The Current Seafood Counter swims delightfully against the College Park tide

Mike Smith went to Edgewater High School and bought his first house on Princeton Street, so it makes sense that he'd open his first full-fledged restaurant — the Current Seafood Counter — in College Park as well. If the moniker rings familiar, it's because Smith operates a stall by the same name at Henry's Depot in Sanford. In September 2020, I sharknadoed through a blackened mahi-mahi sandwich there, along with some shrimp that Smith butterflied, battered and fried like a champ.

But being a big fish on Edgewater Drive can pose a challenge. For one, there are inherent risks in opening a restaurant in the downtown enclave that isn't Italian-leaning — just ask the owners of Honolulu Harry's, Graffiti Junktion, El Vic's, RusTeak, China, Kingfish Grill and Jade Sushi, all of which recently shuttered. In fact, the Current moved into the Jade space and revamped the interior with all the coastal vibes. And, for now, it appears as though College Parkers are taking to the restaurant.

The menu above the ship-lapped counter is a lot more extensive, as you can imagine, than the one at Henry's Depot, though Smith still sources from Ocean Fresh in Winter Springs. We started with the trio of corpulent shrimp-and-pepper fritters ($9) stuffed with golden niblets of sweet corn and served with a sriracha aioli. I preferred them as a side for the fried grouper sandwich ($16) than I did the smaller hush puppies, fine though the puppies were. Hell, I bypassed the Old Bay fries (they weren't chips) served with the beer-battered haddock ($17) in favor of those peppery, shrimpy little orbs. A sweetish tartar sauce and cole slaw accompanied the half-pound fried haddock fillet, and it made for a solid lunch.

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Photo by Rob Bartlett

Also solid: lobster rolls ($28). Here, they skirt controversy by offering versions to appease both Maine and Connecticut palates. For the former, a quarter-pound of claw meat is tossed in seasoned mayo and served on a toasted roll. The chunks of lobster are sizable, and the sandwich isn't overly laden with mayo. For Nutmeggers, Maine's finest catch comes sauteed in brown butter. If you ask me which version I like more, I'd honestly tell you: both.

And if you ask me about two more shellfish delights I'd order every time, I'd call out the skewer of blackened shrimp ($9) and the plate of middleneck clams ($11) sauteed in a lemon-butter-garlic-white wine sauce. As flawless as the half-dozen or so shrimp were, we couldn't help but dip the little critters into the clams' sauce. Oddly, it seemed as though the grill had imparted some flavor to the clams, though we were told the clams were simply sauteed. Either way, get 'em both, and throw in a side of fried okra while you're at it. The crispy-creamy poppers lend a little Southern verve to this self-described "northeast coast style seafood counter restaurant." So does the Key lime pie ($7) though it's not made in house. But don't let that be a deterrent.

When Lombardi's Seafood, just a couple of miles away, closed the café portion of its business two years ago, it left a hole for folks craving a decent piece of fish and some fritters. Fortunately, the Current fills it, and then some. The big question is whether or not College Parkers will support the venture. I will say this — for neighborhood denizens to willingly overlook the restaurant would be a case of swimming against the current.

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