Fish Crazy is my "to go " place for delicious
seafood of all types, often paired with Oakes Farms fresh produce! I've eaten there three times in the last few
months, and I'll be there again, for one excellent reason-Executive Chef Hector
Hidalgo. I follow chefs the way baseball fanatics follow players, and few
athletes have batting averages as high has he does. His healthy seafood is so fresh and delicious.
Fish Crazy's has an overall
funky-casual relaxed Key West
ambiance.
It offers "fine dining"
quality seafood with larger portions, and without the high prices or
stuffiness. Its
layout has something for
everyone, with different areas. It has a full bar (a popular meeting spot),
a dining
room with a Caribbean flair, side dining room,
a fish market,
an enclosed wine room that's perfect for a group of six or so, and a
larger chef's table room that opens onto the bustling kitchen.
There's a few
nautical motifs, calming pastel-painted walls, and little bric-a-brac to
distract you from the main attraction-Chef Hector's deliciously prepared
seafood. Well... unless you count the bocce court, however if I didn't tell
you, you'd probably never know about its existence.
I often make a meal by sharing mostly appetizers and just a
few main courses with 4-6 friends at a table. My
ideal dining is to graze, or dine
tapas-style, sampling
variety of dishes
at a sitting.
Start with some of my
favorite apps.
Firecracker shrimp ($9)
offers a touch of heat without fire. Fresh Gulf shrimp are lightly dusted with
rice flour, fried, and tossed with a hint of sriracha in the sauce.
A squeeze
of the cheesecloth covered lemon, and you're set! Some compare this to the bang
bang shrimp dish at Bonefish Grill-this has them beat.
Why rice flour? It makes the dish gluten
free. Chef Hector has already anticipated those with gluten sensitivity, and
has completely replaced wheat flour with rice flour. Outside of the
improvement, you'll not notice. Highly Recommended.
Coconut shrimp ($12) (NOT the full order pictured below) are a delight at Fish Crazy, whereas at
other places they are reheated frozen finger food, with more breading than
meat. Fish Crazy is light on the rice
flour breading, generous with the shredded coconut, and the shrimp are fresh
and of good size. The citrus marmalade dipping sauce is a keeper, with candied
orange peel and a good touch of heat. Recommended!
Smoked fish dip ($9) is a medley of white fish served with
crackers. You may want to buy a pound of this to take home later!
Seafood gumbo ($8/6
bowl/cup) is full of fish and flavor-pretty close to what some would
expect in New Orleans, just not as peppery hot. That's a good thing for
non-Cajun palates. It's a combination of fresh seafood, Andouille sausage,
okra, celery, bell peppers, onions and tomatoes, simmered with Cajun seasoning
and topped with rice and a chunk of
baguette.
More New England style for you? The Florida clam chowder is
just as creamy, with lots of clams, bits of potato and light seasoning. ($7/5
bowl/cup)
Keep your eyes open for other daily specials that pop up, especially
the amazing crab dip with Brie, Montego and Gouda cheeses, or the ambrosia-like
conch and clam chowder.
Ok, time for my favorite main courses.
Miso-glazed sea bass tops the list! this generous portion of tender sea bass with
Napa cabbage and a crisp seaweed slaw ($32) beats my prior favorite- miso Chilean
sea bass at USS Nemo's by a hair, er, fin! You may find yourself I scooping up
every drop of the miso sauce. Highly Recommended.
Shrimp & grits ($15) , Chef Hector's style, features sautéed
Gulf shrimp, hearty chunks of chorizo, mushrooms and scallions, served atop
whipped goat cheese grits. Delicious! These are the authentic grits that take
45" to make, not the "5 minute" watery grits you'll find
elsewhere. Recommended.
New England sea scallops ($28) are a must have, either the
standard way with asparagus and roasted oyster mushrooms in a light Grand
Marnier sauce, or the special-with just sprouted quinoa and baby arugula citrus
dressing and
brown-black olives-I'll
take your olives if you don't want them!
Hector knows how to sear your scallops, with a touch of rice flour to
keep it gluten free.
You can't go wrong with Norwegian Salmon ($25), pan-roasted
with bok choy and shiitake mushrooms
The
salmon arrives tender, with a crisp crust and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.
Recommended.
Hogfish is a local delight that's not commonly seen in
restaurants. Same goes for tripletail, pompano and others from Florida waters. Hector's hogfish also comes
with your choice of fried, sautéed or blackened. Go for it-the blackened style
isn't too spicy!
One special that I hope goes on the regular menu is the
"Caribbean cioppino", with a lobster tail, shrimp large scallops, and
fish with crisp banboo shoots, red pepper strips, and a
wonderful
ginger-laced
coconut cream base, with jasmine rice. The
seafood was properly cooked and oh-so tender. The portion was so large I took
part of it home!
Highly Recommended!
Save room for desserts. There are regulars, like Randy's nationally
renowned Key lime pie, Hector's various rich flans, and special cakes and pies.
Some history for you. Randy Essig
and his business partner Tony created Randy's Fishmarket perhaps a dozen years
ago and ran it
until 2015, when they
started Fish Crazy. They have NO relationship with Randy's Fishmarket anymore-that's now run by a lawyer.
The best cooks followed them to Fish Crazy. Let's just say that outside of the
walls, "Randy's Fishmarket has little of what it used to be. If you
liked Randy's, then Fish Crazy is the only "true" Randy's...Randy Essig just moved its culinary
essence to a better setting.
Chef Hector was the Executive chef at Randy's
until 2 years ago, when he started the popular La Pinata Restaurant. He is now
Executive Chef at Fish Crazy.
Manager James Miller is easy to spot as he makes the rounds; he is your go to
person for compliments, questions or suggestions.
Fish Crazy, 14700 Tamiami Trail North,
Naples, FL (239) 260-1070
http://www.fishcrazyrestaurant.com/
Randy and Chef Hector
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