Harry’s Seafood, Bar & Grille

Last Friday’s dinner in St. Augustine was chosen very carefully.  Our party of 6 wandered the streets downtown, but choosing a restaurant was hard with preferences all over the menu and the night so beautiful that walking was a treat.  Being part of a Supper Club, we did not choose dinner lightly.  Enjoying food is very serious business, you know!!

Honestly, I was non-plussed when we first picked Harry’s.  A predictable & too-rich app on a cold night months before didn’t exacly leave me begging for more.  But I knew Harry’s has abundant seating after the dinner rush and their menu covers everything from dinner salads to steaks & seafood to New Orleans style dishes… perfect for our varied palates this late evening.

We shared laughs and beads as we waited at the bar for our table to be cleared.  Harry’s Mardi Gras Beads aren’t nearly as costly as New Orlean’s Mardi Gras Beads {they’re free}… so I came home with 3, one for each of my girls.

The Gifted Cork’s wine & chocolate tasting prepared our palates for dinner- but with no room for appetizers.  A buttered slice of warm bread held me over until our waiter reappeared with dinner.  That was fast!

Michelle enjoyed her Honey Almond Salmon dinner salad ($13.99).  The salmon was well seasoned and the portion perfect for her.  Shawna and I ordered off the Mardi Gras Parade of Flavors menu.  The Redfish Maque Choux ($17.99) did not dissapoint.  Redfish aren’t typically found on menus here- locals can keep 2 per day but redfish aren’t commercially fished in Florida.  And although I’m a strong proponent of buying local… it’s been a while since my hubby’s gone fishing.

I love how the “bite” of the blackening contrasts with the sweet tenderness that sets Redfish apart from other light fish.  Served over corn, limas & okra and a red pepper sauce, each complimentary bite left me wanting another.  Well done, Harry’s.

The 2nd best part about dining with good friends is swapping bites. The Red Beans and Rice with Smoked Sausage ($13.99) are listed as “A Louisiana Favorite” – they were seasoned but not spicy.

My hubby ordered Harry’s Signature Crab Cakes ($17.99).  He was impressed that they were “fluffy” and didn’t have much filler.  His side of choice was Fried Grit Cake, which shocked me because his “Yankee” roots typically prevent him from eating grits any style.  But he reasoned that they were more like polenta {Italian for grits} than Southern-style grits and ate every.last.bite.  Strange, indeed.

Evangeline Pasta ($17.99) was my least favorite dish of the night.  The white wine, sun-dried tomato and roasted red pepper sauce sounded heavenly but I thought it needed a little more flavor- but in all fairness, sampling pasta after blackened redfish is like trying to enjoy a Big Mac after… well, anything.  So if you’re in a pasta mood, give it a try.