Michelle Christenson/Caller-Times file SEAFOOD VARIETY: Charlotte Plummer’s Seafare Restaurant is one of several area eateries specializing in coastal cuisine. .

Coastal fare turns down the heat

Pecan-crusted snapper, Tex-Mex enchiladas go mild on spices

By Mike Bratten, Caller-Times

   South Texas cuisine is a breed of its own, ranging from simple, hearty fare like chicken-fried steak and barbecued brisket to more spicy and elaborate dishes of the seafood and Mexican varieties.
   In fact, you can't throw a rock in the Coastal Bend without hitting a seafood or Mexican food restaurant. The reasons for that are simple: The Gulf of Mexico is burgeoning with tasty fish, shrimp and oysters, and there is a rich Hispanic culture.
  

Eating Out Coastal Bend flavor    Restaurants are rated weekly in the Friday Weekend section of the Caller-Times. These are the top picks, based a four-star rating system.    Try these seafood and Mexican-food restaurants for a real taste of Coastal Bend flavor:    Seafood    Julie's Backyard Bistro, Aransas Pass    Beulah's at the Tarpon Inn, Port Aransas    Yardarm    Latitude 28"02', Rockport    Water Street Seafood Co.    Jay's Seafood & Spaghetti Works, Port Aransas    The Other Guys, Port Aransas    Crab-N, City by the Sea    King's Inn, Farm-to-Market Road 628, off U.S. Hwy. 77 at Loyola Beach    Trout Street Bar and Grill, Port Aransas    Virginia's on the Bay, Port Aransas    Snoopy's Pier    Pelican's Landing, Port Aransas    Water Street Oyster Bar    Ancient Mariner    Two Georges    Big Fisherman, Rockport/Aransas Pass    The Boiling Pot, Fulton    Mexican Food    Oasis Restaurant, Premont    Kiko's Mexican Food Restaurant    Santiago's    El Jardin, Kingsville    Casa de Roy    San Luis Restaurant

Regionally grown products give South Texas seafood its distinctive flair. Take snapper, for example, a common offshore fish in the Coastal Bend. Mark Carpenter, assistant professor of culinary arts at Del Mar College and a certified executive chef, said snapper South Texas style would be pecan crusted or served with pico de gallo - a mixture of cilantro, onion, tomato, serrano pepper, lime juice and salt and pepper. From pecans to limes, all are grown in South Texas.
   "It's what we add to the food that makes it regional," Carpenter said.
   Spicing up dishes
   Simpler dishes such as fried shrimp and oysters on the half shell also can have a spicy regional trademark, Carpenter said. Dredge shrimp in flour seasoned with cayenne pepper or dress up oysters with bacon bits, tabasco sauce, sauteed onions, serrano peppers and Monterrey Jack cheeseand you've got some great South Texas appetizers.
   Mexican cuisine in the Coastal Bend is more accurately called Tex-Mex because it has been adjusted over time to suit the American palate, said Becky Espinoza, a native of Robstown and a purchasing agent at Del Mar's culinary arts department.
   "It's a result of lots of Hispanic generations being here and trying to incorporate the American with the Mexican food. It's totally different from Mexico."
   For example, Espinoza said, a chalupa in South Texas is a tostado piled with refried beans, lettuce, tomato and American cheese. In Mexico, a chalupa is traditionally topped with beans, queso blanco (white goat cheese) and maybe lettuce or cabbage.
   Not too hot
   And while heat describes the Coastal Bend climate, it doesn't describe most of the population's preference in Mexican food. Enchiladas - found at nearly every local Mexican restaurant - are less spicy here than they are in other parts, said Rosario Carrizo, owner of La Malinche Mexican Food Products.
   "In other places they use a lot of chili powder which gives the enchilada a totally different flavor. Ours is a softer blend of spices."
   For a real taste of home-cooked South Texas Mexican food, Carrizo said the best places to go are mom- and pop-owned restaurants, where one can find popular dishes such as menudo (a soup with pork stomach, hominy and spices) and fideo (vermicelli with meat and spices).
   "Mexican-Americans love fideo. Many of us don't have time to cook at home anymore. It's like our mothers used to make it."