Starfish

Starfish Restaurant Review:

René Fernandez, chef and owner of Southtown’s Latin-themed Azuca, has been hiding an ace up his sleeve: not only did he have a languishing historic building in need of a tenant, but he had a C.I.A.-trained son who, with some urging, could be enticed into occupying it. The result is a handsome, recycled space, light on nautical nostalgia, which sits to the right of Azuca’s salsa-saturated bar, completing a kind of Cuban sandwich of family interests. The menu is evolving, as it should, but the base is global seafood, with plates ranging from a take on bouillabaisse (not quite there yet) to five spice-dusted drum, crudo with compressed watermelon, a surprisingly successful vegetable escabeche, a salad of charred romaine, and breads and desserts from son Diego’s wife, Marita (try her Key lime tart). For those not in the mood to go fishin’, there have been alternatives such as duck potpie with rhubarb salsa and chicken ballotine. So far, we find that certain dishes lack the assurance that time will surely deliver, but the attractive menu will bring us back to witness its progress.