The quest for fire.

I grew up in a neighborhood full of kids my age. Kids I would follow through school from elementary to high school. Some of my fondest memories growing up were playing flashlight tag on a crisp autumn night when it got dark early. Flashlight tag is a version of tag but you play in the dark and if the flashlight hits you and "IT "says 1-2-3 tag then you're captured. What I also remember is the smell of grills starting up, hoping one of them was in my back yard. My mother did the grilling and her skills were simple, hot dogs, hamburgers, and steaks. We had an old Brassier style grill. I often wonder how we didn't loose more food to the ground on that old rickety thing. As a Boy Scout and later as a Boy Scout leader, I relished the chance to go camping, knowing we would build a large fire and sit around it for warmth and comfort. I have always loved cooking on an open fire. Recently while driving through a rural area, I caught the smell of burning leaves. I remember back in the day when you could burn leaf trash in your yard. The smell would cover the neighborhood. Man did that bring back memories. What makes the smell of fire so attractive to us?

I think it is quiet primal. Think about it. Man's first cooked meal was cooked by an open fire. Think for a moment with me. Man is a carnivore. He hunted for game and probably like other animals, ate his fill and moved on. The discover of fire and how to control it was probably one of the most important milestones in the evolution on man. This is one of the things that separate us from the rest of the animal kingdom.

So picture with me early man waking up one day with an unfamiliar smell in the air. As he walks toward it the smoke gets thicker until he sees the fire. Probably a tree or grassland set on fire by lightning. He puts his hand out and feels the heat. He probably burns himself in his curiosity. Once he learns to control and transport fire, he has warmth, light, and protection. One day he makes a kill and starts a fire to warm himself as he eats. After eating his fill he falls asleep. The next morning he looks at the carcase and notices it has changed. He reaches down to tear away a piece and finds it is warm and easy to pull. He also notices it is easier to chew and digest. Man has just discovered another advantage to fire, and we have been perfecting the art of BBQ and grilling ever since.

Whether it is hamburgers or pizza, everything taste better cooked with fire.

Amen.

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.