Page 43 - South Mississippi Living - June, 2016

delivered to guests, and empty plates are whisked back to the wash room.
I got a close look at more than two dozen of Phoenicia’s appetizers and entrées, and each one impressed more than the last. The coconut shrimp is a great way to start. It’s an old school dish, but this kitchen nailed it: crispy fried shrimp — just the golden brown you look for — and the wonderful, sweet bang the coconut provides. The eggplant tower was also impressive. Fried eggplant topped with a delicious artichoke cream sauce, lump crab, crawfish, and freshly grated parmesan cheese. The cream sauce is not complicated, but it’s easy to make a mess of it. This one was just right.
For entrees, the prime beef that Phoenicia serves made a big impression. First it is prime. Too many places claiming to be fine dining serve choice beef, and that just doesn’t get it. Of particular note was a grilled filet of beef, perfectly cooked, sitting on a bed of pasta in a light cream sauce, topped with crab, and wilted greens.
Perhaps the most impressive dish was a filet of trout, formed into a cone, then deep fried and filled with shrimp, crawfish, and scallop sherry cream sauce. As if that were not enough, it was plated on a bed of garlic roasted mashed potatoes, topped with jumbo lump crab. This was nothing short of over the top!
Phoenicia’s menu is too extensive to explore in just one sitting. It’s a place you will want to come back to time and time again. Phoenicia is also open for breakfast; just make sure you try their famous Lebanese coffee.
ABOVE: GRILLED let of beef, lump crab and shrimp. BELOW: GRILLED CHICKEN with tomato sauce and crab meat. BELOW BOTTOM: TUNA Carpaccio.
FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net
June 2016 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 43