USA TODAY International Edition
Gulf offers one of the world’s rarest shrimp
The Gulf of Mexico is America’s breadbasket for many types of seafood, especially oysters and shrimp, for which it is arguably the world’s premier supplier of the sweet, wild caught white variety. Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, with its 26 miles of continuous broad, sandy beach, casinos, museums, restaurants, fishing and golf courses, is among the top vacation destinations on this body of water. Beach Blvd Steamer, a local seafood- oriented eatery at the Island View Casino Resort in Gulfport, Miss., combines several of the area’s top appeals: one of the finest casino hotels ( complete with golf course), Gulf views and ultra- fresh seafood prepared in regional styles.
The building has wraparound picture windows covering most of its angled exterior, with many “corner” views. There is a small brick patio on one side for al fresco dining, and the restaurant features simple bare wood floors, exposed brick walls and dark wood tables with large ornate chandeliers dangling from high ceilings. The result is a casual but still night- out feel, midway between fine dining and the many seafood beach shack- type places in the area. It has one of the deepest seafood menus on the Gulf Coast, with myriad styles of preparation, and consistently earns very high marks on travel sites like TripAdvisor ( Certificate of Excellence, top 5%). REASON TO VISIT: Royal Red Shrimp, grilled oysters, red fish, house- made desserts
Seafood, mainly local THE FOOD: Gulf seafood, is definitely the attraction here, but for those with other cravings, Southern specialties like slow- smoked baby back ribs, and steaks or chicken grilled over pecan wood also are available. Wood- fired grilling is a signature for the fish as well, and interestingly, the restaurant opened with no fried options on the menu, a big anomaly in the fry- happy region. But customer demand forced them to add some hand- breaded Southern favorites such as fried shrimp, oysters, flounder, red fish and softshell crab, as well as New Orleans- style po’ boy sandwiches ( the Big Easy is just 80 miles away and the region shares many flavors).
“Steamers” are full dinners with your choice of steamed seafood, a cooking method that retains all the fresh-from- thesalt- water flavor in a light, healthy way. Each meal includes warm house- baked bread, a delicious signature chopped salad and a choice of two sides, which range from steamed seafood staples like corn and red skin potatoes to Southern faves such as fried okra, turnip greens with ham hock, and of course, macaroni and cheese.
If there is one must- try dish here, it is Royal Red Shrimp, described on the menu as “the Coast’s Succulent Secret,” and that is no exaggeration. The FDA lists 41 species of shellfish that can be labeled as simply “shrimp,” but only one, pleoticus robustus, can be sold as Royal Red. Living at unusually extreme depths of 1,000- 3,000 feet, it is known as the King of Shrimp, and is arguably the most delicious kind. It is only fished commercially in three spots on Earth, all in the Gulf or off the Florida coast ( though there is a similar shrimp in Argentina). They are unusually red when raw, hence their name, and sweet, salty, rich and silky when cooked — in a way they taste more like lobster than competing shrimp.
“It’s delicate, tender, sweet, more like scallop or crab,” says Ed Layton, the casino’s vice president overseeing Food & Beverage. “I like mine with a drop of butter and lemon juice.”
Royal Red Shrimp are softshelled, fragile and rarely shipped, making the Gulf Coast the best place to try the delicacy. But most places run it as a special, and only a handful, including Beach Blvd Streamer, feature it regularly. Here, it is offered as a steamer dinner, a shrimp sampler dinner ( with Gulf white shrimp and crabmeat- stuffed shrimp), as part of a surf and turf steak dinner, or as a special ( I had them wrapped in bacon). Despite the large portion, the Royal Red steamer dinner is just $ 20, making it one of the best- tasting bargains food lovers will find.
The Royal Reds are reason enough to visit, but other great dishes here include the fresh Gulf oysters, served raw, Rockefeller, Bienville ( with spicy shrimp cream sauce), or my favorite and the most interesting, grilled over pecan wood, topped with garlic and cheese and served sizzling in the shell. Crab cakes also are excellent — loosely packed together chunks of meat, almost no filler. Red fish is the Gulf’s signature fin fish, and is very popular here and in New Orleans, and if you haven’t tried it before, it’s the fish to sample, grilled, Cajun blackened or fried.