Great Places to Feast on Local Seafood
By Margit Bisztray, Food Critic

Where I live, Miami, I've pretty much stopped buying fish. Why? It happened the last time I went to Whole Foods and took a look at the fish counter. Nothing–––not one thing–––was locally caught. I was 8 blocks from the beach and there wasn't any local seafood? Why should I buy fish from Chile or Hawaii, shrimp from Thailand or clams from New England when plenty of fish were swimming not even a mile from where I stood?

This problem doesn't present itself in any of the Tourist Network markets, all of which (yes, even Atlanta–––Georgia trout is on numerous menus!) are great places to feast on local seafood. Take advantage! This is a luxury, and one I cannot enjoy, even in a coastal city like Miami. When you are in one of our locations, ask around: where is the best place to eat fish caught in the area?

Here are some of my suggestions:
In Key West, the Waterfront Market has always been THE place for fresh fish. It's always beautiful and diverse, and you can get everything (sauces, produce, wine) to complete a simple, gourmet meal.

Now there is also the Eaton Street fish market, owned by a husband and wife team who fish. What I love about it is you can often find unusual kinds there. If they get one or two gag grouper, they'll sell them. You can often find rare, subtly different kinds here and if that's not a local experience, what is?

Out on Stock Island, there's Fishbusterz. This is right on the shrimp docks, as in the only place where shrimp boats still dock in the Key West vicinity. If you want Key West pinks that were landed in Key West (Stock Island has a Key West address), these are it. Besides, they are simply beautiful. Fresh shrimp has a shimmer to it, like granite. These are like that. Fishbusterz also has stone crab claws, piled up like as many jewels, and many kinds of fish. This is at their fish market, but come hungry, because you'll want to park yourself at the Shrimp Shack and order up a shrimp boil or a fish sandwich, then hang around and watch the loads tumble off the ships and into the crab claw sorting machine.

Up on the Emerald Coast, near Apalachicola, most of the retail seafood is found on Highway 98 (Lloyd's Fish Market, Roberts Seafood, Proctor Seafood). Of course, you can also go to Boss Oyster and let them do the shucking for you!

When you're in Panama City, a new fish market that just opened is E Fish (near one of my favorite fish dives, Boondock's). Not only do they sell fresh, local fish (including Gulf shrimp, amberjack, and grouper, as well as Bay flounder), but there are lots of gourmet goodies to go along with it and make yourself a killer meal. Two other suggestions are Buddy's Seafood Market and Cardenas. The smoked fish dip is reason enough to go.

In New Orleans, the Old French Market Seafood Company will reopen (yaaaaay!) at the end of June. You will once again be able to buy all the seafood you could ask for, and they've got everything to box it up and ship it home to you. Another place to do this is Deanies in Bucktown. Enjoy local seafood at all your favorite restaurants, then go home and make some Cajun and Creole for your friends, using all New Orleans seafood.

As for me? Well guess what? Our family's moving back to the Keys. We're even hoping to live on the water, because the only thing fresher than the places I've told you about here is fish caught yourself. Catch you later!

NOTE: Margit Bisztray has been reviewing restaurants and writing about food for ten years. She has published three editions of The Complete Key West Dining Guide, and her work has appeared in such publications as Vogue, Gourmet, Islands and Metropolitan Home. To read more restaurant reviews, log your own personal opinions, rate your favorite restaurants and watch streaming video archives of these shows and other reviews, visit Margit's Top 5.