Fisherman’s Wife

Fresh From The Gulf

“Yay We Have Oysters!” says an early-September chalkboard sign at The Fisherman’s Wife in the sleepy village of Carrabelle. Pam Lycett, who really is a fisherman’s wife (hubby was out on his shrimp boat when we stopped in), runs a gracious little cafe with pastel-colored walls, slow-spinning overhead fans, and a sound-dampening rug on the floor. Her specialty: Gulf Coast seafood.

Contemplating Seafood

There is no throbbing music or raucous conversation in this peaceful place. It fills the bill for contemplating seafood presented the way locals like it: simple, direct, and utterly fresh. For dinner, choose from among grouper, snapper, catfish, or cod, plus shrimp, oysters, and scallops. (Fish frowners can get chicken or steak.) Crab cakes are only slightly devilish, peppered enough to halo the sweet, moist meat. Large hushpuppies come alongside any entree, along with a choice of such Dixie sides as cheese grits or fried okra. Or go All-American with mashed potatoes and gravy or French fries.

On a lesser scale than full-bore dinner, the menu offers seafood baskets, burgers, and a fisherman’s salad topped with shrimp, scallops and fish.

Oh, That Oyster Po Boy!

Among sandwiches, the oyster po boy commands attention, arriving splayed open on the plate. I dare you to try to pick it up like a sandwich. It overflows its bun. Oh, what fun I have gleefully plucking at it, oyster by oyster. For a taste of the Gulf coast, few mouthfuls can beat the warm oyster’s luxury of sweet, briny meat and zesty crust. Punctuate melty-crunchy oyster ecstasy by forking up the sandwich’s lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayo, along with pinches of good bread.

The Right Dessert

“Miss Pam just brought in a Key lime pie today,” the waitress advises. “It’s the only one we have. No Derby and no buttermilk pie.” That’s fine because the Key lime marries that perfect triumvirate of sweet, cream, and citrus twang: the exactly-right taste after a meal of Gulf Coast seafood. It’s a modest wedge, pale yellow with a thin crust and no adornment whatsoever. The classic cannot be improved.