Brackish elevates the ‘fish place’

A friend has described the building that now houses Brackish Seafood Restaurant as “the el moderne looking one” in the Long Beach Harbor. That’s a good description for the structure originally built for the Oyster Reef Club.

It also makes it easy to find at the harbor at the foot of South Cleveland Avenue. Another friend has said it rises from the parking lot like a cross between a spaceship and a Noah’s Ark that might have been frequented by the Rat Pack. I happen to like it.

I went to Brackish on July 7, a week after their soft opening. They are now open for lunch and dinner.

I went early enough for dinner that I wouldn’t have to mess with a reservation.

“Yes, Tammy, table for one,” wasn’t my idea of staying anonymous.

“I know you from somewhere,” my friendly and knowledgeable server, Richard, said as I saw the wheels turning.

“I know you from somewhere, too,” I said coyly, remembering exactly at which now-defunct restaurant he had been my excellent server a few years ago but not letting on. So much for complete anonymity. “I remember your voice.”

Brackish was still using its temporary menus, but what was on the list is very much what is on the permanent menu, which should make an appearance this week.

There are small plates, which can be appetizers or a small meal; soups and salads; signature dishes; and one section called “In the Style Of.” That’s where I settled. Choose your fresh fish, then decide whether your taste buds are in a Southern, Asian or Mediterranean mood. Under each, there are several accompaniment options; choose two of them. Then choose one of the coordinating sauces. You also have options on how you like your fish cooked, depending on which fish you choose.

I went with seared amberjack (local) in the Mediterranean style ($28). My sides were Heirloom Tomato Farro and Truffle Cured Asparagus, with Sauce Romesco. There were 10 side and nine sauce choices under just the Mediterranean style. I’m not a mathematician; let’s just say you could frequent Brackish many, many times before you sampled every possible combination in the three categories.

In case you’re curious, the Southern sides are succotash, dirty rice, seafood jambalaya, lobster mac and cheese, smoked potato salad, corn maque choux, Creole style new potatoes, Southern-style green beans, braised Mississippi greens, smoked corn grits and Southern style black-eyed peas.

Almost as soon as you’re seated and a Mason jar of ice water is put at your place, you’ll get a little plate with a cracker topped with a generous dollop of their House Smoked Tuna Dip, which is also on the small plates menu.

I run hot and cold with smoked tuna dip, but this one, for me, was a hands-down winner. It wasn’t sloppy with mayonnaise or fully immersed in liquid smoke. The menu tells us this one has jalapeno escabeche and burnt lemons to enliven things.

As I waited for my meal, Richard slipped me the final menu’s prototype.

“A little light reading,” he said almost conspiratorially.

Was my cover blown?

Salad Nicoise fans will be thrilled to see the Sous-Vide Tuna Nicoise Salad ($16), with pink peppercorn crusted tuna loin, poached baby potatoes, smoked green beans, Bloody Mary tomatoes, soft boiled farm egg and Kalamata olive and caper puree. In fact, the rest of the salad list — Oyster Kale Caesar Salad ($12), Heirloom Tomato Salad ($14) and Brown Sugar & Bourbon Cured Salmon Salad ($14) — sounded appealing, too.

There are a lot of small plate choices.

Consider the Crispy Seafood Spring Rolls ($12) with Asian vegetable slaw and coconut curry dipping sauce; the Richard-recommended New Orleans Seared Crab Cake ($14) with tasso-corn maque choux, green tomato relish and smoked tomato remoulade; Creole Devils on Horseback ($10), boudin and andouille-stuffed Medjool dates wrapped in Creole smoked bacon with piquillo-tomato sauce (”I’m dying to try those,” Richard said); or Smoked Crawfish Empanada ($12) with hoisin puree, spiced kimchee and sweet chili sauce.

Then there are the signature dishes, but more on that in a bit. My amberjack was perfectly seared, firm and flaky, yet not dry, and a very generous size. The farro, a nutty, almost chewy grain, was well paired with the tomatoes, which had the tangy sweetness of dried tomatoes. The fresh asparagus was nicely grilled and a good accompaniment to the fish.

Richard ran my card through, and I was busted.

“Tammy Smith! Sun Herald! Of course!” he said, tickled that the mystery was solved. “Let me get Joey.”

That would be Joey Homrighausen. He, his wife, Kimmy, and chef David Dickensauge are the owners of Brackish as well as Corks & Cleaver in downtown Gulfport.

The menu’s offerings might be a bit adventurous, but Homrighausen says they are an homage to some Gulf Coast classics. He recalled a restaurant where he and his family were regulars when he was growing up in Slidell, and a young Dickensauge developed an appetite for becoming a chef when longtime Gulfport restaurateur Bill Vrazel let him go into his kitchen.

One of the dishes on the signature list, Homrighausen said, especially blends Dickensauge’s signature with those influences: Mississippi Stuffed Flounder with Local Crab Meat ($30), with brown butter vinaigrette and fried capers and poached French green beans.

“I think that’s truly Chef’s signature dish,” he said.

This story was originally published July 15, 2016 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Brackish elevates the ‘fish place’."