On the Menu: Capt. Brien's has a dish for every appetite

by By TIKI TIM, Special to the Islander - November 24, 2005

Capt. Briens Seafood and Raw Bar's new location at 599 south collier Blvd. in the Mission Plaza is a nice addition to the Marco Island restaurant spot light.

I stopped in Monday, Nov. 14th, only to find out it was their first night opened.

I settled in at the last seat at the long, dark, wooden bar.Right next to me was a tempting raw bar, where a guy was busy shucking raw oysters and clams of various kinds.

Cherry stones, middlenecks or littlenecks for your choice of clams. For oyster choices they had Malpeque, Blue Point or AmeriPure. AmeriPure's are pasteurized oysters.

There were fresh stone crab claws ($28.95 a pound), snow crab clusters served cold with drawn butter and lemon ($13.95 a pound), peel and eat shrimp, lump crab cocktail ($12.95) and a lobster martini at ($17.95).

There was also fresh conch for conch salad all on crushed ice like you would see at a gourmet market, and garnished with kale and carved lemons.It just jumped out at you begging to be tasted.

For an appetizer one of the many bartenders talked me into a roasted jalapeno and lobster con queso ($9.95).It was a cheesy concoction with lobster and roasted peppers served hot with red, white and blue tortilla chips ?really yummy!

I looked around the large open dining room ? this place was packed.They also had seating outside in the courtyard under large umbrellas and nicely set tables.

They were all full.

I don't know how long the waiting list was but they were turning the tables over nicely considering it was their first night open. They must have had a trial run or two.

So I glanced over to their open air kitchen at the end of the dining room. They also have another kitchen in the back for all the heavy prep.There was chef Brien Laurent and six or seven other guys behind the line with him grilling, frying,saut»ing and broiling the entire long list of orders that the computer was spitting out at them.

I had a Flash back.

It reminded me of when I was on the line pounding out 500 or 600 dinners in just a few hours.

Personally I'm glad those days are over for me.Captain Brien was expediting and all was going smoothly.It seamed to be controlled chaos.

The dinner menu is extensive; I'll just mention a few things.You get a choice of two sides with an entree. (french fries, mashed potatoes, rice pilaf, Boston baked beans, cole slaw or vegetable de jour)

They have fried whole belly ipswich clams ($18.95), scallops done different ways ($15.95), snapper ($19.95), grouper ($16.95).

If that doesn't do it for you, then try the macadamia nut encrusted mahi mahi with a mango habanero salsa ($18.95).

The choices are endless and most of them are grilled on an open fire or fried.For the land lubbers the have Yankee pot roast ($13.95) chicken fingers, barbecue beef tenderloin tips, herb marinated chicken breast$12.95, a New York Strip steak ($22.95), filet mignon ($26.95) and roast beef dinner for ($11.95). They also have fish sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, burgers, a couple of different wraps, kids stuff and the list goes on with things like different salads, soups and combo platters.

A full selection of liquor, beer and wine are available. And this just covers the dinner menu.Can you believe that they are open for breakfast and lunch also? They have extensive menus for both breakfast and lunch. They also have a comedy show called Off the Hook Comedy, Thursday through Sunday starting at 9.30 p.m.The help won't get much sleep in the coming season with all that's going on at the new Capt. Briens.

They accept Master card, visa and American express.So next time you want breakfast, lunch or dinner check them out. They have something for every one.

And if you want to go fishing he has a Fishing and sightseeing charter business seven days a week. He owns the largest charter fleet on Marco Island called Satisfaction guaranteed.

Tiki Tim, a 1969 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, has been a chef all over the country and has lived in Southwest Florida for 20 years. Tim has a raw bar a Jack's Lookout during season. E-mail him at tikitim3@marcocable.com.