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The Weekly
February 2000 Madfish Grill - Stylish Fish
Specialties by Joan Judd
The Madfish Grill located on Cattlemen Road just
south of Bee Ridge, opened the second weekend of April and has been packed for lunch and dinner ever since.
Maybe that's because the name is appealing along with its classy exterior.
Or perhaps it's because the news that it's owned by the Hillview Grill folks spreads fast in this dining out-conscious community.
Whatever, it's an up-townish type of place and the food is good.
Ask Nancy Adams. She dined here three times the first week it opened, twice with her quilting group. She says the White Chocolate Bread Pudding, served warm and topped with a Kahlua custard sauce, is "the best!" (They ran out of it early on the day of our luncheon).
She also recommends the Bahamian Seafood Chowder (we tried it and it's good) and Andaloo—shrimp, chicken, and andouille sausage served over fettucine in a sauce of Marsala, cream, honey onions and peppers.
And she likes the Guppy (kids) Menu and the service, which is excellent. (Our waitress reported that to familiarize the waitstaff with the menu, they dined on samplings for four hours before Madfish opened.)
The décor here is pleasantly low-key with a Caribbean, South-of-the-border theme. The muted carpet and booth fabrics are enlivened with nice colorful tropical prints and molas and lots of plants. Reggae music adds to the island ambience.
The restaurant can accommodate about 150, mostly in booths. The bar room, which is separated from the small smoking section by French door partitions, has seating for 16.
The menu has some innovative. Chadwick's Pork Loin Chop, for example, is marinated in port wine, ginger and cinnamon and served with peach-mango chutney, while the Chicken Bequia consists of sauteed chicken strips in a Chardonnay and lemon sauce with artichoke hearts, tomatoes, ripe olives, and feta cheese over angel hair pasta.
The Jerk Beef Steak & Mushroom Salad on the luncheon menu is delicious. Served in a 12-inch white porcelain salad bowl, it's a combination of sauteed tender beef tip (marinated in soy sauce and sherry) and mushrooms on a bed of mixed greens with walnuts, dried cranberries, egg slices, and chunks of wonderful tomatoes served with an exceptional balsamic vinaigrette dipping sauce.
The specialty here is fresh fish and seafood, prepared chargrilled or blackened and served with soup, or the house or black bean and rice salad, and potatoes (which change daily) or fresh fruit.
Steaks include a filet mignon and New York Strip. The "Mad Mixed Grill" is jerked chicken, pork, fish, and shrimp on a skewer served with mandarin,
Caribbean BBQ, and Worcestershire sauces.
Luncheon entrees are priced from $5.25 for the Quiche of the Day to $9.75 for the Yellowfin Tuna. Dinner entrees are in the $10 to $18 range and come with soup and a house or Caesar salad and potatoes or rice.
There are several desserts and specialty coffees such as Spanish Coffee, laced with Kahlua, Grand Marnier and brandy and topped with whipped cream. Wine is available by the glass and there are after-dinner cognacs and single malt scotches.
The Madfish Grill is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and until 9 p.m. on Sunday. A Sunday brunch will be served from 10:30 a.m. beginning in May.
This place looks like it's a keeper.
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