November 1st, 2010
Singleton’s Seafood Shack, Mayport, Florida, Shrimping, First Coast
The last time I was in Florida, a couple of months ago, all I saw at restaurants was Mayport shrimp. I wanted to know a little more about it. Then I met Tina who is from Atlantic Beach and her mother was the first woman in Florida to have shrimp boats.
Well, Mayport is a historic coastal village, settled in 1562, east of Jacksonville on the St. Johns River and a few miles from Atlantic Beach, where I chose to stay. On that location is where the St. Johns River meets with the Atlantic Ocean, therefore, making getting out to the ocean and to the shrimp a total breeze.
At the time of my visit, the shrimp boats were already at rest in their berths but they are a beautiful sight to see off the coast, from my hotel room, and south along the coast.
There are 4 types of shrimp that inhabit these waters; brown, white, pink and rock shrimp.
The historic Village of Mayport is also the home of the 3rd largest naval facility in the U.S., covering 3,049 acres.
It is also a busy port for cruises. For years there has been plenty of controversy regarding the pollution these ships bring to the waters, therefore, organizations to save Mayport are very active.
Mayport used to have plenty of seafood restaurants to eat. But, now just a few remain. One of them is Singleton’s Seafood Shack located at 4728 Ocean St., tel. 904-246-4442. It has been there since 1969. Besides being able to eat there, you can also buy fresh seafood.
This past year, Guy Fieri from Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, from the Food Network visited the restaurant.
I wanted to check it out and this was actually the first place I ate upon arriving at Atlantic Beach.
From the outside it looks just like a shack. As you enter the restaurant, you will see the fresh seafood displayed, except that on that Monday they did not have much.
You can sit outside but we were not able to do so on that day either, which was too bad since it was a beautiful night with the sunset descending on the port. We ate in a screened in balcony. Casual with wooden tables and benches. We could see the shrimp boats; beautiful.
I wanted the fresh fish and decided on King Clip. I had never heard of it but it can be spelled Kingklip, as well. They call it a strange little devil and it is a cross between an eel and a silverfish. Mostly found in South African waters, Chile and Argentina; meaty cod-like texture. The best way to eat this fish was fried. Their suggestion.
Did I like it? I was not wild about it. I thought it was a bit bland. The hush puppies were amazing, though.
The other fish ordered was the Triggerfish, which is found in shallow, coastal habitats, especially at coral reefs; oval shaped and compressed body.
The choice of cooking was blackened. It also came with black beans and rice and hush puppies.
I had a taste and I thought it was good, but I think we all thought that the restaurant was just okay. We were happy to have gone but, not rushing back to it.
Looking around the other tables, the majority of patrons were eating their food fried. Once in a while is good, actually very good, but I also like to be able to experience the taste of the food.
Note: They had interesting sauces. I could not resist and bought the Colon Cleaner. I have a friend that might get a kick out of it.
Anyway, have a great Monday….chilly out there, don’t you think?
Tags: Atlantic Beach, First Coast, Florida, Jacksonville, Mayport, Restaurant, review, seafood restaurant, Shrimp, Singleton's Seafood Shack
