Thursday, June 16, 2011
Grilled Pizza
Sunday, May 22, 2011
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.
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.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
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.
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.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
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.
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.
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