A restaurant location in Hernando Beach formerly called Swanie’s was in drastic need of renovations after being bought and sold several times. Shrimp boats unloaded their catch at the former restaurant’s dock, which made for an authentic dining experience. Business partners Scott Morano and Marc Delape decided to purchase the restaurant and clean things up. At first Delape thought his partner Scott Morano was a bit crazy, but after weighing out the pros and cons, both decided to give it a go. They spent October 2014 through March of this year renovating, virtually everything in the restaurant is brand new.
The restaurant is now called ZigZag Scallop. The “zigzag” scallop is actually a type of scallop found in the Atlantic from North Carolina to Bermuda. They are also found throughout the Gulf of Mexico.
Mr. Morano is from Long Island where he started out in the restaurant business as a bartender at the age of 18. For the past 10 years, he owned a restaurant on Long Island called Downtown Bar and Grill which he sold to make the trek to Hernando County. Taking on the challenge with Mr. Morano and Mr. Delape is their Head Chef, Bryan Arbeit, who also decided to make the move from New York where he worked for Mr. Morano at Downtown Bar and Grill. Mr. Arbeit is a Culinary School graduate with years of experience. He is just as dedicated to the restaurant as Mr. Morano who typically works 15 hour days.
Mr. Morano is grateful to the community for the support he has received from patrons and other local restaurants. ZigZag Scallop has been opened five weeks and they already have customers coming in from all over the area, some as far as Wesley Chapel. The afternoon I stopped by, the majority of diners either were returning customers or were sent on high recommendations from others. Mr. Morano said they have not really done much advertising, most of his business has been by word of mouth. The word has gotten out demonstrated by a 30 to 40 minute wait on Friday or Saturday evening. They take reservations throughout the week and recommend making a reservation for that time in particular.
Mr. Morano stressed that everything on the menu is prepared using fresh ingredients which are local when available. He typically has Gulf shrimp and locally caught grouper and sea scallops. Everything is prepared at the time of the order, nothing sits under heat lamps or in steamers. This year because of the particularly harsh winter, his supply of Prince Edward Island Mussels has been spotty, but says with the summer months approaching, he should be getting them in regularly once again. They prepare authentic seafood dishes, using New England Cod for his fish and chips.
The menu is not entirely seafood as they have worked hard to provide a well rounded cuisine. Other popular menu items include their burger, cone fries made from fresh potatoes with multiple dips, and the marinated ribeye steak. Many fresh salad options are also available. The items on the menu are all affordably priced for a higher end waterside restaurant.
ZigZag Scallop has a decent sized bar inside as well as indoor and outdoor restaurant style seating. If you are boating in the area, you can pull right up to their dock. They converted the spot where fishing boats unloaded in the past to a recreational beach style area with lawn chairs and outdoor activities. Eight large screen televisions are devoted to sports, two of which are outdoors. A raw bar as well as live music are both in planning stages. Currently, they run happy hour 7 days a week 11:30am to 6pm.
I tried the crispy and tender ZigZag Scallop appetizer in which sea scallops are battered and fried while preserving the tenderness of the scallop. It is served over a grilled pineapple with an excellent creamy lime sauce. The shrimp and corn chowder was a balanced combination of cream and spice with large chunks of celery, corn, bacon, potato and seafood. To finish off, I tried their homemade carrot cake. It was as delicious as it was beautiful with shredded coconut, carrots and walnuts.
Hernando Beach and the rest of the County will surely benefit from the revitalization of this restaurant as it is expertly operated and delivers a high quality product at an affordable price.
ZigZag Scallop is located at 4417 Caliente Street in Hernando Beach. They are open for lunch, dinner and late night. You can find them on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zigzagscallop
