Garcias
398 Northwest North
River Drive
Miami, FL 33128
I spent a weekend in Miami this summer with my girlfriend and
her family to celebrate her parents’ birthdays. Her dad had been raving about a
place on the Miami River that we simply had to try. He took us there on
Saturday after his flight got in. The place was Garcias Seafood Grille.
As soon as we walked in I thought we were in for a treat.
The outdoor seating area where we got a table was all wood tables and benches,
and there were beautiful murals on the walls. They also had many of their
specials on a blackboard, a feature that I simply love. After you are seated,
your waiter brings everyone little cups with a smoked fish dip in it and
provides you with saltine crackers to put the spread on. It was very simple,
but extremely delicious.
I decided to order a cup of the grouper chowder because I
had never seen it on a menu before and I absolutely love all things grouper.
It’s hard to get in this area, so when I see it on a menu I tend to gravitate
towards it. I was really disappointed by the chowder though. When I hear
chowder, I think thick, cream based soup with seafood in it. This soup wasn’t
cream based, was not at all thick, and had minimal amounts of fish in it. It
was pretty bland to be honest, and I was really hoping the rest of the meal
didn’t turn out as poorly.
I had the privilege of trying my girlfriend’s fried conch,
and that was absolutely fantastic. Conch is another thing you don’t get much of
outside of tropical regions, and I love to indulge in it when I am in those
areas. It was crispy, and the meat was sweet, not unlike that of lobster. The
aioli that it was served with was sweet as well, punctuating the flavor that
much more.
I also got to try my first raw oyster. My girlfriend’s
brother in law made me try it, even though he only had 6 on his plate, and in
fact he made me eat two. It was unlike anything I had ever had. It tasted so
much like the ocean, but not in a bad way. It just tasted so fresh and it was
only enhanced by the horseradish sauce and lemon juice that accompanied it.
My main course was what I was really excited about. I had
ordered blackened mahi mahi with maduros, which are sweet plantains that are
caramelized. The meal was very simple, but every aspect of it was executed to
perfection. The blackening seasoning on the fish wasn’t overpowering, but
simply used to bring out the delicate flavor of the mahi mahi. The fish was
cooked magnificently, and the sweet plantains that accompanied the fish were
outstanding. They were slightly crunchy on the outside, and sweet and fruity on
the inside. Maduros are really one of my favorite things in the entire world.
They are unbelievably delicious.
I was really hoping that the key lime pie we ordered for
dessert was going to be great because we weren’t too far away from Key West,
but I was disappointed on that front. I prefer my key lime pie to be very tart,
and this version was simply very sweet. It lacked that make-your-face-pucker-up
punch that I like my key limes to have, so I was less than impressed with it.
Three pints for Garcias. Solid effort on their part. Delicious fresh fish served up in a variety of ways. Almost a perfect meal. Garcias was a pretty cool experience, and I would definitely
go back again. The scenery alone was pretty amazing, but the food was a little
inconsistent. The blackened fish with maduros was spot on, while the grouper
chowder and key lime pie fell short in flavor and execution. Overall though I
think the good points outweigh the bad, and Garcias is definitely worth a try
if you are ever in the Miami area. Cheers!
