Blue Door Fish Flies; 2 Stars for Catch 10

After a commentary about Al Roker drawing more of a crowd than Claude Troisgrois at the SBWFF Bubble Q, Lee Klein says that "While Blue Door Fish offers about the highest caliber of people-watching one can possibly attain in an indoor setting, the cuisine is no afterthought." The seafood centric menu still features two Troisgrois classics--among them, the big ravioli, which Klein calls "sensational." Caramelized octopus, however, was "a disappointment." Of the eight fish dishes, "Some of the most alluring offerings are also the priciest," but "A fillet of red snapper, the other local fish proffered, is a relative steal at $28," and, "tasted great." Also of note: "Any SoBe snootiness that might have existed at this establishment seems long gone." Bottom line: "The renaming and refocusing of Blue Door has been something of a fresh breeze for what was becoming a tired restaurant. The food and service are the best they've been in years. And more to the point, they are much closer to the caliber one expects for the money." [MNT]

Victoria Pesce Elliott also went with the seafood theme this week, checking out Catch 10, "a colorful seafood shack of the sort Miami Beach has long lacked." Props to the "Cuban-born chef" for "lusty seasonings and portions," though not so much to the servers "with limited English skills and seemingly put out by simple requests." On her "What Worked" list: "well seared, skin on snapper fillet," "bready, but tasty biscuit sized crab cakes," and "a satisfying basket of hand cut fries and bread crumb coated cod sticks," among others. What didn't work? "Slightly clunky calamari," and "fairly generic selection of fish." Bottom line: 2 stars. [Miami.com]