Is Cocoa Beach a nice place to live? (insurance, homes)

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

Grills in Canaveral or Melbourne? Not a single fried seafood item on the menu, and the menu actually makes fun of fried fish places. Try the fresh caught filefish or the shark kabobs (which sell out often). They will also cook what you bring in fresh from the boat (lots of people visit the restaurant via boat)

The name is "Grills in Canaveral" is that correct?

Yeah, it's such a shame that these coastal cities have so much seafood in their backyard, yet they fry and/or bread everything, which makes it near impossible to tell whether it's fresh or straight from the freezer aisle. Lazy cooking and disrespectful to fresh seafood lol.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

Also, more expensive and more crowded in my experience. You can find quiet parts of Daytona (like ponce inlet) and Mel beach with beautiful sand and water to rival anything down south, without the overcrowding

Name one place where the water rivals South Florida? I used to live in Daytona Beach when I was a child, well Ormond Beach. That's why there are so many shark attacks because the water is murky, sharks naturally don't want to eat humans, but because the water clarity is bad, they bite into a human and then go away when they realize it's not food.

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

The name is "Grills in Canaveral" is that correct?

Yeah, it's such a shame that these coastal cities have so much seafood in their backyard, yet they fry and/or bread everything, which makes it near impossible to tell whether it's fresh or straight from the freezer aisle. Lazy cooking and disrespectful to fresh seafood lol.

Grills. They have two locations. Port Canaveral and Melbourne. I've only been to the Melbourne location, pc is probably closer to cocoa beach though

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

Name one place where the water rivals South Florida? I used to live in Daytona Beach when I was a child, well Ormond Beach. That's why there are so many shark attacks because the water is murky, sharks naturally don't want to eat humans, but because the water clarity is bad, they bite into a human and then go away when they realize it's not food.

Ponce inlet is nice imo

[Nypafl4u]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

What seafood restaurants do you recommend? So far, everything I've tried is the typical fish sandwiches on processed burger buns and fried offerings, which make no difference whether the fish is local wild caught vs frozen farm raised. Any places that serve grilled whole local non-frozen fish?

Florida Seafood off of 520. They only serve fresh, never frozen fish. They do fry if you want it that way, but I always get it broiled or blackened. Their shrimp is also fresh and quite tasty. They have not sold rock shrimp in several years because they refuse to buy it frozen and locally has been hard to get. To me, that says a lot. I have never had a bad meal there.
The funny thing is in the same parking lot is the Sunset Grill, where I feel the food is average at best, but you do get a nice view and draws the tourists in and locals trying to show off the view. There your fried food is the way to go because the fish is not all that tasty.
There are multiple places in the Port that offer fresh off the boat fish including Grills as already mentioned.
For amazing shrimp tacos, go to the Sandbar off the ocean in Cocoa Beach. There you will find the vibe that Cocoa Beach is all about. Fun times in my opinion. Coconuts also all about atmosphere overlooking the beach and a decent menu too.
You want fancy and higher end style, try the Fat Snook currently on A1A in South Cocoa Beach with plans to move to downtown when the space is ready. Many fresh choices here and done in creative, higher end preparations, but also priced like NY.
There are other places for great food, not just seafood, that are not your typical chain style eateries. I think Cocoa Beach has always offered an option to chains, but has a few to cater to the tourists traveling and staying in the Ron Jons area. But there is a lot more if you look around and drive north or south a bit.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

Grills. They have two locations. Port Canaveral and Melbourne. I've only been to the Melbourne location, pc is probably closer to cocoa beach though



Ponce inlet is nice imo

Ponce Inlet is my favorite part of that area. It is nice, but still it doesn't come close to Delray Beach, Highland, Beach, Boca Raton... I really love the beaches in that area. Plenty of super quiet parts with gorgeous blue water. Don't get me wrong, I'm still very thankful for the beaches near/in Central Florida. They beat the hell out of the ones in California and pretty much all of the continental US. I just really wish there was more pride in the aesthetics of these nearby beach cities.

I'll try Grills next time I go down there, which should be pretty soon, thanks!

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by Nypafl4u

Florida Seafood off of 520. They only serve fresh, never frozen fish. They do fry if you want it that way, but I always get it broiled or blackened. Their shrimp is also fresh and quite tasty. They have not sold rock shrimp in several years because they refuse to buy it frozen and locally has been hard to get. To me, that says a lot. I have never had a bad meal there.
The funny thing is in the same parking lot is the Sunset Grill, where I feel the food is average at best, but you do get a nice view and draws the tourists in and locals trying to show off the view. There your fried food is the way to go because the fish is not all that tasty.
There are multiple places in the Port that offer fresh off the boat fish including Grills as already mentioned.
For amazing shrimp tacos, go to the Sandbar off the ocean in Cocoa Beach. There you will find the vibe that Cocoa Beach is all about. Fun times in my opinion. Coconuts also all about atmosphere overlooking the beach and a decent menu too.
You want fancy and higher end style, try the Fat Snook currently on A1A in South Cocoa Beach with plans to move to downtown when the space is ready. Many fresh choices here and done in creative, higher end preparations, but also priced like NY.
There are other places for great food, not just seafood, that are not your typical chain style eateries. I think Cocoa Beach has always offered an option to chains, but has a few to cater to the tourists traveling and staying in the Ron Jons area. But there is a lot more if you look around and drive north or south a bit.

Thank you for your suggestions.

I'm excited to try Grills after looking at the pictures on Yelp. Florida Seafood though seems kind of like the type of restaurant I hate or I feel is a waste for fresh local seafood. At least from the pictures people posted it seems like its either fried parts with thick breading, drowned in butter sauce or smothered in a cream sauce. It also looks like it's just fillets with the skin removed as well, which takes away half the flavor right there. I don't mind a light fry, especially if it still has a lot of the flavor components like skin etc.

https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/flor...ll-cocoa-beach

I will still give it a try, maybe stop at one place upon arrival and the other upon departure lol.

The whole cooked lion fish looks really good from Grills, that's definitely what I'll be trying.

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

Thank you for your suggestions.

I'm excited to try Grills after looking at the pictures on Yelp. Florida Seafood though seems kind of like the type of restaurant I hate or I feel is a waste for fresh local seafood. At least from the pictures people posted it seems like its either fried parts with thick breading, drowned in butter sauce or smothered in a cream sauce. It also looks like it's just fillets with the skin removed as well, which takes away half the flavor right there. I don't mind a light fry, especially if it still has a lot of the flavor components like skin etc.

https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/flor...ll-cocoa-beach

I will still give it a try, maybe stop at one place upon arrival and the other upon departure lol.

The whole cooked lion fish looks really good from Grills, that's definitely what I'll be trying.

Lion fish is awesome. Really a great flavor and texture and it's eco friendly for Florida fishing. They are an invasive non native species so the more that are killed, the better

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

Lion fish is awesome. Really a great flavor and texture and it's eco friendly for Florida fishing. They are an invasive non native species so the more that are killed, the better

I’ve seen them for sale whole at whole foods and it says local caught so that’s great to know. I just never tried cooking them before, that looks like a good one to salt dust in flour and pan fry whole or even maybe putting the whole thing on the grill.

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

I’ve seen them for sale whole at whole foods and it says local caught so that’s great to know. I just never tried cooking them before, that looks like a good one to salt dust in flour and pan fry whole or even maybe putting the whole thing on the grill.

They have to be caught and cleaned carefully because of the poison spikes, but once that is done, the meat is really tasty IMO, but the process of catching them (they have to be speared!) and cleaning them may drive up the cost up a bit, which I don't mind paying for a tasty fish that needs to be eradicated from Florida waters.

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/lionfish.html

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/n...heck/83043444/

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/e...now/101799910/

I've also had the lionfish at Hula moon before in Indian Harbor Beach, just in case Grills doesn't have it:

Hula Moon :: Menu

Call them beforehand to make sure they have it

[Nypafl4u]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

Thank you for your suggestions.


https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/flor...ll-cocoa-beach

I will still give it a try, maybe stop at one place upon arrival and the other upon departure lol.

The whole cooked lion fish looks really good from Grills, that's definitely what I'll be trying.

I see what you mean by those Yelp photos. Not appetizing to me either. Just skip the fried stuff and ask what is suggested that day you go. If you like shrimp, give the sweet whites a try, really tender and tasty.

If time permits, drive south to Satellite beach off of A1A and try amazing sushi and authentic Thai food at Nippon Thai. There Pad SI Ew is amazing (I order it with Duck, not on the menu). Try some sushi (it's all good) and their fried snapper (specialties on back of menu) are tender triangles of lightly breaded snapper lightly fried with two interesting drizzled sauces.