Pictured: The Dry Dock Waterfront Grill’s Citrus Grouper is a fresh catch with signature from-scratch cream sauce infused with Florida orange juice. Photo courtesy of The Dry Dock.

Grouper is ubiquitous at waterside restaurants in Southwest Florida, for sure. But when was the last time you had this cut of fish non-blackened, fried or in some type of sandwich? Thought so. That’s how grouper dishes typically roll in the Gulf Coast dining sphere, but The Dry Dock Waterfront Grill has its own version (and it’s somehow even more Florida-esque than the rest).

At the 1989-founded Longboat Key locale, the flaky, fresh Citrus Grouper consists of lightly breaded fish, sautéed and topped with house-made, from-scratch citrus cream sauce. Once just a special, the dish has become so regularly requested that General Manager Wil Stutzman and Executive Chef Hector Torres gave it a permanent menu spot.

The base of the citrus cream sauce started as a new take on The Dry Dock’s classic lemon butter sauce. Pineapple and Florida orange juices are added to the mix, along with some heavy cream, and the sauce is reduced down. The reduction is a labor of love for Torres, who spends his time over the fire, tending to the sauce constantly with deference to the classic cuisine methodology.

The Citrus Grouper pairs sweetly with a crisp glass of 13 Celsius Sauvignon Blanc—a wine from Marlborough, New Zealand, with notes of aromatic citrus, lychee and herbs. Pull up the boat to The Dry Dock, drop anchor and dig in.

Dry Dock Waterfront Grill, 412 Gulf of Mexico Dr., Longboat Key, 941-383-0102. drydockwaterfrontgrill.com.

Pictured: The Dry Dock Waterfront Grill’s Citrus Grouper is a fresh catch with signature from-scratch cream sauce infused with Florida orange juice. Photo courtesy of The Dry Dock.