Sea Hags Bar
and Grill
9555 Blind
Pas Rd, St Pete
Beach, Florida 33706
It was birthday time for Aunt Effie. Cousin Allan wanted to take his Mom and Dad
out to lunch to celebrate. We were lucky enough to be included in the
invitation. Alan chose a place in St
Pete Beach he had heard about from friends. It is the Sea Hags. It is a sandwich,
steak and seafood casual dining waterfront café that evokes the spirit of the
beach shack gathering places of fifty years ago. The rear window and patio open
on the marina overlooking the docks and many pleasure boats. Some of the slips
are reserved for the sail-in boater to tie up and visit the cafe. I suppose
that would be the equivalent of the sport pilot’s $100 hamburger.
The Sea Hags is a fairly new incarnation in a building that
has housed many other cafes. After a refit and some sprucing up, the Sea Hags
opened with a menu that features appetizers, soups and salads, burgers and
sandwiches, buckets of clam strips, shrimp and haddock. In addition to a good
selection of dinner entrees, the Sea Hags also offers quesadillas and pizzas;
pretty much something for everyone.
We all arrived about noon, shortly after opening. The
restaurant wasn’t crowded and seating was immediate in a booth that was
spacious enough to seat the six of us comfortably. The server was quickly there
to take our beverage orders. Alan also ordered some appetizers for us. He
selected a house signature dish, Hag Shrimp ($7.99 lightly fried and drizzled
with a spicy, creamy Hag sauce), and Onion Rings (Homemade Onion Rings $6.99 –
Nothing more to say). The appetizer order arrive in short order and it was dive
in even before I could break out the trusty camera. The onion rings were real
rings of onion, battered and fried, almost tempura. The coating was crispy and
the onion just cooked through. They were attractive, tasty morsels. The Hag
shrimp was very good. Shrimp is a very mild and delicate flavor. One of my pet
peeves is when someone does something to the shrimp that totally eclipses the
flavor of the shrimp; why bother with the shrimp – go with a glob of tofu.
However, the Hag shrimp are very flavorful, the sauce giving a distinctive
little zing while enjoying the flavor of the shrimp. Well done, a good munchable.
Our meals came shortly after. Birthday girl Effie and Gil
both ordered the same thing. I have noted that they often will order the same
thing when we go out to eat. Perhaps there is a bit of ESP at work. They
ordered the Po Boy Special ($8.99 Shrimp, scallops and oysters topped with
shredded lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. Sandwiches are served with a choice of
fries, coleslaw, cup of soup or a small salad). The chose a cup of soup; the
soup of the day was Caribbean chowder. The sandwich was served in a tissue
lined basket; remember this is a beach shack café. The sandwich was filled over
flowing and that made eating with a knife and fork a viable option. It was a big sandwich and a big cup of soup.
To their credit Effie and Gill finished their meals and for that take their word
that the sandwich and the soup were good eats.
Kyla ordered a pizza (Specialty Foot Long Pizzas – Served all
day. Pepperoni and cheese $10.99). When I first noted the pizza on the menu I
guessed from the foot long description that it was perhaps made on a bread
roll. I was therefore surprised when it turned out to be a conventional round, flat
bread pizza. I would have never guessed they had a pizza oven in the back, in
the seafood kitchen. The pizza pretty
much filled the serving plate. It was done well; the crust crispy golden brown,
the cheese just starting to brown. It appeared that there was a good serving of
cheese. There was a ring of slice pepperoni. The crust was browned nicely on
the bottom, a bit between a thin and a thick crust pizza. Kyla said it was very
good and was happy with her choice. Try as she may, however, it was a big
serving and she had to leave a few bites of crust behind.
Alan chose the Fresh Florida Grouper Sandwich. After all,
one of the reasons he picked Sea Hags was because of the seafood. Grouper Sandwich (Market Price. Grilled, fried
or blackened. Sandwiches served with a choice of fries, coleslaw, a cup of soup
or a small salad.) Alan selected the fried grouper and the soup. The soup was thick
with lots of bits of sea food and some vegetables in a tomato broth – sort of Manhattan
seafood chowder. He said it has a nice hearty flavor. The bread was grilled and
came with lettuce, tomato and pickle.
The fish was nicely cooked with a golden brown color. It was much larger
than the bread overhanging all around by a good margin; it certainly was not
your fast food restaurant filet of fish sandwich. He said it was very good, the
fish having a good flavor and it being of more than an adequate serving.
Sitting at opposite ends of the booth and across from one
another, the wife and I independently selected the same thing. We both chose
the Fried Shrimp Bucket ($8.99 Choice of fried clam strips, fried shrimp or
haddock – served all day. All buckets are served with fries and slaw, no
substitutions.) The presentation is really a bucket. A small galvanized bucket
is lying on its side in the serving basket spilling out its contents much like
a cornucopia. As cute as the serving is, eating your meal is easier if you
slide the bucket out from the basket. No need to keep reaching into the
recesses of the bucket to get your fries. It is a large serving of seasoned
fries. I’m not sure of just what they are using but it is reminiscent of the
fries served down the street at Woody’s Waterfront.
They taste just fine, are
slightly crispy and served hot out of the fryer. As good as they are, if I were
to eat them regularly I think I would prefer regular fries instead. There was a
nice side of coleslaw; mostly green cabbage with a few shreds of carrots for
color. It was a pedestrian salad; a nice satisfying side dish, good but not
outstanding. There was a nice serving of shrimp, about a dozen pieces of large
(about 31/40 size) that were nicely breaded and fried a deep golden brown. The breading was crispy but the shrimp inside
was not overcooked nor was it soft and mushy. The breading was mild in flavor
so the flavor of the shrimp was predominating. It was filling meal, quite
sufficient although the shrimp were good enough that I would have easily eaten
some more.
For the most part the service was quite good. The server
made several table visits to check on us
and refill beverage glasses. While we were eating the noon crown filled the
restaurant and the serving staff was in busy motion. It took a moment or two to
catch their attention to get the bill but other than that service was
excellent.
The restaurant does have a cocktail lounge and a selection
of wines is available. Some al fresco patio dining is available and there is an
entertainment schedule. I was quite satisfied with the Sea Hag experience. Although
the experience was enhanced and fondly memorable by family close at hand in celebration,
the Sea Hag experience can stand alone. If I were asked to go to the Sea Hag
again I certainly would say yes. The next time I think I’ll try the Marina
burger – sautéed mushrooms, bacon, cheese and grilled onions.
No comments:
Post a Comment