Tucked away in Pelican Plaza at the opposite end to Porky's is a relatively small store bursting with loads of specialty food products, the best selection of fresh fi sh and seafood on Marco Island and plenty of advice. The owners of Paradise Seafood, Scott, Nancy, Bill and Chrissie Young, have designed the store and its range of products to be appealing to anyone who is a lover of quality ingredients, especially fresh seafood. Marco has plenty of restau-rants and some of them specialize in seafood but if you would like to cook at your condo, rental or timeshare a visit to Paradise Seafood is a must.Here's the dish... you choose the fi shHaving a distinguished culinary background, Chef Scott has put together a range of around a dozen prepared seafood dishes that will ensure that even a novice will be able to produce a wonderful fresh fi sh entrée with ease. Although I love to cook all kinds of fi sh any which way possible, I was running short of time and ideas recently so I decided to try Paradise Seafood's mahi and grouper en papillote. Both were really superb and absolutely idiot-proof. With Scott's advice on what was most suitable, I chose my fi sh from the huge variety in the showcase. He then took it back into the large on-site kitchen and in around 5 minutes he had worked his magic, adding seasoning, fresh vegetables and cannellini beans and sealing it all in a parchment bag ready to go in the oven. He gave me explicit instructions and, after just 15 minutes cooking, we had a freshly cooked complete entrée that any of Marco's fi nest restaurants would be proud of.Other prepared dishes that I can personally recommend are the crab cakes - full of crab and light on fi ller - and a delightful cioppino fi sh poaching sauce.If you're comfortable with cooking fi sh...Paradise Seafood have a wide selection of fresh seafood, most of which is delivered daily, and they can source almost any fi sh you want. If you're going to

grill it, broil it, poach it, fry it or saute it there are plenty of choices for marinades, rubs and sauces and the knowledgeable staff will be more than happy to guide you. Don't be afraid to ask.For experienced fi shaholics For the afi shionados reading this, call ahead to make sure they have what you're looking for or order it a couple of days in advance. Whole yellowtail snapper or pompano or seatrout, all caught locally, make for great eating and a wonderful presentation. Because they fi let the fi sh in house, they're always happy to give you some fi sh bones if you like to make your own fi sh stock.Everything you'll need to entertain in styleAlthough fresh seafood is the star of the show, Paradise Seafood also custom-make fabulous party platters and you can also fi nd appetizers, like their wonderful New England "lobsta" dip or smoked salmon spread, or for the slightly more adventurous, Asian style octopus. There's a great selection of good value wines personally selected by Scott and Bill. Not to leave out those who like some meat in their diet, Paradise Seafood also have a great range of top quality prime Angus beef. And, to put the fi nishing touch to your feast, they also have the best key lime pie on the island. It looks and tastes homemade so, with the addition of maybe some whipped cream and slices of lime, no one will ever know you didn't make it yourself! Everything in the store is top quality and extremely fresh with a great selec-tion of items not to be found in local supermarkets, so they're bound to have something to excite even the most jaded of tastebuds.Paradise Seafood is located at 712 Bald Eagle Drive, in Pelican Plaza. Visit their website at www.ParadiseSeafoodMarco.com or call them at 239.394.3686.