TopWater Grill, San Leon, TX

Anglers have to backstroke for table space among the bankers, lawyers, secretaries, and other landlubbers who anchor for lsucculent seafood specialties fresh off the boat at the hidden-away eatery between Houston and Galveston.

Don't Miss: About the best treasure you'll find here now is flavorful pecan-crusted snapper topped with lemon butter and fresh Drunken Red-fish cooked in a white cream wine sauce. Start with an order of shrimp, grilled or fried. Sit outside on the deck, and watch as the catch is unloaded from the fleet of shrimpboats. Then you'll see why the TopWater Grill is a secret too good to keep. Les Thomas

TopWater Grill: 815 Avenue O, San Leon, TX 77539; (281) 339-1232 or www.topwatergrill.com. Directions: From I-45, take State 517 east to the blinking red light in San Leon, and go right on Ninth Street to the water.

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