• EAT: At first, it looks like any park concession stand. The counter, the wall menu, the T-shirt-wearing workers. But there's no popcorn and lemonade here.

This is the historic Blue Marlin Fish House Restaurant and Outdoor Experience, a waterside treasure at Oleta River State Park. The business has been around since 1938, when it sold smoked kingfish in a shack amid the mangroves.

At the renovated park pavilion, the star of the menu is still smoked fish -- blue marlin, salmon, mahi mahi -- in platters and sandwiches.

The not-so-secret recipe for the fish: a salt-brine bath, rack drying and a journey into the kiln with wood collected from the park. What comes out hours later: thick, bronze slabs of magic, with shiny skin, delicate flesh and a subtle hardwood flavor.

Then there's the fish dip. The staff makes about 20 pounds of the stuff each morning, mixing chunks of smoked blue marlin with cream cheese, relish and onion. The dip, packed to go in a foam cup, comes with large, round crackers that don't stand a chance of meeting the thick concoction and coming out in one piece.

The smoked fish sandwich -- blue marlin or mahi on a bun or in a wrap, cushioned with lettuce and diced tomatoes -- comes with potato chips and a small cup of house-made coleslaw.

A fish sampler platter -- quarter-pound portions of the aforementioned fish as well as smoked salmon -- is served on a large lettuce leaf. It could use some bread or crackers and some coleslaw. While the salmon and the mahi were moist, the hallmark blue marlin had a tough day.

Hot dogs, burgers and house-made red-pepper hummus are also on the menu.

The view is almost as good as the food. Wait for your order at a waterfront table in the open-air pavilion or wander out to the wooden walkway and watch the kayakers paddle by.

Speaking of kayaking, rentals are available a few feet from the Blue Marlin. Maybe next time, we'll take the takeout out on a boat.

• DRINK: Beer. The Blue Marlin has the basics, plus Yuengling.

• WATCH: Bait Shop, a 2008 flick with Billy Ray Cyrus in which a bait-shop owner tries to save his failing business by entering a fishing tournament.

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