FORT PIERCE — In an ice-filled miniature rowboat at Chuck’s, glistening red snapper with fresh, clear eyes nestle close together, as if they anticipate the fry pan.
It is our good fortune that one little guy found his final resting place on our plate. Unadulterated with sauces, the simple grilled snapper ($24.99) was the best entrée of the evening, still briny from the sea. From ocean to table — that’s the unspoken motto of Chuck’s Seafood Restaurant in Fort Pierce. That’s why it has been unremittingly popular for 49 years.
Fish has always been the main event here.
Chuck’s has been around for five decades. The walls are lined with photos of proud fishermen and their bounties. Replicas of fish hang on the walls. But if you wait for a window table or one outside on the deck overlooking the Fort Pierce inlet, the view is sublime.
Evening started with an evening special, grouper fingers encrusted with pistachios ($18.99), crunchy to the bite, and tender and flaky within. Two sauces: excellent.
All the sauces sampled were superior, from the oregano-spiced marinara broth in the steamed mussels ($9.99) to the assertively delicious dressings on the ordinary side salads: creamy honey-mustard, real raspberry vinaigrette and peppery Greek. Aged balsamic vinegar spiked the Caprese salad ($6.99), served with kalamata olives.
Bang-bang shrimp ($18.99) featured an overflowing mound of flash-fried and barely breaded jumbo shrimp — butterflied for a lovely presentation. There were so many of these sweet and tender morsels, the waitress kindly bagged half my order to take home so I could sample the desserts.
Indulgently rich, the chocolate silk pie was lightened by an ethereal mousse ($4.99). Dense and creamy, carrot cake cheesecake ($4.99) came in alternating layers.
The party of three left for $135, waving goodbye to the remaining snappers on ice.
Diana Foote dines anonymously at the expense of Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers. Contact her at foodgal@comcast.net.
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