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Catch the new wave on the beach
[Times photo: Bill Serne]
Snapper’s serves a cold fisherman’s platter, front, with bruschetta and smoked barbecued shrimp spread; barbecued tuna, right, with fried oysters and onions and confetti slaw; and baked Southwest Australian lobster tail, left, with whipped potatoes. |
By CHRIS SHERMAN
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 24, 2001
Snapper's brings a fresh, hip new edge to the St. Pete Beach dining scene.
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ST PETE BEACH -- You've never seen a seafood joint on the Pinellas beaches like this: slick, dark wood tables with pendant lamps in cobalt blue overhead, sweeping lines and burnished aluminum signs.
There's an open grill, and the kitchen crew wears black, not Hawaiian shirts.
As soon as you sit down, waiters bring a stainless steel basket of crisp lavash bread and a fiery hummus. The first thing you see on top of the appetizers is tuna with blueberry sauce.
The beaches haven't seen the like since since Salt Rock Grill opened four years ago, and that's understandable. There is some kinship between this little place and the giant bistro that ate Indian Rocks.
The bigger question is whether Snapper's is too hip for this paunchy, middle-aged beach. Too hip for you?
Naah. Not after you've tasted something flash fried from the kitchen. They have a technique -- and a batter -- that fries oysters into a lightness of being it seems cruel to eat. And if you wish, there are early bird specials and captain's platters as well as specials that might include fresh cobia with pineapple salsa.
So far the burnished metal sign out front draws a broad crowd, from early birds to sophisticated locals and those so new they've already spent too much time in the sun.
That mix is appropriate to owners Dan Casey, who first put fruit salsa on grilled fish at Dan's Beachside, and Don Cate, a veteran restaurateur who's served seafood on the beaches from the Hungry Fisherman to Salt Rock.
Snapper's is a little place (it used to be a Pep's and, if you look close enough, a chicken place), but the menu is surprisingly broad.
[Times photo: Bill Serne]
Snapper’s has given the old Pep’s St. Pete Beach location a splashy new makeover, including this stained glass fish.
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Appetizers give you a chance to try that tuna and blueberry; an odd combination but for old nouvelle time's sake, why not? Besides, they're both healthful, and there's only so much wasabi any tuna fan can inhale. Do tell your waiter if you like it rare or sashimi raw. The kitchen presumes customers aren't ready for the real thing.
Try oysters baked with a hefty Spanish touch, chorizo and Manchego cheese. My only complaint was that there are five to an order, which can make sharing ugly. If you are rationing fried pleasures, do it in the first course with onion rings or the clam strips. Yes, clam strips, but forget Howard Johnson, the pie man never made it so good.
Among shellfish, drunken shrimp is close to the "barbecue" shrimp of New Orleans, a dozen fair-sized critters in a wicked bowl of oil, wine and spices, that demands eating with spoon, bread or fingers. Crab cakes are thick, long on crab, short on filler, but on my plate grilled a little too hard.
The only disappointment in shellfish was the scallops. The menu brags on them as hand-harvested by divers, but the kitchen didn't show as much respect and overcooked them. Got to be careful here; even the big guys are fragile. I like mine with crisp sear outside and creamy delicacy inside.
My luck with finfish was better. The restaurant's connections with the docks are good, so be sure to check the specials. If you've become bored with mahi mahi, try it here, where perfect cooking renders its white flesh moist and rich, as good as any sea bass. Try it especially if it comes dolled up with a coconut cashew crust and a pesto butter. A tuna special presented the principal bright and fresh (although a touch past my definition of rare). It was dressed up with a sweet barbecue sauce I could do without and fried oysters and onion rings I can't live without.
I love fruits and sweets, but I like it better when Snapper's explores more savory sauces fired with peppers, mustard, curries and herbs. (They've got a bunch planted out back.) In this case, an Indian ketchup or house-made Worcestershire would have made a tastier tribute to beefsteak.
Most trimmings had simple, modern style, like that lavash you can't put down. Salads, for example, were straightforward Caesars, brightened with tortilla strips in red, yellow and purple. Potatoes were hand mashed, peel-on, exactly the way I make them at home. At one dinner, my waiter talked about Thai green beans, but I didn't see them; vegetables were too scarce. Creme brulee needed more fire to caramelize the sugar, but the pudding below was perfect. The key lime pie was up to local muster.
Snapper's shocked me, however, with an innovation I rarely see on the beach, or anywhere, and certainly not in a restaurant of modest prices: wine-savvy servers. Not once, but twice, servers offered to steer me through the wine list. They asked druthers in body from light to heavy and then showed they knew the difference between pinot grigio and chardonnay, and a simple chard from a big oaky one. If you get one who doesn't, you'll find it easy to navigate the modest list of about 40 wines, most less than $30.
Don't be scared or fooled by the new flash at Snapper's. Inside you'll find some old favorites and two things I welcome more, fresh fish and fresh ideas.
RESTAURANT REVIEW
Snapper's Sea Grill
- 5895 Gulf Blvd., St. Pete Beach; (727) 367-3550
- Hours: 4 to 10 p.m. daily Reservations: No
- Credit cards: All majors accepted
- Details: Smoking permitted on patio; beer, wine served; wheelchair access good
- Prices: $6.95 to $24.95
- Special features: Outdoor seating
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