DINING THE EASTERN SEABOARD

Discovering some of the best eateries along the East Coast

- CAPT. JEN COPELAND with CAPT. JON ZBYROWSKI

I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I NEVER WAS A LONG-BOAT-RIDE KINDA GAL. WHENEVER TASKED WITH A NORTH-SOUTH DELIVERY IN THE FALL, OR A SOUTH-NORTH DELIVERY IN THE SPRINGTIME, PLANNING THE STOPS AROUND OUR FAVORITE PLACES TO EAT WAS A MUST. EVEN THE MOST OUT-OF-THE-WAY PLACES ALONG THE INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY CAN SOMETIMES HAVE YOU SURREPTITIOUSLY HOPING FOR BAD WEATHER, JUST FOR AN EXCUSE TO VISIT THAT TINY HIDEAWAY THAT YOU ENJOYED SO MUCH ONCE BEFORE. SO, SIT BACK AND RELAX AS WE FILL YOU IN ON SOME OF THE BEST PLACES TO DINE ON THE ATLANTIC SEABOARD.

BLACKFLY THE RESTAURANT
St. Augustine, Florida

With an extensive wine room that's 1,000 bottles strong, Blackfly puts it front and center. And while it might be the focal point of the dining room, Blackfly's original concept was to take the best recipes from all the various fishing lodges in the Caribbean and Bahamas, and use them as a baseline. All foodstuffs are fresh and locally sourced to present the best that Florida's Historical Coast has to offer. Starters such as shrimp tossed in a spicy chili-lime sauce sits on an opaque miso-butter emulsion; a pan-seared lemon-pepper dusted triggerfish entree is served alongside black beans and jasmine rice; and a vegetarian option where assorted mushroom varieties, truffle, spinach and Asiago cheese enveloped in a delicate puff pastry-leaves no taste bud behind.

The delivery captains we spoke to have never had a bad meal here, and to help stretch out your compressed body after a day of traveling on the water, Blackfly is a half-mile walk from the Conch House Marina and worth every step.

COASTAL KITCHEN
St. Simons Island, Georgia