Fish Dip

On The Road With Dan I Cook: Walt’s Fish Shak, Madeira Beach, Florida.

I took the summer off from writing BUT I’m back. I did some traveling over the summer and I am going to showcase a few of my favorites. I hope you enjoy.

Owners Walt and Sue, The Talent and wife

About ten years ago I went to Treasure Island Florida (west coast of Florida near St. Pete) on a business trip for one week. I met this cool couple at the VIP Mexican Restaurant/Bar. Their names are Sue and Walt. We strike up a conversation and I find out Walt is from Marathon, FL. One of my good buddies named Dave E. lives in the keys near Marathon so I’m pretty familiar with the whole area. Sue is an RN (like my wife) and I’m really digging these folks. I then find out they own a restaurant in Madeira Beach which is the next town over from Treasure Island. (This keeps getting better and better LOL.) They invite me to stop by and check out their restaurant named, Walt’s Fish Shak. Walt explains his passion for fresh seafood and how the restaurant closes once they run out of fish. He also said that if he doesn’t have any fresh for the day he won’t even open. I’m like damn that’s some passion right there. They leave and I tell them I’ll stop by. When they left the bartender at VIP told me that Walt is a cooking legend in the area and that he makes the best grouper sandwich in town… I’m stoked

The next day I go in for dinner. The food was amazing, but the best part was sitting outside and talking to Walt because the kitchen is an open concept. You can sit there and shoot the breeze with Walt as he made food. I think that was a Tuesday. I went back again on Wednesday and I was falling in love with this restaurant, along with Sue and Walt. I start telling Walt that I had some free time on Thursday afternoon and that I would like to volunteer to do some prep work for his dinner service, for free. At first, he thought I was joking and then he realized that I was serious. He said “ok” and told me to meet him at 1p because they open at 5p. I show up on time and he puts me to work. I assist with making the conch chowder and cleaning up the fry station. I do easy prep stuff. When dinner starts I kinda just watched and stayed out of way just talking to him. I finish around 6p and proceed to order some food, have a beer, and chat with Walt some more. I think I hung around until the place closed, but one thing is for sure we both had a great time! To this day, he has never had a customer work his kitchen and that’s something that I’m proud of.

Fast Forward

As the years went by, I went to Walt’s at least once a year. There was a 4 year block in the 10 years that I didn’t go. During that 4 year hiatus, Walt had an aneurysm. He went into a coma and was paralyzed on the left side of his body. They didn’t think he would survive. Some how, some way, he pulled thru with the help of his wife Sue. He is able to walk now with a cane and some assistance, but his left arm is still basically paralyzed. When I found out I was going back to Treasure Island 2 years ago, I just couldn’t wait to see Walt and Sue. Walt is big on the Polynesian Culture and I had two gifts from New Zealand that I couldn’t wait to give him. One was a boar’s tusk and the other was a lava lava (a sarong for men). A boar’s tusk symbolizes power, strength, and protection. Samoans wear them all the time. Man if you could have seen Walt’s face when I gave him the gifts….I almost cried, man. The dude was so happy! I just wanted to give him a little hope/strength, even if it was just for a few minutes. I know he believes that every time he puts that’s boar’s tusk on. My long story all leads to my recent meal at Walt’s.

Sea Scallop Dinner

Conch Chowder

The Food

Blow your mind fresh seafood! The conch chowder ranks right up there with anything I’ve had in the Bahamas. The same thing can be said about the smoked fish dip…some of the best I’ve ever had. I don’t like a lot of mayo in my dip and their’s hits the mark with more fish, less mayo. I had the hogfish blackened with rice… Just amazing! It was spiced just right and cooked correctly…Moist on the inside and a light char on the outside. My wife had the Sea Scallop Dinner and the crab cakes. I tasted both and enjoyed them. Nice pan fry on the scallops and plenty of crab in each cake. Everything was seasoned right. I didn’t need to add salt or pepper to any of the dishes.

Blacken Hogfish with rice and slaw

Ambiance

Think Key West when you walk thru the doors. It’s a home converted into a restaurant so you get that beach house vibe right away. Very casual and low key. Sue isn’t a big fan of crying babies (who really is) so leave them at home or be polite and take your child outside when they start crying. There is an outside deck that is shaded by a tree. This is where I would chat with Walt while he cooked. Walt said that his cooks really don’t chat with the customers anymore like he did, so he placed some plants up to give them more privacy. No matter, it’s a cool place to chill and have a drink while waiting for your table. There is a small bar and tables set up though out the interior. It maybe holds 50 diners.

Crab cakes

Verdict

Out of all the places I’ve dined, this restaurant is in my top ten to eat at. The owners are outstanding people, the food is consistently good/fresh, and the vibe just breathes “I’m on vacation”. 4 Beers! Remember to tell Walt and Sue that Dan I Cook sent you and Stay Hungry!
Four beers = Outstanding
Three beers = Good
Two beers = OK
One beer = Needs work
Zero beers= Sucks (No beer is never a good thing.)

Front of Walt’s Fish Shak

Walt’s Fish Shak

224 Boardwalk Pl E, Madeira Beach, FL 33708