Keys Strokes

Comments (0) By Jen Karetnick Thursday, Jan 22 1998

On the other hand, a chargrilled veal rib chop practically exuded moisture. Beautifully prepared, the medium-rare chop, a trifle fattier around the edges than the waitress had claimed, was soaked in a slightly too salty veal stock. Stalks of fresh rosemary infused the meat with fragrance, which countered the salt, and the veal was unquestionably of top quality. "Chef's accompaniments" come with both meat and fish entrees -- familiar smashed potatoes, speckled with pepper, and an uninteresting saute of shaved carrots, summer squash, zucchini, and tomatoes -- and were served on side dishes (there was no room on the entree plate).

The dinner menu warns you to save room for the restaurant's dessert specialty -- raisin-bread pudding. We heeded the hint but squandered our tummy space on homemade key lime pie instead. Barracuda's version was more like cheesecake, lightly tangy and smooth, nestled into a buttery graham-cracker crust. Some things down in the Keys are sacred, you know. Key lime pie has always been one of them. And now Barracuda Grill is too.