By JUANITA CRUZ

LAS OLAS (APRIL/MAY 2005) - If you enjoy quality seafood, modern design and a genuinely earnest wait staff, then Bluepoint Ocean Grill is your place. It's one of the most upscale offerings at Seminole Paradise, the dining-and-shopping annex to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Bluepoint opened New Year's Eve to an expectant throng it couldn't quite contain, despite the long bar, spacious dining room accented with light woods and chrome, outdoor tables in front, and a waterside patio in back.

Even an experienced management team was slightly overcome by the immediate, positive response. It hasn't lacked for customers or disappointed since, in large part thanks to chef Joel Christy, a likeable thirty-something whose South Florida curriculum vitae notes stints at Max's Grille, Café Maxx, Henry's and Louie Louie. He brings experience from every position to bear at Bluepoint, where the mostly aquatic fare ranges from Hazelnut-Crusted Trout to Seafood Angel Hair Pasta in white wine sauce to Fish-and-Chips, kicked simultaneously to the American Southwest and Far East with a chipotle-spiced tempura batter. Mainly, though, the menu items are redolent of the tropics and subtropics, incorporating influences from the Caribbean (Jerk Chicken or Salmon, Calypso Crab Cake) to New Orleans (Fried Shrimp Po'Boy, Blackened Shrimp tossed with Fettuccine Alfredo), with a touch of Pacific Coast Mexico thrown in (Baja Fish Tacos, Spinach-Artichoke-Crab Dip with tortilla chips).

What you can count on, no matter which region you choose to visit, is the dayboat-fresh fish and shellfish. Test Bluepoint immediately by ordering from the raw bar. Oysters on the Half Shell, perched on ice with a ramekin of mignonette, are unimpeachable, silky and tender with an appropriate touch of brine and without the metallic note that so often accompanies lesser-quality oysters. Stone Crabs with a rich mustard sauce are prepared precisely and cracked with care, so they aren't tough, watery or dangerous to fingers. King Crab Legs are especially meaty, and a whole steamed and chilled Maine lobster is a succulent delight with horseradish-flecked cocktail sauce.

Catch-of-the-day is also a good bet, especially if you're in a choosy mood, because you can have it your way: blackened or sautéed with mango salsa, ginger-butter-soy sauce or tartar sauce. All main courses come garnished with a vegetable of the day and a starch, which could be mashed potatoes, sweet potato fries or Calypso rice. Accompany an entree with a cup of highly-flavored Andouille Sausage and Shrimp Gumbo and a wedge of more-sweet-than-tart Key Lime Pie. Main course costs average in the high teens, with raw bar items priced according to market, but portions tend to justify the tag.

And no worries for those who want to put the fishing boat on cruise control - Bluepoint has a pleasing variety of steaks, including Top Sirloin, Bone-in Ribeye and Buttery Filet Mignon, as well as Southern-fried Chicken Breast, Burgers, Boneless Buffalo Wings and even Cuban sandwiches. Bluepoint Ocean Grill is a general crowd-pleaser.

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