Sea and Sea is great, especially if you want to feed your family or a small group of friends. This…read moreis for all the seafood lovers and pescaterians. Tired of beef steaks, come get your fish steaks. The salmon looks great here. Everything looks great here.
Walk in through the front doors and notice something? No fishy odor, just fresh fish. Let's cover the layout and ground rules. On your left, you have immediately the whole fish. Further back on your left, you have the fillets and steaks. All the usual suspects are here. All the way back on your left, you will find the various sized farm raised shrimp. Around that left corner, moving from left to right you will find the wild caught shrimp.
In the middle at the back, is the register where you will eventually pay. Immediately below and in front of the register are the veggies: broccoli, carrots, corn, onions. To the right of the register in the back are the mussels, scallops, and clams.
On the right as you walk in, there is one of the busiest counters with a guy steaming all your orders in a giant steamer behind the counter. Walk a little further toward the back on the right side is a guy who is busy frying fish and French fries, making fish sandwiches, and frying whatever whiting, catfish or shrimp you desire. Further back on your right toward the back is where you can obtain your crab legs and lobster.
Given this was my first time, I am laying out the ground rules and procedures. Use the tongs everywhere to load your seafood in the steel bowls by the seafood on your left or in the middle of the store on a few tables. You take your bowl or bowls to the guy at the register in the back and pay for your items by weight and their various price rates. Most things are between $10-$20 per pound. Cash is King, but I believe they take Master and Visa, not American Express. Tell the guy how you want your seafood prepared: fried or steamed. He will slice your fillets and chop your corn, placing everything in a plastic basket if you want it steamed together or separately if you're going to fry certain things. He will give you a number for every basket and place the identical number in each basket for tracking.
If you're frying, take that basket to the second station or counter on the right. If you're steaming, take your basket to the first station on your right as you enter. The guy at the steaming counter with liberally add the Old Bay, garlic and other seasonings to your seafood. If want low sodium, this is where you tell him to limit the salt.
This is also in retrospect, when I would emphasize to the steaming guy not to overcook your seafood. Many of my people (African Americans) and from what I observe among the Latino community like everything cooked well: steaks medium well to well done, eggs scrambled hard, veggies cooked to death and seafood cooked well done. So this is the default expectation and the guy will steam to that degree. The cooking and steaming will continue on your way home, so I would in retrospect advise cutting the steam time by at least five minutes. Your shrimp will suffer the most from over steaming and this would likely apply to your lobster as well. Keep this is mind and let the guy at the steamer know you wish to limit the steam time. My overcooked shrimp is reflected in this rating, but there is more upside when I return.
When the steaming is done or overdone, he will announce your number and bag your seafood. You can and should ask him to add laddles of melted butter to your bag of seafood. Tell him how many laddles of butter you want added to your bag(s). He will add more seasoning at this point as well if you ask him. He will twist the bag(s) closed and place them in a plastic container with rubber bands for the trip home.
It's all so very delicious and I will return. Two fillets of catfish, two fillets of cod, about a dozen Tiger shrimp and at least a dozen large scallops with the veggies came to $71. I find this quite reasonable and it tastes so good. If you want your shrimp deveined, they have the ones with the shells taken off and deveined.
Go home, crack a beer and devour!
3.8 stars!
