gary

Gary,

More to follow, including hot seafood pix. I did have grouper several times in Tampa over the course of 4 days. As always, good, plentiful and dirt cheap.

All this talk about Grouper got me so hungry and creative I decided to have a grouper omelet this morning, served with some crispy grouper hash browns, washed down with a steaming pot of grouper tea. Delicious!

Dare I say you must be a grouper groupie? No I guess I won't.

Tampa is a damned good chow town, anchored by the fresh grouper, and waving the flag of excellent cuban food as well. One can eat very well and pretty cheaply, too.

And for variety, it is just a short run up the Tarpon Springs for some pretty good greek seafood.

I have not tried the upscale joints (Berns, etc), but I need to put it on the list of weekend outings with the bride this winter - a Tampa grouper-athon, mmmm.

Dickson, you and I will have to compare our Tampa notes. On the other board, I recently posted some stuff about my most recent trip home. It involved a survey of Boliche Boulevard, Frenchy's, Tarpon Springs, Demmi's Market (hand tossed pizza made from batch-mixed dough and cooked in an ancient oven), a tiny Cuban spot in New Port Richey, a trip to my current favorite chain, Bonefish Grill and more.

The best thing that I confirmed is that the alleged demise of Cuban in Tampa is grossly exaggerated. Mostly, people are mis-directed away from Columbus Blvd. and its hole-in-the wall spots. Arco Iris, and La Ideal continue to represent ideals (excuse the pun) of the form.

Go to Bern's, for sure. The focus should be on wine, caviar and the dessert room. Research very old wines and after dinner drinks (scotches, brandies, cognac, etc.) and have something in mind. It will be there and will be cheaper than you could find it anywhere else. (Not that it will be "cheap" in an absolute sense). The meat and veggies still come from farms that exist solely to supply Bern's. The steaks are house dry-aged and cooked on white hot citrus wood, as you will observe on a tour. Nonetheless, I don't find the steaks or the sides to be as compelling as the top spots in Chicago and NYC. But the whole package is unique and an amazing bargain.