Oceans 234
2/6/2005 6:28:27 PM by By ROCHELLE KOFF
We're sitting so close to the beach that the salty air tickles our noses. Just a fringe of sprawling sea grapes separates our table from the sand, and if we stop chatting, we can hear surf pounding the shore.
There are few restaurants where you can snuggle up this close to the seashore. At Oceans 234, on a postcard- perfect stretch of Deerfield Beach, you can even let your kids romp on the beach between courses.
When you walk inside, it's hard to believe this soothing, upscale setting - - open a year and a half -- was once home to a Ranch House. Most patrons, though, head for the patio, where ceiling fans spin.
Oceans 234 tries to make its menu as enchanting as the view -- and it comes close. Presentation is lovely and dishes are ambitious, with varying degrees of success.
The panorama here may be priceless, but some prices are steep. We paid $15.95 for a half-order of chilled king crab -- two legs cut in half, easy to eat, but skimpy.
For heartier appetites, a starter of surf and turf quesadilla features four generous slices for $7.95, two filled with chunks of sautéed tenderloin and the others with bites of blackened dolphin. On the side, the usual pico de gallo, chunky guacamole, sour cream and lettuce.
Seafood dominates the entrees, from blackened yellowfin tuna to bourbon-glazed salmon. Afriend who likes linguine and clams found many mollusks, but the wine and garlic butter sauce was too salty.
The macadamia-crusted grouper, however, was pure pleasure, and the melt-in-your-mouth fish held up well under the delicious nut coating. It's handsomely presented atop fried rice mixed with tiny shrimp, butter sauce on the side. The plate is drizzled with a blackberry-brandy glaze, garnished with a few fresh blackberries.
We passed on the crab-stuffed Maine lobster, a tempting $32.95 splurge, but saw many servings whisk by.
For carnivores, a Coca-Cola glaze adds spunk to smoked pork medallions, nestled in a rich tequila-spiked red-eye gravy, but the pork was left on the grill a tad too long. Homey with a twist, the roasted free-range chicken in a balsamic-chicken stock reduction is juicy and tender, served with silky Parmesan risotto and firm asparagus