Three Guys from Miami:Miami Seafood Restaurants

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Glenn Lindgren: Being surrounded by water, you'd think that Florida would have plenty of fresh seafood available.

Jorge Castillo: But getting good seafood can be a hit or miss proposition.

Glenn Lindgren: So when we find a good seafood place, we return time and time again.

Jorge Castillo: One place we've found that is consistently great is a Peruvian restaurant called El Chalán.

Raúl Musibay: You better be hungry when you go to El Chalán because they serve you a huge plate of food for a very reasonable price.

Jorge Castillo: Corvina or sea bass is a house specialty. It's available in combination on several entrees, all of which include squid and octopus.

Glenn Lindgren: I was never a big fan of squid and octopus, but the sauce they use is so delicious, I ate everything!

Jorge Castillo: You can also say, "Hey guys, hold the squid and octopus."

Glenn Lindgren: My favorites include: Corvina al Chalán (Chalán style sea bass), Corvina de Mariscos, (Sea bass with seafood), Camarones al Ajillo (garlic shrimp) and Pescado a lo Macho (Fish Filet Macho Style).

Raúl Musibay: The non-seafood entrees are very good here. Two combinations: Combinado al Chalán and the Seco de Res Combinado give you a good introduction to Peruvian food.

Jorge Castillo: The Bistec a la Chotillana is a thin cut steak smothered in a delicious sauce with onions and tomatoes.

Glenn Lindgren: El Chalán is definitely worth a trip. It's right across from Tropical Park, one of Miami's favorite parks.

Raúl Musibay: Don't be surprised if you see one or all of us there. We love it.

Glenn Lindgren: If you are in South Beach, check out their sister site: Chalan on the Beach. Same menu, same great food.

Glenn Lindgren: You'd think with Miami being so close to the ocean there would be a great seafood restaurant on every corner. For a city this size, you'd expect a lot more seafood restaurants.

Jorge Castillo: Some of the freshest seafood in Miami is about as far as you can get from the ocean.

Raúl Musibay: You'll find very decent fish dishes at small, out-of-the-way places like the Bahamas Fish Market and Restaurant.

Jorge Castillo: There is nothing fancy at this place. However, if you stick to the fresh fish you'll enjoy a good meal at a very reasonable price.

Raúl Musibay: Bahamas Fish Market and Restaurant has three locations in Miami.

Glenn Lindgren: Start your meal out with the smoked fish dip. You get a very generous serving of a tasty dish that is almost addictive. The dip is served with common saltine crackers.

Raúl Musibay: Another good starter is the "dedos de dorado" or dolphin fingers. These are long thick slices of dolphin filet lightly breaded and deep fried.

Glenn Lindgren: They sell several varieties of fish priced by the pound. You can have the fish prepared just the way you like it and you know that you are getting exactly what you pay for.

Jorge Castillo: You can have your fish filleted and either broiled or fried.

Raúl Musibay: They also do the whole fish deep fried as in pargo entero frito, a whole red snapper fried crispy on the outside.

Glenn Lindgren: The shrimp are usually quite good here. You can have them several ways, including in garlic, or enchilado style in either a tomato-based or green sauce.

Jorge Castillo: This is a true fish market with the fish displayed on ice in the back of the restaurant..

Raúl Musibay: You can even buy fish and seafood here to take home and cook yourself..

Jorge Castillo: I personally love the huevas de dorado, or dolphin eggs. Basically it's the entire egg sack and eggs of the fish breaded and deep fried.

Raúl Musibay: The escabeche, pickled kingfish, is also very good. Served cold it also make a great appetizer. In fact, we often go to Bahamas Fish and just order appetizers for dinner!

Glenn Lindgren: The Miami river has always been a funky channel of commerce, more industrial eyesore than urban gem.

Jorge Castillo: However, the river is slowly changing and in many parts, especially near downtown where it empties into Biscayne Bay, it is starting to become a scenic attraction. Where else can you watch huge container barges make their way up and down the river in a never ending parade?

Glenn Lindgren: Here you'll find a combination Cuban seafood restaurant and fish market, Garcia's. The Garcias, Esteban, Esteban Luis and Luis Esteban, run a small fleet of fishing boats that guarantee only the freshest product daily.

Raúl Musibay: We first came here several years ago looking for some fresh shrimp. We saw several people eating fish sandwiches at a table overlooking the river, and how could we resist?

Jorge Castillo: They make the sandwiches with dolphin -- the fish, not the mammal -- and they are light and crisply battered.

Glenn Lindgren: Everybody wants to eat outside here and unless it's very hot, we recommend grabbing a table with a view of the river. Garcia's is mainly a lunch spot, but you could squeeze in an early dinner here.

Jorge Castillo: They have great specials. You can order anything that they've caught that day and have it prepared just about anyway you want it, blackened or breaded are the two most popular options.

Glenn Lindgren: At Garcia's, you'll not only find the usual snapper, grouper, and mahi-mahi but a couple of our favorites, mangrove snapper and corvina.

Raúl Musibay: The mangrove snapper is a fish we usually have to go and catch ourselves -- most restaurants don't serve them. They are delicious lightly breaded and deep-fried.

Jorge Castillo: Many people we know swear by the Caesar salad with freshly caught grouper. The fish is an interesting addition to this tasty salad.

Raúl Musibay: And don't forget great stone crab and lobster in season.