Chef's

Chef's is located at 553 E. 6th. St Panama , Florida.  

For those of us who are natives, this is the old Jimmy's Drive Inn.  Once a bastion of burgers, fried chicken, and french fries is now the home of the most innovative chef in Bay County.  
Lindsey Nordness has turned a casual lunch into a taste bud adventure.  Her Lemon, Chicken, & Orzo soup is a bowl of love.  It is warm, lemony, rich, and  satisfying.  It recently hit the spot on a rainy afternoon.  The Thai Coconut Curry soup is equally interesting.  Thai chili oil and coconut milk come together for a spicy (not hot) explosion of flavor.  A single thin sliced mushroom floats on top.  The menu has recently changed to herald in spring and summer which is a novel idea for the Panama City food scene.  The new roasted beet salad combines mixed greens, roasted red and yellow beets, dressed with a honey balsamic dressing.  The sweet candied pecans contrast the tart dressing, genius.  No longer on the menu the meatball sandwich was made with chicken meatballs and painted with pesto, served on a warm hoagie bun.  The O.G. burger hearkens back to to the drive in roots of Jimmy's.  One of the top burgers in town.  

Two items on the dinner menu are a must try.  The beer braised short ribs over creamy grits and Lindsey's interpretation of Chicken and Waffles.  The short ribs are braised in Oyster City Brewing "Hooter Brown Tupelo Honey Ale".  This rich, beefy, and unctuous, mixture is served over stone ground grits.  People it don't get any better than this.  The chicken and waffles uses pulled chicken, a sweet potato waffle, served on wilted collard greens, and dressed with Alabama White BBQ sauce.  Hot damn ya'll, yo grandma never cooked like this.

If you haven't tried Chef's, please do.  You will not be disappointed.  If you have please continue to support this restaurant with your patronage.  Bay County deserves this place and this Chef.  http://www.chefsinpanamacity.com/



Chef's gets 5 stars.

Gumbo Class

Recently I taught a gumbo class at Bill and Hannelore Holland's "Somethings Cooking" http://www.somethinscookin.com/ restaurant and gourmet shop.  It felt good to get back in front of a group of people doing what I love to do.   While living in New Orleans, I briefly taught, part time, at The New Orleans School of Cooking  http://www.neworleansschoolofcooking.com/ in the French Quarter.  After moving back to Panama City I longed for the opportunity to get back to cooking and teaching.  Life gets in the way and things change, but recently I went to lunch at Somethings Cooking so I asked Hannelore if she wanted me to teach a gumbo class.  She said "Let me get my calendar".  My sister and the Holland's daughter have been friends since forever.  My sister calls me Bubba, so the Hollands call me Bubba too.  The class covered a Creole File' Gumbo with okra, tomatoes, and no roux.  I also prepared a Cajun chicken and Andouille sausage Gumbo with a dark rich roux.  

I opened the class with my Redneck Pate' better known as Pimento Cheese served on toast point.  I  also served my Heywood's Jalapeno Cornbread with the gumbos. Thanks to my sommelier Bill Holland for choosing two great wines to pair with the meal. The response has been awesome.  We had such a overwhelming response we have scheduled another Gumbo class on Saturday, September 6th at 10:30.  I am doing a class called Classic New Orleans desserts on Thursday, October 16th at 2:30. which will include Bananas Foster, Bread Pudding with two sauces, and Pecan Pralines.  On Saturday, November 15th. at 10:30, to get you ready for the holiday season, I'll be doing a class on brining your turkey, which will include two dressings, a traditional southern, sage sausage, cornbread dressing, and a Cajun shrimp and eggplant dressing.  I will also serve my cranberry/apple/pecan Chutney.  Call Somethings Cookin to make your reservations now.  A special thanks to my sous chef and wife Lori for assisting.

Remember the 4F's of life.  Faith, Family, Friends, and Food.  See ya soon.

Pasta Grill

Last night we joined friends for dinner at The Pasta Grill restaurant on Front Beach Road in Panama City Beach. I have had a desire for some Italian food and it has been a while since I have visited The Pasta Grill. Seven years ago when I moved back, I took my mother and wife to the Pasta Grill. One of my favorite Italian dishes is Shrimp Fradiavilo. Sauteed shrimp in a spicy tomato sauce made from crushed tomatoes and served over linguine.  Our first visit was fine.  The service was good and the food held it's own.  Unfortunately last night was a disaster.

The only good thing last night was they have 16oz. draught beer for $1.00.  Our waiter came to get our drink orders and flew through the specials so fast I couldn't understand him or remember what he said.  We started with two appetizers, the Bruschetta Gorgonzola and the Calamari Puttanesca.  The Bruschetta was toasted with melted Gorgonzola and strips of red peppers on top.  I love blue cheese and Gorgonzola is one of my favorites.  The bruschetta had no taste of the briny, sharp, strong flavor that blue cheese,  particularly Gorgonzola is noted for.  It could have been Provolone as far as the flavor it had.  The Calamari Puttanesca was surprisingly good.  Large rings of Calamari in a light tomato, caper, and olive stew.  I know that Puttanesca normally has anchovy in it but this didn't seem like it had any.  All in all the Calamari were tender which can be a problem when cooking them.

I ordered the Shrimp Fradiavalo and my wife ordered the grilled Grouper with mashed potatoes and asparagus.  Our friends ordered a pizza and a Greek salad.  Our entrees came with our choice of two salads, a Caesar or a house salad.  We both ordered the Caesar salad.  The Caesar salads were fresh but the dressing missed the salty, flavor of anchovy that traditional Caesar dressing has.  It was bland at best.  Our friends large Greek salad looked good and they both enjoyed it. 

The entrees didn't help our expectations either.  The Fradiovolo looked good at presentation, but after my first bite it went down hill.  Mind you I like spicy food.  30 years in New Orleans has taught me to appreciate the sutle spiciness and heat, the use of peppers can bring to a dish.  This was overwhelming.  My forehead was sweating.  The shrimp were small and they had the tails still on them.  This made eating the dish difficult.  I had to remove the tail shells before I could fill my fork with shrimp and pasta.  If the pepper had been toned done and the shell removed, this dish would have been acceptable.  My wife's grilled Grouper had no seasoning and was bland to the taste buds.  The fillet sat on top off mashed potatoes that looked boxed and had the flavor of boxed as well.  On top of the grouper was a sprinkling of something sliced in a small matchstick and was white which added no color to the white fish and white mashed potatoes.  It tasted like turnip roots or parsnips.  Again this added nothing to the dish.  Our friends pizza looking overly cheesy.  Pizza has to have a balance of ingredients and cheese.  After eating at Joe Mamas last weekend, I won't be trying the pizza.

For my money if you want Italian in Panama City, go to Ferruci's. It is much better.  When we arrived the front room was full of patrons, but being the off season, I knew they were Snowbirds and they are like Mikey.  The'll eat anything.

No stars here.

Joe Mamas Pizza

As many of you know I love pizza.  Really good pizza.  Recently the wood fired pizza restaurant in Panama City closed and I have been longing for that unique flavor wood fired gives pizza.  Well I have found the place.  Joe Mamas in downtown Port St. Joe really hits the spot.  Recently my wife and I took the one hour drive to Port St. Joe to try it out.  Saturdays are a hecktic day for me, so I look forward to some down time.  The drive to Port St. Joe gave me time to unwind, listen to some music, and spend time with the wife.  Joe Mamas is located on Ried Ave. which is downtown Port St. Joe.  When we arrived I noticed this place looked great, not the pizza dive some may believe.  This place is modern and upscale in decor.  The staff is friendly and attentive.

The menu offers six craft beers on tap and something called a Beer Flight allows you to choose four beers that are served in 4 oz. glasses so you can sample several at one time.  I chose four from light pale to dark, from citrusy to dark and roasted.  As for pizza we tried two.  The first was a pepperoni, Italian sausage, olive trio, and onion.  They offer onion raw or caramelized.  Nice twist.  The other pizza was an Artichoke, Cappicola ham, freash garlic, and basil.  All in all the pizza was great.  Crispy, thin crust with toasted edges, fresh ingredients, and artfully made with just the right amount of ingredients.  The thing for me with pizza is that every bite should be different.  Back in my college days the more ingrediants the better.  We used to order a kitchen sink, thant's right Da Kithchen Sink, loaded with everything.  I have out grown that desire.  My only complaint of Joe Mamas is the freash basil.  Those leaves were huge and almost covered the entire pizza.  It was hard to eat.  A shifinade of basil would have been better.

I highly recommend Joe Mamas.  I will return and soon.

I give Joe Mamas four stars.

Simply Thai

Tonight I took my cousin Pam and her mom, my Aunt Betty to a new Thai restaurant on the beach.  I have been visiting My Thai in the Cove for some time and have reviewed it here.  I have come to enjoy the fresh flavors Thai food brings to the table.  I do enjoy Chinese cuisine, but sometimes I get stagnet with it. 

Simply Thai is located at 944 Thomas Drive across from the Navy Base gate.  It's in a strip shopping center there.  The location has been home of other restaurants to no avail, so I don't know how long it will be there.  The service was friendly although the food arrived too quickly for me to enjoy the appetiser of chicken Satay's or my bowl of Tom Yum soup.  The chicken Satay's were good.  The peanut dipping sauce was not too salty or too peanutty.  It was spot on.  The Tom Yum was delicious, full of flavor from the chili oil, fish sauce, and Kafir lime leaves.  I did find the occasional tough lemon grass shoot that I had to remove from my mouth.  For dinner I tried the Drunken noodles.  The description said it is made with wide noodles which were like Lasagna noodles rolled up.  It also had vegetables, chicken and shrimp.  This is the first time I have tried this dish and I would recommend it to you.  My wife stuck with the classic Pad Thai noodle dish.  I tried a small sample and it was what I expected of it.  As you know I normally like to test a restaurant three time before a review is written, but with this place being in a location that other have failed, I wanted to let you know so you could try it.  I will not rate Simply Thai until I tray it two more times, and I will.

Dee's Hang Out revisited

If you haven't visited Dee's in a while, he has moved several doors down from his original location.  The new digs are larger but not too large, and the decor is not overstated with the same throw back pictures of old Panama City Beach.  The menu remains the same, a good variety of seafood dishes with a New Orleans theme.  The daily specials on the chalk board are inventive and delicious.  Recently he offered fried Snapper topped with a fried soft shell crab, then topped with an etouffe sauce.  You know I love soft shell crab.  This was truly spectacular.  The wife had the shrimp etouffe.  It satisfied her Creole craving with gusto.  The gumbo remains satisfying and flavorful.  On a recent trip I called ahead to find out if they had any soft shell crabs.  He said he did and when I arrived the chalk board had a soft shell crab sandwich on special.  I was not in a sandwich mood so I asked Dee to fix me some soft shell crab meuniere.  Meuniere is a brown butter sauce with lemon and parsley.  I also had the blackened grouper as well.  As a side I tried the fried cheese grits and the collard greens.  The fried grits were creamy in the middle with a crunchy exterior.  You really have to try this.  I like them better than the hush puppies.  The greens are torn so they can be difficult to eat.  I prefer them to be smaller in size.  The pot liqour is great sopped up with the hush puppies.  My only disappointment with Dee's is the seafood platter.  For the money I expected more.  I guess I've been spoiled by Deanies Bucktown Seafood in New Orleans.  All in all Dee's remains at the top of my list of resaurants in Panama City. 

Old Florida Fish House and Bar

I normally don't review a restaurant until I've tried it at least three times.  This is more for consistency of food and service, which I believe is imperative in the restaurant business.  My personal view is great service will overcome mediocre food, but bad service will not overcome great food.  We eat out because we want to be served and we want something we probably wouldn't cook at home, i.e. a seafood platter.

Friday night I took my wife and some friends to "Old Florida Fish House and Bar" located at 5235 E County Hwy 30A in Santa Rosa Beach.  It sits back from 30A so the only landmark to notify you of it's location is a sign on the road.  The parking is a little hard to find as it sits behind a small business center.  It sits on one of the many lakes you will find on 30A and has a picturesque view of the lake from inside the restaurant.  The decor is upscale but not pretentious.  It is definitely not a shack as the name might imply.  We arrived at about 6:00 and were greeted promptly and seated next to a window that looked out over the lake.  Our  server promptly greeted us, took our drink choices and told us about the nights specials.  The menu is simple but ample with choices depending on what you are in the mood for.  The only thing that baffles me is at the "Old Florida Fish House" there were no oysters on the menu.  Not raw, baked, fried, or in the gumbo.  We do have oysters here in Florida.  Famous Apalachicola oysters.   Go figure.

As always I tried the seafood gumbo, shared a wedge blue cheese salad, and a fried seafood platter of shrimp, scallops, fish, and a soft shell crab.  I asked the waiter if the soft shell was fresh.  He asked what I meant by fresh.  I asked if it had ever been frozen.  He said yes.  I don't understand with all the seafood harvested here in Northwest Florida why blue crabs are not more prevalent in the markets.  In New Orleans you can go to a seafood market and order a hamper of crabs to take home a boil.  The most I have ever seen here is about six.  Soft shells are a seasonal thing so it's hard to find fresh ones anywhere here.  I do love me some soft shell crabs.  If you ever attend the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and you should at least once, try the soft shell crab po-boy.  The seafood was fried perfectly, not over battered, and had a good crust.  It was served with the obligatory french fries.  My wife ordered the crab cakes served over pasta with a lemon caper cream sauce.  The crab cakes were nicely sized with a crusty exterior and  full of crab meat on the inside, not too bready as some crab cakes can be.  The lemon caper cream sauce was a perfect accompaniment to the dish.  The chefs special was a blackened Snapper topped with crab meat.  This is a classically simple dish that can goo bad fast if the seasoning over powers the fish and the crab meat is not lump.  I have seen this dish done with claw meat.  No no.  My friends wife tries the Grouper Fish House. Sauteed grouper with topped with shrimp, crab meat, and a beurre blanc sauce.  Again a classic presentation of a simple dish, but full of texture and flavor.

To cap off the night we moved to the bar.  By this time the restaurant was filling up and the band "The Fish House Band" started to play at 8:00.  The band consisted of a keyboardist, sax player, and a conga drum player, all of which took turns at vocals.  The music was great and a fine way to end our outing.

At this point I will not assign "Old Florida Fish House" any stars until I go back two more times, but at first glance, I will return.  I hope you try this establishment.

Good eating.

Fish out of Water

Last night my wife and I enjoyed our annual anniversary meal at Fish out of Water restaurant at the Water Color resort on 30-A.  We celebrated 32 years Thanksgiving day.  A blind date gone good.  The dinning experience was the best I have enjoyed since moving back to this area from New Orleans, 5 years ago.

We started with a drive along 30-A as the sun set sent orange and blue brush strokes across the skies.  Alys Beach, Rosemary beach, and Seaside, were decorated for the season which made the drive that much more special. 

We arrived and were seated in the wine room just in time to see the last of the sunset vanish from the horizon.  The wine room is a small room off the main dining room surrounded by walls of wine.  The table setting was simple but elegant.  Our server Tim, who was spot on with his service, presented us with a drink menu that listed house specialty drinks, craft beers, bottled beer, and wine by the glass.  I started with a Rob Roy and the wife a Pomegranate Martini.  This gave use time to study the menu in detail.  The only change on the menu was the pasta type for the Bolognese. 

From the raw bar, we shared Wild Hopper Shrimp cocktail and Snapper ceviche.  The ceviche would take several minutes to marinate which gave use time to enjoy the shrimp cocktail.  The large wild hopper shrimp were perfectly cooked and served with the traditional catsup based sauce we love.  The sauce was a perfect balance of sweet and spicy, not over powering the shrimp.  The snapper ceviche was small diced pieces of fresh snapper tossed with red onion and jalapeno julienne, marinated in lime juice.  This was served with super thin, fresh fried, potato chips. I could have stopped there and eaten the chips and drank craft beers for the evening, but I was there to dine.  The chips were awesome.  Next we chose the marinated olives and the sweet brass dairy cheese plate from the snack portion of the menu.  The black and green olives were marinated in olive oil (duh) with herbs.  The cheese plate offered an Asher blue, French Chevre, Thomasville Tomme, and a Brie.  The cheese was served with preserved figs and a quince paste.  I love blue cheese and the Asher answered the call, but the textural and taste difference of the cheeses made this a most enjoyable course.  Next I had the Dragonfly field lettuces salad, comprised of small lightly tossed greens with hazelnuts, thinly slice watermelon beets and speck (a dry cured ham like Prosciutto).  The salad was refreshing and woke up the palate for the main course.  The appetisers were paired with craft beers.  We tried Sessions Lager a pre Prohibition style lager from Oregon, a southern pecan lager, and a stone smoked porter. 


For the main course my wife ordered the Tagliatelle pasta and I had the Florida wild hopper shrimp.  The Tagliatelle wider than fettuccine and was colored with squid ink giving it a black appearance and a fresh ocean scent and taste.  This pasta was combined with blue crab meat, jalapeno, and bread crumbs.  I never thought my wife would eat squid ink pasta. but after 32 years of me telling her to eat outside the box, see did.  The Florida wild hopper shrimp were served on a bed of herbed risotto with hen of the woodsman mushrooms.  All I can say is exquisite.  Again the shrimp were perfectly cooked, the risotto was creamy, and the mushrooms sauteed masterfully.  You must try the plate.  Put it on you must eat bucket list.  The main course was paired with Leaping Frog Savignon Blanc.  Crisp, light, and clean, it went well with the seafood entrees.

We sat back allowing time to reflect on the meal and 32 years of life together when Tim said those dreaded words.  "Would you care for a desert menu"?  Well lets just see what they have.  First to catch my eye was a fresh Florida blueberry creme brulee.  The wife is a sucker for a good creme brulee so I couldn't resist.  Looking further down the menu I saw something that pulled me in.  Bomboli, Italian yeast doughnuts served with two sauces, a chocolate sauce, and hold on to your palate, a maple, bacon caramel.  Now how can you turn that down.  Tell me how you going to turn that down.  Man that was incredible.  Fried yeast dough filled with pastry creme, covered in sugar, and dipped in MAPLE, BACON, CARAMEL, SAUCE.  This has to be on the menu in heaven.

Chef de Cuisine Philip Krajeck has created an inspired menu based local fishermen and farmers to bring the kind of dinning this area sorely needs.  Please try this restaurant.  You will not be disappointed.  Ask for Tim.

I give Fish out of Water 5 stars.

Good eating.

Bonefish Grill

I am usually not one to visit corporate/franchise restaurants, but my exception is Bonefish Grill.  On the many occasions that I have eaten there, I have always had good service, and the food has always been consistant and spot on.  I even went to Bonefish on New Years Eve, the worst night of the year to go out to eat, and it was fine. 

We normally start with the Bang Bang shrimp, a signature Bone fish dish, and the bacon wrapped Scallops with the mango salsa and chutney.  The Bang Bang Shrimp are always sized right for an appetizer and the play on the crispy fried shrimp and the spicy creamy sauce is always been a winner.  I love scallops and the salty crisp bacon playing off the sweet taste of the scallops and salsa has been a favorite of mine for a long time.  It has even gotten the wife to eat scallops, which she normally doesn't eat.  Last night instead of the scallops I tried the coconut crusted shrimp.  This dish has popped up at many restaurants but I still think the texture and flavors are a winner and Bone fish does a great job on this one as well.

Living on the Gulf of Mexico I normally shy away from seafood that doesn't swim in the Gulf, but Bonefish offers a variety of fish that I trust to be the freshest available here.  Talapia, Salmon, Wolf fish, and Rainbow Trout are offered on the menu as well as shrimp and scallops.  I have never tried the steak, but since Bonefish is under the same umbrella as Outback Steak House, I believe it would be good.  Last night my wife tried Lily's chicken a grilled chicken breast topped with spinach and goat cheese.  We both enjoyed this dish.

We ate at the bar last night and was served by the bar tender and a kitchen staff.  If you love fresh seafood, great service, Bone fish is a good choice.

I give Bonefish 4 stars.

Nick's Place

After a long week, last night I wanted to try some place different.  I have driven past Nick's Place near Freeport, Florida several times and have always wanted to try it.  Last night I did.  It's 50 mile drive down Hwy. 20 from my mothers house on the beach.  We took Hwy. 79 north to Ebro and the headed west down picturesque Hwy 20 through wooded canopies and rural scenery.  Nicks Place is located outside Freeport and the back Chattahoochee Bay.  It is an old fish camp purchased in 1954 and is now a restaurant.  If you like dives, and I do,  this is one for you.  The place is old with memorabilia, deer heads, and autographed photos everywhere.  The view is great.  You can see the high rise condos of Destin and Fort Walton to the south across the bay. 

We were told to sit wherever we wanted and choose a table by the big window for the view.  The menu is simple, fried and grilled seafood.  The waitress told us the fish of the day was Tilefish and that they didn't have oysters.  I asked about the oysters and she said they don't serve oysters until the water get at or below 72 degrees.  Well somebody finally gets it.  The whole month with an "R" really has some truth about the quality of taste of oysters during those months.  We ordered some steamed crab claws for an appetizer and a pitcher of Amber Bock.  The crab claws were seasoned with Old Bay seasoning, but some had no seasoning on the at all.  For dinner I ordered soft shell crab, the wife fried shrimp, and my mom fried scallops which we were told they were local bay scallops.  The soft shell crabs were fried correctly, but had been cleaned of the top shell and cut into two sides.  I guess I better stick with New Orleans for soft shells where they really now how to handle them.  The wife's shrimp were butterflied, large, and crispy, as they should be.  I have often been disappointed in local fired seafood because the crust doesn't adhere to the seafood as it should.  Mom's scallops were another story.  As often is the case the crust fell off the scallops when speared with a fork, and they had no flavor.  Scallops should be sweet and salty.  These were bland.  The sides are the proverbial Cole slaw, French fries, sweet potato fries, new potatoes, and hush puppies.  Those hush puppies were cold and hard as a rock, not the warm, light and fluffy, balls of joy, I really like.

Over all Nicks Place was OK, nothing to make me take that journey again unless I want a dinner get a way.

I give Nicks 2 out of 5 stars.

Besh Steakhouse New Orleans

I just got back from New Orleans and my taste buds have been renewed.  My soul has been lifted.  My stomach has been filled.  Thursday night my son Joshua graduated from a local Community College.  I am soooo proud of him.  Thursday night we went to Deanie's Bucktown seafood and tore into a large seafood platter and some onion rings.  This seafood platter contains two soft shell crabs, two crawfish balls, and enough shrimp, oysters, and fish, to feed 5 with leftovers, all fried to perfection.  As good as it was Friday night was a true dinning experience.  We went to Besh Steakhouse in Harrah's casino in New Orleans.  My son Andrew is friend with the general manager Miles, and a waiter Brian, so we were taken care of like royalty.  Truly one of the best meals I have ever had.

First we were brought out hot french bread baguettes with real butter.  Next Miles suggested a red wine called Two Angels.  It was a 2006 vintage high altitude grow divinity bottled, Rhone wine.  Out standing.  Miles brought out some chicken pate with fried crustini to taste as we enjoyed the wine.  Next Miles asked us all what are preference was to meat doneness and disappeared.  Next arrive 5 appetisers.  Oysters in Bourdelais sauce, Natchitoches meat pies, stuffed crab shells, Besh Barbecued shrimp, and plum lacquered pork belly spring rolls, and a dish called Louisiana seafood done three ways.   Shrimp Remoulade, Crab Maison with caviar, and fried oysters in a blue cheese dressing.  I'm not finished.

Next came the main course.  Josh the graduate got the 32 oz. Cowboy Ribeye, Andrew got the 30 day aged 18 oz. prime New York strip with blue cheese butter and Abita Amber onion rings, Kristi got the Wagyu flanks steak, Lori got the surf and turf which was two small tournedos of beef topped with crawfish bernaise sauce, and I got the seared yellowfin tuna with lentils, spinach and foie gras.  I'm still not finished.

Dessert arrived.  Bread pudding, my favorite, Chocolate cake with brandy marinated cherries and ice cream, strawberry shortcake, cream brulee with mixed berries,  and a white chocolate cake with a rum ice cream. 

Saturday was Po boys, boiled crawfish and shrimp, and today was a Muffaletta.

Now I'm finished.

If you go to New Orleans please go to Besh steakhouse.  It will be a dinning experience you will not soon forget.

Frankie D's

Frankie D's moved from Thomas Drive to town several months back.  As I have said before when restaurants move they sometimes lose something in the move.  I can gladly say Frankie D's has not, in fact I think they have improved.  They have a great neighborhood feel.  Something I miss about New Orleans.  Friendly service and good food are a staple here.  The sandwiches, dinners, and especially the pizza (thin crust), are great.  Served up in a sports bar theme, mainly Chicago, and you have one great neighborhood joint.  You really should try Frankie D's.

I give them 4 stars.

Paparazzi's revisited

My son Andrew came to town to take his mother back to New Orleans for Christmas.  He had not been to Paparazzi's so we took him.  Understand that I am a pizza fanatic and I think Paparazzi's is the best in Panama City, just slightly ahead of Marco's on the beach.  So tonight I decided to try one of the pasta dishes and some appetizers.  We started first with the fried ravioli and the rice balls.  The fried ravioli was perfectly cooked, crisp, and filled with cheese, and lightly covered with Paparazzi's sauce.  The rice balls were also good but I think they are a bit large.  The filling of risotto and cooked beef didn't have the flavor that I thought it would.  Something was missing.  Again these were perfectly breaded and fried, topped with the sauce.  Of course I ordered a small pizza so my son could try the fire roasted pie.  We also ordered the family style Shrimp Parmesan.  It arrived on a beautiful platter with spaghetti in the center lightly moistened with the sauce, and a bountiful amount of breaded shrimp with melted cheese on them.  Delicious.  Next time I must try something different.  I just can't pull myself from the pizza.

Good eating.

Paparazzi Pizza and Pasta

Wood fired pizza oven restaurants have been popular for a long time in the rest of the country and it's about time Panama City got a taste of this awesome way to bake a pie. I have tried Paparazzi's three times and can't get past the pizza on the menu. Next time I promise to try the pasta. As far as the pizza goes, it is the best in P.C. I eat two pizza's, a shrimp, artichoke, and fresh garlic, as well as, a pepperoni, meatball, olive, and onion. The crust I prefer is the thin crust. It has a chewy, yet crisp, texture that stands up to the ingredients. I hate a bready pizza crust. The wood fired oven is extremely hot and draws the moisture out of the crust giving it the crisp texture I like. The ingredients are fresh. The meatballs are homemade, the sauce is perfect, and the ingredients don't over power the pie. The Godfather salad is layers of fresh tomatoes and fresh, made daily mozzarella cheese, topped with basil, and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. You must try this salad. The chef who tosses the pizza also sings Italian songs, just to add to the atmosphere. One night he tossed pizza over the head of a young patron and had the whole house watching him. I promise to return and try other items, but for now know this is the best pizza in P.C.

I give Paparazzi's 5 stars.
Good eating.

Hunt's Oyster Bar

Hunts Oyster Bar on Beck avenue in St. Andrews, reminds me of the small hole in the wall restaurants that New Orleans is famous for. Sort of the kind of place the locals go to. Last night the wife and I met Mike Healy, a friend from work, and his wife Julie for dinner. The place was packed as usual and we were told there would be an hour wait. A good reason to have a few beers outside, since the weather was nice and the humidity was tolerable. Of course Hunt's is famous for raw Apalachicola oysters freshly shucked and served cold. We were seated quicker than expected. The interior lives up to the local dive decor that you would expect. It is a small place, which raised the noise level to an uncomfortable level, but that comes with the territory. Mike started with a dozen raw, and I had the baked Cajun oysters. Mike enjoyed his oysters with plenty of hot sauce, horseradish, and cocktail sauce. I found the Cajun baked oysters salty. The combination of Cajun seasonings (possibly Tony's) and Parmesan cheese probably accounted for the salty flavor. I ordered the seafood platter, as I usually do the first time I try a seafood restaurant. The shrimp, oysters, scallops, and grouper were fried perfectly and was enjoyable. The stuffed crab came in the form of a cake, and as usual it was not what a crab cake should be. Usually they are more bread than crab and this one followed suit. The wife ordered a combo fried platter of shrimp and grouper. Mike ordered the Buffalo shrimp and his wife ordered the grilled shrimp. They both enjoyed their dishes. This is the first time either of us had been to Hunt's and other than the noise level, I would recommend this restaurant, especially if you love oysters. We will give Hunt's a second try.

I give Hunt's Oyster Bar 4 stars.

Good eating.

The Shrimp Boat Restaurant (second time around)

What a difference our second visit was at The Shrimp Boat Restaurant. I arrived after work and went to the bar to wait on my wife. Erica was very attentive and knew what beers they offered, unlike our last experience. I started with a Newcastle Ale, properly poured, with a thick tan head and served in an ice cold glass. It was just what I needed to end a long day. The wife arrived later and we patiently waited for our table. The hostess seated my wife as I totaled out of our bar bill. We were seated near a window and had a great view of the sunset and harbor and Jake our server was actively engaging my wife keeping her company until I arrived at the table. Good job Jake, it's the little things that make a difference. The special appetizer was batter fried oysters with a Tabasco dipping sauce. I decided to try it and found the oysters perfectly fried although typically I don't like batter fried food , as well as, corn flour dredged. The dipping sauce seemed to be a mayo based sauce with seasoning and Tabasco. I love Tabasco sauce and this dish had a hint of the world leader in hot sauces that went well with the oysters. We shared a Blue cheese wedge salad, which was huge. Glad we shared this one. For me it missed onion. At Charlie's Steak House in New Orleans the salad is served with or without onions. They are sliced paper thin and drape the wedge of ice cold iceberg lettuce served with a tart blue cheese vinaigrette dressing. I would have loved some on this salad. The blue cheese dressing was good, but not homemade. For entrees the wife went with the grilled Shrimp with the burre blanc and capers sauce. Over time I have convinced my wife to eat things she first doesn't like and capers are one of those things. I make a Grouper Piccata at home and she has learned to enjoy them. The only draw back to this dish, was that some of the shrimp seemed under cooked and the vein was visible in some of them, although they had been split along the back as if to try to remove it. The vein was not an issue for my wife, but the under cooked shrimp was. I had the Shrimp Pompano which are bacon wrapped and grilled, served with a sauce. I have always loved the combination of smokey bacon with grilled food. My shrimp were perfect. The only glitch last night was that the appetiser arrived promptly, but there was a wait for the salad, and before we finished the salad the entrees arrived. We had decided to package the salad anyway, but timing is everything. By the way, Erica make a great Mojito. The perfect foil to the smokey, grilled shrimp, was a cool, minty, tart lime drink. Kudos to both Jake and Erica for making our second turn at The Shrimp Boat a good one.

The Shrimp Boat Restaurant gets 3 stars.

Good eating.

My Tai Asian Bistro

Located at 301 Cherry Street in the Cove, this restaurant has brought something different to the Panama City restaurant scene. This place is located near the Cove Condominiums in what was once a 7-11 convenient store. My wife and I have eaten there three times and have always come away pleased with both the service and food. We are not very versed in Thia cuisine and there seems to be several Chinese inspired items on the menu. Last night I had the Lo Mein. I have especially enjoyed the Tia soups, as well as, the curry's. The soups are made with coconut milk and your choice of meats. You must try one of the soups. My wife doesn't like spicy food so she usually stays away from the spicy dishes. The summer rolls are rapped in a thin rice paper and served cold with a peanut based dipping sauce. The spring rolls and the Satay's are also very good starters. The service has always been friendly and on time. If you want to try something different, please try My Tai Asian Bistro. You will be rewarded.

I give My Tai 5 stars.

The Shrimp Boat restaurant

Why do we eat out? I think for most people it's because we like being served. I'm not talking about cruising through the drive through. There is something about going to a restaurant, being served, eating, and walking away from all those dishes and mess. There are those times when we have had a tough week or hard day that a visit to a restaurant is just the thing to help us wind down and de-stress. Even if the food is mediocre, but the service is good, then our experience is usually a good one and we will continue to patronize the establishment. I also believe this to be true if the food is exceptional and the service mediocre. But if the food is mediocre and the service bad, well I'm not a happy eater.

Recently the wife and I decided to try The Shrimp Boat, on a Friday night, to celebrate my new job. Now in New Orleans, unless you are Catholic, you do not eat at a seafood restaurant, on a Friday night, during lent, period. The wait will be at least an hour or more. I wait for no man's food. We arrive to find out that there was only a 10 minute wait to our surprise. After being seated, things rapidly went down hill. The hostess seated us and within seconds our waiter arrived and asked if we had eaten with them before. We told him it was our first and he replied, "Seafood or steak?" We hadn't even looked at the menus yet. I responded that I cooked a great steak at home and that we were probably going with seafood, at which time he leaned over and explained the menu to my wife. It's a single sheet of laminated paper not a Faulkner novel. He completely ignored me. He quickly left and returned with two glasses of water and then disappeared again. At this point I was really looking for a cold beer. When he returned he asked if we had made a decision. I said "yes, I want a beer." Since the menu had no drink listing, I asked if they had a wine and beer menu and he said that they had so many he couldn't list them all. I asked what was on draught. He said they only had bottled beer so I asked for an Abita. "We don't have that" he responded. I asked for a Pilsner Urquell, and again he responded in the negative. How about a Sam Adam's and he said yes and Yingling. So we finally made some head way. When we entered the restaurant there was a tonight's specials sign by the front door. At no time did he mention them. When he returned with our drinks, again addressing my wife, he asked if we were ready to order. I told him we wanted to start with the shrimp and crab meat dip served with grilled pita chips at which time he again walked away, hopefully to turn in our order. Upon his next return we were ready to order. I ordered the cup of Gumbo and the wife, the She Crab soup. As entrees, I ordered the fried seafood platter with oysters, which cost $4.75 extra and the wife the stuffed grouper. Our waiter asked if we wanted our soups first and I responded "No we want our appetizer first then the soups." Did he really ask me that? The appetizer arrived and was white cheesy, saucy, combo of small pieces of shrimp and crab meat served in a large bowl surrounded by the pita chips. While this was a tasty dip the grilled pita chips failed to be firm enough to actually scoop or dip. I had to spoon the dip onto the chip with my fork and rush it to it's destination (my mouth) before the chip wilted and spilled it in my lap. The gumbo was adequate and the She Crab seemed to missing the crab meat. She Crab soup is so called because it is supposed to have some pink crab roe in but I have not found any in all the She Crab soup we have tasted about town. Why not call it crab bisque and get it over with. The entrees arrived in a timely manner. The seafood platter which included the ubiquitous stuffed crab was nicely proportioned with shrimp (butterflied to look larger), a piece of fish which was also butterflied to look larger, about six small scallops which were very uniform in size, and the oysters. As far as seafood platters go this is what I expect in Panama City, but cannot hold a candle to the ones I get in New Orleans. The wife's stuffed grouper was covered with a Bearnaise sauce, which is a Hollandaise with Tarragon added. The grouper was cooked well but the stuffing, as in the stuffed crab, was bready.

The most troubling thing to me was, as we were leaving, I stopped at the hostess station and inquired if our waiter was new. You could tell by the tone of my voice something had not gone well. The hostess said no, and I said OK. She let me walk out without asking if there had been something wrong. As stated before I give restaurants at least three visits before I rate them and I will return to the Shrimp Boat to give it another try, but I will make sure I don't get the same waiter. Check back for an update.



Good Eating.

The Shed BBQ

I really like to try to eat at a restaurant at least three times before I make a review. Restaurants have bad days too. In this case the restaurant is out of town and after eating there I really don't think I'll return. The shed is located in Ocean Springs Mississippi just off I-10. The wife and I were heading to New Orleans to see our grand daughter and visit my wife's sister who lives in Oklahoma. Around lunch time I remembered a BBQ joint featured on the Food Networks, Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives. This place looked incredible. If you were going to design a BBQ joint this place would be the blue print. It is located at the entrance of a camp ground and it is a shed, filled with items gathered from dumpster diving. There were more seats outside than inside. The grounds a littered with memorabilia if you will from the dumpster diving. As you enter, you have to order at a window and then find a seat. No hostess here. I ordered the brisket and spare rib combo plate. My wife ordered the pulled pork. The menu states that all BBQ is served with sauce whose recipe was passed down from an old black guy that made the original sauce. The spare ribs were over cooked to the point that the cartilage at the top of the rib was the consistency of jello. They were dry and the sauce didn't help. The brisket was chopped and covered in the same sauce. Now I know that brisket is the hardest thing to perfect, but this was dry and tasteless. In competitions brisket is presented sliced not chopped. I tasted my wife's pulled pork and it was also chopped and dry. My anticipation of having some killer BBQ was met with wholesale disappointment.

The Shed get 1 star for ambiance.

Liza's Kitchen ( same great food, new location)

Seeing a restaurant change locations has always scared me. I remember Momma Campisis that was a quaint, warm, great Italian restaurant in St. Andrews at the foot of Beck Ave. Momma would come around to all the tables and make you feel welcome and part of the family. Business grew and she moved to a larger facility and things were never the same for me. Today I lunched with the wife at the new Liza's Kitchen location about a block from it's former location on Thomas Drive in the Mirabella plaza, a small U shape center. It was packed with customers and the service was good. I know there are many Liza fans out there and my hope is they will keep patronizing Liza's. As I have said many times a sandwich is no better than the bread that is it's foundation. Liza's makes their on Foccacia bread and it shows. I am soooo tired of local restaurants calling a sandwich a Po Boy and serving it on a hoagie roll or bun. That aint a Po Boy. The menu hasn't changed and that's a good thing. I have tried the hot turkey, Muffelatta, and the black and blue sandwiches, and many of the soups. Today I had the tomato basil soup, all of which I recommend. The Hippie Chick is their most popular, but I have not tried that one yet. The soups are fresh and flavorful.

Good luck to Liza's Kitchen and the move.



I give Liza's 5 stars