Bubbaque Chicken Wings

I frequent several BBQ forums on the web.  Recently a guy posted a recipe for Orange Marmalade, Sriracha chicken wings.  I had some left over apricot, creole mustard glaze from my New Years pork roast so I added brown sugar, honey, and the sriracha pepper sauce to it.  I used my Bubbaque rub on the wings and grilled them.  During the last minutes of the cook, I placed the wings in a bowl of the sauce and coated them several times returning them to the grill often.  They were the best wings I have ever cook.  Sweet and spicy.  Just right try it.

Dee's Hangout Revisited

I rarely get a day off, so when I did, I decided to take the wife out for lunch.  Since we moved in town we don't get to the beach very often, and we miss some of our favorite restaurants there.  We have not been to Dee's Hangout in a while and I was in the mood for some authentic New Orleans Gumbo and a Po-Boy.  The special of the day was cast iron skillet fried chicken with your choice of vegetables.  My grand mother fried her chicken in a cast iron skillet and Dee did not disappoint me.  My wife got three large pieces of chicken perfectly fried moist and crisp.  She got the rice with chicken gravy and glazed sweet potatoes.  Man my mouth was watering.  Of course nothing has changed in the Gumbo department.  I got a cup of seafood gumbo that was loaded with shrimp, oysters, crab meat, and sausage.  Staying with the same theme, I got a combo shrimp and oyster Po-Boy ( not on the menu) dressed (New Orleans for mayo, lettuce and tomato).  I can't tell you how wonderful it is to eat a Po=Boy on true New Orleans french bread.  For all those restaurants serving Po-Boys on a hoagie roll, shame on you.  Go to Dee's and see what your missing.

Dee's was full when we arrived and had to sit at the bar.  I'm glad business is good for Dee because I can always count on some truly wonderful fare every time I go.

Dee's gets 5 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.

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.