Chef Gail’s Second Favorite Restaurant

For Cordon Bleu-trained Chef Gail Huesmann of the Black Marlin, picking her favorite restaurant in Port Aransas is nearly impossible. “It depends on the day and how I’m feeling,” she says.

“None of the restaurants on Port Aransas are in competition. We are all a single team making Port Aransas a shining star on the culinary map.”

Nevertheless, when pressed Gail did share a favorite restaurant or two. Here is Gail’s dish on dining in Port A.

For pizza, Gail’s likes Port A Pizzeria which sells wings, subs, calzones, and pasta or Dylan’s Coal Oven Pizza that offers authentic New York style pies.

Beach Street’s Venetian Hot Plate is a cozy spot where she loves the mussels, praises the extensive wine list (especially the Montepulciano), but will happily drink whatever Linda Halioua is pouring.

On a sultry summer day, Gail would choose the BlueWater Cowboy, a three-story restaurant with Gulf views where Chef Christopher Beasley’s appetizers and sushi are always delicious. You can also pop next door to their retail establishment called The Mercantile for a Port A souvenir.

For special occasions she likes Lisabella’s and adores the coastal chic, unpretentious décor, and whatever especiallly imaginative dish Chef Spencer Cox has cooked up for the night.

Gail also enjoys Montego Bay, a place whose modest exterior belies the fabulous food and ambiance inside. With a definite Caribbean vibe, you can get jerk chicken wings and plantain chips, but defying categorization, they also have a fabulous rack of lamb, steak, and seafood.

Tortuga’s Saltwater Grill on North Alister Street is an elevated culinary experience and another Gail favorite, featuring sharable snacks, steaks and seafood with inside and outside porch seating.

Max Axtell’s Roosevelt’s at the historic Tarpon Inn serves up delicious seafood and their upscale ambiance and award-winning menu include a white chocolate bread pudding for dessert that shouldn’t be missed.

Another sweet treat is A La Mode Gelateria Dessert and Snack Bar co-owned by Chef Gail and Chef Vida (also of Palmilla Beach) in Corpus Christi. Their innovative artisanal flavored gelato flavors range from pina colada to peanut butter, and they were named one of the Ten Best Ice Cream Shops in Texas.

Port Aransas is home to impressive and celebrated chefs who revel in preparing fresh Gulf Coast cuisine.

They live and work where the abundance of fresh-caught seafood and the traditions of Texas cooking have merged with lone-star beach style to birth a new movement in top-rated food and ambiance. So even if Gail can’t choose a favorite restaurant, you can eat where she does and pick your own preferred establishments while enjoying all that Port Aransas and Palmilla Beach has to offer.

Bon Appétit!