A burrata salad could follow, or the Tater Soup, made with Yukon
Golds, garlic croutons and crumbled bacon. For entrees, fresh
catches are prepared in the popular “Fulford” style - egg-washed,
sautéed with lemon butter, and nished with garlic parmesan
bread crumbs.
Alternatively, the “Pecan” preparation encrusts the sh with
roasted, crushed pecans and honey butter, and serves it with
roasted sweet potato discs with basil pesto. You can also get
the fresh catch blackened.
Menu staples include the Cajun-spiced Shrimp and Grits with
crumbled bacon and scallions, the Linguini White Clam, made
with little necks from Tampa Bay, and the Lobster Grilled Cheese,
made with a four-ounce tail, Havarti cheese, Texas Toast, Old
Bay butter and lobster au jus for dipping. If you’re really starving?
The Cortez Boil features clams and shrimp poached in the house
seafood broth, with sweet corn, chorizo, red skin potatoes, and
sweet, homemade corn bread on the side.
On a recent day, specials included Cioppino, with clams, shrimp
and grouper in a house red sauce with basil and parmesan,
Whole Fried Hogsh with pineapple salsa, and Potato-Crusted
Snapper with lemon fennel beurre blanc sauce. Non-seafood
dishes include a ground sirloin burger with smoked gouda, slab
bacon and onion marmalade, and a six-ounce let of Florida
grass-fed beef, nished in a brandy demi-glace.
Add sh, shrimp, let or lobster to any dish for an extra 14. Topnotch
craft beers, an extensive, ever-changing wine list, and the
house-made sparkling sangria make up for Blue Marlin’s lack
of a liquor license.
Desserts are decadent and change often, except for one constant
- the popular, house-made Guava Lime Pie. Other options might
include Florida Naval Orange Creme Brûlée, Bourbon Pecan Pie,
Tropical Bread Pudding and Andrea’s Famous Key Lime Coconut
Cake - a creation of Sign of the Mermaid owner and pastry chef
Andrea Spring. Ellis worked as a server at Sign of the Mermaid,
and as a server and then manager at the Beach Bistro, before
opening his own place.
FESTIVAL FEEL
Inside the vivid blue-painted cottage on historic Bridge Street,
Blue Marlin’s interior is intimate. Twelve tables in all, only one of
which can seat a party of up to eight, are set with cloth napkins,
wine glasses and bud vases with roses. But the restaurant’s
“Trap Yard” has a completely different ambience.
This casual outdoor area adjacent to the cottage has deck
seating reserved for restaurant patrons, a street-side bar, a
courtyard with a wooden stage and marquée for the local bands
that play here every Friday and Saturday night, and twinkling
globe lights strung over it all.
Ellis’ goal with the Trap Yard was “to recreate a Sunday dock party
after shing, and cooking and cleaning the daily catch right off the
boat.” When the place is hopping, it has a real festival atmosphere.
The full menu is served on the deck, but customers coming
solely for the Trap Yard can choose from among three “street
food” dishes - bacon burger sliders or sh tacos, for example -
served from a shack next to the stage area. Courtyard seating
for the street food is rst-come, rst-served.
BEFORE YOU GO
Blue Marlin Seafood’s hours are 5pm to 10 pm every day except
Sunday, when it’s open from 5pm to 9pm. Bridge Street parking is
limited, so the restaurant runs a golf cart shuttle to off-site parking.
Reservations are required on Fridays and Saturdays.
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