Let me start by saying that for two decades, I have been an Ian Greenwood restaurant groupie.

This means that in search of his magic touch with seafood, I have followed Vero’s most talented chef from the original Black Pearl in a building long-since torn down on A1A in South Beach, to his subsequent Black Pearls in Portales de Vero and across from Jaycee Park, to Pearl’s Bistro on Royal Palm Pointe, then to Café Caribe on US1, and now to the French Quarter tucked away off 14th Avenue.

It gets worse. During periods when Ian was kept from serving meals in Vero by non-competes, I even tracked him down to the restaurants he launched in Fort Pierce (Ian’s Tropical Grille) and Indialantic just outside Melbourne (Islands Fish Grill).

While few of these restaurants fared well for long after his departure, during the time Ian was in the kitchen, we never had a piece of fish that was not wonderful. So if you are looking for a highly critical review of Ian’s current home, the French Quarter, you are not going to find it here.

But just as Ian’s cooking techniques with freshly-caught fish have been emulated (but never surpassed) by a number of highly regarded Vero beachside restaurants, the dishes at the French Quarter – in our estimation – owe more to his influence than to Creole tradition.

On a recent visit, we started with a New Orlean’s classic – a half dozen oysters on the half-shell ($8.50). While we no longer feel quite as confident as we did years ago about downing the raw oysters they serve by the bushel along Bourbon Street, the oysters at Ian’s are always perfection.

Salads at the French Quarter come in three basic varieties. My favorite is the spinach salad, prepared with pears and blue cheese. One of my companions, however, always has the classic Caesar salad, which she insists is one of the best anywhere. My husband on our most recent visit opted for Ian’s “special” Caesar salad, which features bacon bits and red peppers. Definitely worth a try.

For main courses, it is impossible to go wrong with any of the encrusted seafood dishes. These all began, long-time fans will remember, with Ian’s now famous onion-crusted grouper in a citrus sauce. Over the years, like a New Orleans jazz musician, Ian has riffed off this, preparing a variety of fresh local fish in a variety of crusts.

On our most recent visit, the French Quarter’s Daily Special menu ($22.50 including the salad) featured Pinenut crusted Yellowtail Snapper in a Crawfish buerre blanc. While we have had this before and loved it, other offerings took precedence on this night.

I once again ordered Ian’s bouillabaisse, a mix of shellfish, jumbo shrimp, mussels and lump crab prepared with saffron roasted vegetables. It is not the classic French bouillabaisse, nor even a classic Louisiana bouillabaisse: It is Ian’s bouillabaisse, and it is wonderful.

My husband had the seared swordfish topped with lump crabmeat. While swordfish can be a hit-or-miss thing in many restaurants, it never is at Ian’s. He gets fresh baby swordfish from a local vendor, and it always comes out cooked perfectly.

The third member of our party on this most recent occasion had a shrimp and crabcake dish with green fried tomatoes. The jumbo shrimp, blackened on a skewer, was extremely tender, and the sautéed crabcake was delicious.

If the dominant influence at the French Quarter was Cajun, one would feel the need to have the warm bananas foster or the New Orleans bread pudding for desert.

But the dominant influence is Ian, and for desert, there really is only one choice – Ian’s warm chocolate gingerbread served with a caramel pecan ice cream. This is so good that it has been some time since we made it to any of the other desert selections.

The French Quarter’s menu offers an ample choice of non-seafood entrees, ranging from a chargrilled Angus ribeye steak to a center cut double Pork Chop with apple pecan stuffing and bourbon sauce. The ones we have had were all good. But once you try Ian’s seafood, you will be hooked.

The French Quarter also on Thursday’s offers a pound-and-a-half steamed Maine Lobster dinner for $26.50. Hard to beat, and you need to call and make your reservation at least a day in advance.

Tucked in a back corner of a strip mall at 1920 14th Avenue, the French Quarter has both a festive bistro-type dining room (usually crowded on Friday and Saturday nights) and a New Orleans-style terrace that is pleasant place to dine on these mild fall evenings.

It is also worth noting that at the French Quarter as at all of Ian’s restaurants, the cost of top-tier dining has always been well below the prices charged by his most highly rated competitors.

Since this restaurant has been around for more than a year, and one can never be sure what Ian may be up to next, our recommendation is to savor the great food at Ian’s Quarter (oops, the French Quarter) while you can.

I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at tina@verobeach32963.com .

The reviewer dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.

Hours: Monday through Saturday, 5 pm to close

Adult Beverages: Full bar 

Address: 1920 14th Ave

Phone: 770-4870

Review first published: Dec. 5, 2008