Daily Loaf

When I think of Key West I think of tin roofs. I think of pink and green pastels dotting white sandy beaches. I see palm trees and blue water. I think of restaurants with white-washed wood paneling and creaky floors. Big fish that once majestically patrolled local waters are now preserved indefinitely on the wall or over the front door. The food will be fresh and hearty and have no hint of pretentiousness. Cornbread and conch mix harmoniously while shrimp and coconut fill taste buds with sweet sea perfection. One corner of the room will have a loud party gathered laughing, eating and imbibing, while in another corner young lovers see no one but each other. Drawing in a deep breath, I smell the ocean. That’s what I think of when I think of Key West.

A little Google mapping tells me that Palm Harbor is 435 miles (or 7 hrs, 43 minutes) from this paradise but I think we can feel a lot closer by dropping by The Thirsty Marlin in Palm Harbor. This local gem serves up hearty seafood portions with a fun South Florida feel. Conch fritters and sesame crusted Ahi tuna are standard seaside fare done very well here. If you are looking for white glove service or a 30 dollar sea bass entrée that provides less calories than it takes to consume it then you are in the wrong place. But if you were hoping to get a piece of grouper that may have been swimming as recently as the same morning, you are home.

My dad just turned 89 and when asked what he wanted for a birthday dinner, he replied either seafood or “pizza and a six-pack”. While there is a definite place in the universe for “pizza and a six-pack”, I will always come down on the side of good seafood. The Thirsty Marlin immediately came to mind.

When we arrived, we arrived hungry. This was a good thing because when we left, we left stuffed. We started with the sesame-crusted ahi and a dozen oysters. The tuna was perfectly prepared and would have been much like any good ahi except the Asian-inspired red sauce on the edge of the plate had a welcome flavor with a good amount of heat. A nice twist, I thought. The sesame crust, which can make or break this dish was well done, flavorful and on the mark.

The oysters were unique. They may have been the largest oysters I’ve ever been offered by the dozen. They were fresh, meaty and briny. There are many opinions on how to eat a raw oyster but I DO like the horseradish and lemon combo. Dad and I polished these off in short order, a testament to their flavor.

Lisa ordered a Thai chicken wrap that I expected to be unimpressive because I find most things with this ambiguous type of title unimpressive. I was wrong. I found the wrap unbelievably flavorful and truly reminiscent of great Asian inspirations. The chicken was perfectly crisp and dressed in a flavorful and light Thai sesame dressing. I ordered bacon-wrapped scallops and while I found them good, they were the least favorite of the dishes presented to us. My mistake was simple. I asked about the freshness of all of the seafood before dinner and our hostess praised the daily arrival of fresh fish; specifically the grouper. Later the owner, Brian, told me the grouper arrives fresh from a local fisherman in Palm Harbor. Still I went with the scallops simply because I was in the mood for them. While there was nothing wrong with them, they were simply bacon-wrapped scallops with a nice blackened seasoning (perhaps a touch oversalted). I could make these at home.

The real standout was my father’s grouper Atlantis. Not on the online menu, this utterly mouthwatering and perfect dish was a flakey, fresh and flavorful creation. Topped with shrimp and a hollandaise sauce that was too perfect to do justice here, this would have satisfied the pickiest of seafood lovers. Delicate ocean flavor topped with a compliment of richness that was not too thick, gooey or over the top as I might have expected. I was smitten to say the least and it prompted me to ask to talk to the chef (which I don’t often do). I needed to pay my compliments directly.

I asked him about something I noticed on the menu that I found unusual. It said the corn on the cob was “deep fried”. Say again? That’s right, deep fried! I had to know. He informed me that they just had an idea to give it a go for practical reasons. Instead of having corn sit in ready to server heated containers leaching their sweet flavor into the surrounding liquid, they thought to drop a fresh ear into hot oil for just a minute. This produces a perfectly cooked and sweet ear of corn that is remarkably not greasy at all. There is no need for butter or salt either. Try for yourself, but I found this ingenious.

I love this place. I mean, I really love this place. It’s a place where good food and good people meet; where you get something amazing at a fare price. How hard is that to find? Now I’m partial because this menu speaks to my core. It’s the menu that I grew up with and adored by those of us with that “Floribbean” heritage. If you are in north Pinellas County and have not been to The Thirsty Marlin, well shame on you but it’s not too late to check it out. I’m sure they will forgive you.

Note: More photos from The Thirsty Marlin can be seen on my own blog here.

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