America Seafood in Arlington

From the Washington Post by Jane Touzalin
Wednesday, January 16, 2008; Page F03

It's hard to tell what Gary Royce is proudest of: his Key West roots, his special salads or his favorite football team. All are in evidence at the small seafood store Royce and his wife, Martha, own and run behind Arlington's Lee Heights Shops.

Fresh fish and shellfish once were the only products at the shop, where the walls are sprinkled with colorful mementos of Royce's Florida home town and a blue-and-silver Dallas Cowboys logo sits on a countertop. But several years ago, Royce began building a repertoire of prepared foods. Now his salads, soups, sandwiches and platters fill an ever-changing menu that, he estimates, accounts for more than a quarter of his sales.

His smoked scallop salad ($15.99 a pound) features pleasantly firm bay scallops, red bell pepper and scallions in a tangy dressing. Royce says the shrimp vinaigrette ($16.99 a pound) is a big seller, but we preferred the shrimp salad: plump Florida gulf shrimp in a dressing spiked with Dijon-style mustard, garlic and Worcestershire sauce ($15.99 a pound). Calamari salad ($13.99 a pound) is good: lots of fresh squid with a bright, vinegary dressing.

Royce says he makes the soups from scratch, beginning with homemade fish stock. The lobster bisque ($6.99 a pint) is a winner: creamy, lobstery and with a peppery bite to cut the richness. Grouper soup ($6.99 a pint) is filled with generous chunks of the fish.

Sandwiches ($7.95 to $11.95) are grilled or deep-fried to order and served on a substantial but not-too-firm sub roll. Our warm salmon sub featured a sizable fillet, nicely seasoned and cooked. An additional $2.99 buys you two sides: cut-to-order french fries and light-on-the-mayonnaise coleslaw.

Just about every type of fish in the store can be cooked for a fish platter ($11.99 to $17.99), which includes the fries and slaw. Portions are large: Our blackened rockfish platter ($15.99) weighed in at over a pound.

There is just one dessert: Martha's Key lime pie, available only as a whole pie ($16). The graham-cracker crust is forgettable, but the filling is the real deal: tart, tangy and a perfect finish to a seafood meal.

The store also sells its foods in quantity for parties -- such as, say, for the Super Bowl. "Dallas versus New England," Royce predicted before last weekend's playoff game. Ah, well. There's always next year.
-- Jane Touzalin

America Seafood, 4550 Lee Hwy., Arlington, 703-522-8080. Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturdays.