I am just going to come out with it. Dinner in Florida did not live up to the bar that lunch set. It is not that it was bad; not by a long shot. It just was not the spectacular surprise that lunch was and it was a bit of a let down in another way. You see, since we were in Florida I was on a bit of a mission. I really wanted to find a place that was on the ocean. Venice (not that Venice, the other coast) is right on the ocean, so I assumed it would be easy to find such a place. It turned out to be a little harder than I expected though.
My co-worker vaguely remembered a place right next to a marina that had a fantastic grouper dish. This sounded like the place I was looking for. The problem? Like I said, he vaguely remembered it. He had no recollection of the name or where exactly it was. So we scanned Google Maps for a seaside spot. We found a few but not nearly as many as I would have expected. We found one place that was in the ocean, but since we did not have a boat, that one was ruled out. Finally we found a restaurant called Dockside Waterfront Grill. That sounded promising; It was obviously wanting us to know that it was next to some water and some boats. That sounded like the fabled house of the grouper, so we headed in its direction.
It delivered on both promises in its title. It was indeed next to a dock. A marina full of boats that were very much in the ocean. So, this was it; it had to be. The next problem? It was packed. We scoured the lot for some parking, but it was completely full. The few spots we found were marked with signs letting us know that if we did not own a boat we better not leave our car there. We kept looking. There was nothing. And if there were no parking spots, we assumed the wait for a seat would be long. Eventually, we had to admit defeat and find another place.
We were now on the defense; looking for a place nearby, since we were getting real hungry at that point. We were still wanting something that was also somewhere on the ocean and hopefully had some grouper. Fortunately, the local with us had a recommendation. It was a place called Pinchers. Supposedly it had really good crab dishes and presumably that was what it was named for. It was close by, so we went, even though Google Maps made it clear that this place was not on the ocean. That does not mean that Pinchers did not try their darndest to be next to some water though. When we arrived a few moments later, what we found was a big ol’ building that looked very much like it should be on a dock somewhere and not in the middle of a field. Next to it was a small, almost certainly, man made pond. I guess if you cannot find available land on the beach, you make your own dang beach. I liked the gumption, but it just was not what I had been hoping for. Oh well, it was still minutes away from the sea, so hopefully I would at least get to try some fresh seafood.
We made our way inside and it became even more clear that Pinchers wanted to be on a dock looking out over the ocean just as badly as I wanted it to be. The color scheme was all pastels, blues and yellows. It was bright, but laid back and made me want to grab a Twisted Tea and sit out on the deck. The rest of my group, though, was not as keen to stay out in the humid Florida air, so we opted for indoor seating. The walls and ceiling were lined with decor that continued to make the case for this restaurant to be considered a dockside joint, even if there was no dock in sight. There were surfboards on the wall and the light fixtures were converted canoes (or kayaks; I am not sure which is which). There were also messages hand painted all over that encouraged patrons to relax and just enjoy the vibe and you know what? I was ready to comply. We took our seats and soon we were greeted by our server and a trainee, both of whom were super friendly but not overly exuberant. This further complimented the laid back vibe of the honorary dockside restaurant.
For an appetizer we shared a plate of Pinchers’ crab rangoon. These came recommended by the local in our party and they did not disappoint. There were also enough of them for us all to have two, which surprised me. Inside the rangoon was blue crab and it definitely had a fresh taste to it. The sauce that came on top, referred to simply as an “Asian sauce,” was really quite excellent with plenty of tang and a little kick of spice to bolster the flavor of the rangoons. So far, the food was delivering, but it continued to be the place’s ambiance that was making the experience so enjoyable. The servers kept coming back to refill drinks and I kept finding fun little things to look at on the walls and ceilings.
For my entree, I had to go with the crab cake. Crab was (tangentially) the namesake of the restaurant, and crab cakes are my favorite way to order crab. My expectations were set pretty high, as well, because I knew crab cakes this close to the ocean had to be way better than anything I had back in the Midwest thousands of miles from any coast. So, how did these cakes fare? The menu, in several spots, said that the crab here was so fresh, you might get some shell in it. They were right, I did get a little shell. Not a big deal with crab, as it is soft and easily discarded. The flavor, though, definitely had something to it I had not experienced before. It was super light, not heavy at all, like a lot of crab I have had inland (way inland). So, the crab itself delivered. I was, however, a little disappointed with the cake. It was pretty standard in consistency and make up. I was hoping for larger pieces of crab, so that the fresh crab taste could stand out even more. I was also hoping for some twist on the traditional format of the crab cake. Pinchers opted to stick to tradition, though. The result was a good cake that stood on its fresh crab flavor, but did not do enough to really celebrate that flavor nor did it add to it in any meaningful way.
The last thing that I had to have, while in Florida, was some key lime pie. Now, we were not quite down in the keys, but we were close enough that I assumed the pie would be a decent facsimile to the real deal. I am not so sure that it was, though. I really have nothing to compare it to, but the pie at Pinchers was of a cheesecake consistency and had next to no tart to its flavor. This was really disappointing. One day, I hope to get to the keys and try some real key lime pie. As it stood, the pie was a pretty low note to end on.
Overall, Pinchers was a good time with some good food. Still, though, I could not help thinking about that hot dog from lunch. The vibe of the seafood joint that so badly wanted to be a dockside seafood joint was endearing and relaxing. However, I have still not enjoyed a meal on the actual ocean. This was disappointing, especially considering what it took for me to get to the ocean. I had faced my fear and took to the skies to try and enjoy a meal by the sea. A meal that was not to be. The seafood I did find was still fresh and delicious, but it was the hot dog that I found in Venice, Florida that truly made the airplane ride worth it.
Eatin' to Know You, KC 