Red snapper takes the silver medal.
It’s the second-most landed local fish, and probably the second-most lauded, behind — you guessed it — grouper. I didn’t just wing it on this factoid, but rather checked with an expert: my friend Earl “Buck” Lynge, who worked in wholesale seafood sales in the Bay area for three decades.
For this week’s red snapper standoff, we lit out for St. Pete Beach and patronized two restaurants a half-mile apart: MadFish and Snapper’s (how could we not?). Both places serve snapper pulled recently from area Gulf waters.
MADFISH
As if its chrome coating doesn’t give it away, MadFish used to be a diner. But that was a long time ago. At 6:15 Tuesday, we walked up several steps to the entrance. We found out later that the restaurant is built on a raised block so was spared damage from last year’s hurricanes.
Kudos to MadFish for going easy on the nautical design. The interior consisted of a handsome eight-seat bar that faces the door and a line of booths on the opposite side of the narrow dining room. Woods in different hues played well against the black-and-white check floor.
We made ourselves comfortable in a booth and immediately struck an easy rapport with our server Daniel (not Dan or Danny), who was clad head-to-toe in black, including his logo’d ball cap.
We decided to split the Red Snapper ($32.95) and a Wedge Salad ($14.95).
Appearance
Gorgeous. The snapper, with its enticing crust, sat regally atop a bed of risotto and broccolini. It all luxuriated in a pool of French beurre blanc sauce. The salad included the better part of a head of iceberg lettuce cleaved down the middle.
Taste and Texture
Heavenly. The pan-roasted snapper’s delicate crust provided a light chewiness and little bursts of salt that brightened the overall flavor. The flesh inside was flaky but not to the point of falling apart. It had a meatiness to it that we appreciated.
I’m not typically a risotto fan, but this version slayed — the soft rice kernels retained their shape, avoiding the dreaded mushiness. The broccolini, which came in long stalks, provided able accompaniment.
Tying it all together: the velvety sauce — not too thick, and with the slightest hint lemon.
As for the salad: It was fine, but it was a lot. I’m not one to complain about too-large portions, but this was too much. It is, after all, called a wedge salad, not a head salad. I asked Daniel for some extra bacon bits and bleu cheese sauce, and he happily obliged. We took a lot of salad home, even though Bonnie informed me that she had bought two heads of lettuce earlier that day. I think there’s a cute little rabbit that makes its home near ours.
SNAPPER’S
The shiny, brushed-chrome sign makes Snapper’s easy to spot from Gulf Boulevard. When we arrived at 6:15 Wednesday, there was a 15-minute wait for a indoor seating, so we opted for a large table on the covered patio. It was warm, but the breeze and fans made it comfortable.
The traffic noise wasn’t too instrusive. We established a friendly rapport with our server, Kayla, who actually told us fish stories.
We were about to go with the Coconut Curry Snapper ($32.95), a regular menu item, when a special caught our eye: Snapper Sant’Antonio ($34.95), lemon pepper-seasoned in a broth of artichoke, lemon and capers. The entree came with a small house salad, so we ponied up the $4.95 upcharge and got one for each of us.
Kayla brought us a (free) starter of cracker-like flatbread and zesty hummus. Good stuff.
Appearance
No crust, but no problem. The fish draped over a pile of jasmine rice. The yellow of the lemon gleamed in the sun during the photo shoot.
Taste and Texture
The snapper was broiled, which lent it a more even texture, meatier even than the version at MadFish.
In my experience, fish generally goes better with lemon, and that was the case here.
I also discovered that artichoke goes extremely well with fish — at least as pertains to this dish. The healthy chunks added a modicum of crunch and flavor sharpness. The rice, a little stickier than I prefer, nevertheless ate easily in clumpy forkfuls.
Overall, a superb combination of flavors and textures.
The salad was a winner — a simple mix of romaine lettuce and multi-colored crisps generously doused with a creamy, tangy mustard dressing that both of us liked.
And the Winner of the Red Snapper Rumble Is …
Hem.
Haw.
MadFish.
This was a close to a dead heat as I can recall, but the FFF bylaws say no ties. My decision tilted MadFish’s way due to cooking method. I loved the delicate crisp of the pan-seared snapper.
Snapper’s takes salad honors, and gets extra points for the flatbread-crackers and hummus.
There’s another winner this week: Snapper. It’s better than grouper. Buck agrees.
A final note: I chopped up the leftover salad from MadFish and scattered it in a corner of the yard. Do bunnies like bleu cheese dressing?
