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The New
York Times
October 16, 2005
Choice Tables
In Seaside, Fla., Goodbye Stuffed Flounder,
Hello Foie Gras
By JULIA REED
WHEN I was growing up,
we spent a few weeks every summer in Destin, Fla., in the heart of what is
alternately known as the Emerald Coast and the Redneck Riviera. The state's
tourism bureau prefers the first moniker to promote the powdery white sands
and the clear blue-green waters of the Gulf of Mexico between Pensacola and
Panama City. On the other hand, the Redneck Riviera (which also encompasses
the Gulf Coast of
Alabama) is the title of a country song by Tom T. Hall that includes the
lyric "Nobody cares if gramma's got a tattoo."
My childhood was firmly rooted in the latter. We stayed in a motel called
the Frangista Beach by an R.V. park whose denizens caught rays atop their
Winnebagos and made hatbands out of Budweiser pop tops, which were in ample
supply. When we weren't eating peanut butter and jelly or the crabs we
caught ourselves at night, we dined in such "nice" restaurants as Captain
Anderson's and the Sandflea, where the specialties were deep-fried shellfish
and stuffed flounder. My parents bought whiskey at the Green Knight, which
featured a giant green knight out front, and took us, on rainy days, to the
Gulfarium in Fort Walton Beach.
These days the Gulfarium is almost all that's left of the original
landscape. Pretty much everything else has been plowed under to make way for
high-rise condos and designer discount malls, and my own family has long
since decamped 20 miles east to Seaside, the nearly 25-year-old town on
Highway 30A that has been hailed as a model for the New Urbanism and served
as the set for "The Truman Show." Most recently it has served as home to
well-heeled Katrina evacuees from
New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast who had the good sense to
head east, and who are also spread out among the many copycat developments,
spawned by the success of Seaside, that cover almost the length of 30A.
Sprawl in the form of supermarkets and even a cineplex has crept in here,
too, of course, and with the temporary new residents, there is more traffic
than usual. But height restrictions, a state park that includes a pristine
stretch of beach, and the taste level set by Seaside's architects keep the
area comparatively civilized.
The local culture isn't extinct yet, but a lot of people have traded in
their R.V.'s for Lexuses and mill about at wine festivals and outdoor
concerts with the likes of Lance Armstrong, who came to charming Grayton
Beach (one of the oldest beach communities in the Southeast) with Sheryl
Crow just after winning the Tour de France, and Karl Rove, who owns a house
in the 10-year-old Rosemary Beach development. Sundog Books in Seaside is
excellent, and the Modica Market carries excellent Spanish and Italian olive
oils, Cowgirl Creamery cheeses, and wines never seen at the Green Knight -
where the best seller, as I recall, was Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill.
This is hardly an atmosphere ripe for country music lyrics (though at least
one successful
Nashville songwriter is a Seaside homeowner), and sometimes I miss the
simplicity of our days at the Frangista. But the nostalgia invariably
dissipates by lunchtime when my old P.B.&J. is replaced by a dozen
Appalachicola oysters on the half shell and a grilled amberjack taco at the
Hurricane Oyster Bar in Seaside or a pound of steamed sweet gulf shrimp and
a slab of fresh ahi perfect for carpaccio from Goatfeathers Seafood Market
in Seagrove. For dinner, I get Charles Modica to cut me one of his marvelous
thick rib steaks to throw on the grill, or I venture out to one of 30A's
many "nice" restaurants, where for the life of me I cannot find a single
stuffed flounder.
Fish Out of Water
The most sophisticated restaurant on the road is Fish out of Water in the
beachfront WaterColor Inn, part of the vast WaterColor resort that all but
surrounds Seaside. On the hotel's second floor, the restaurant has great
views of the gulf, and the décor features lots of blown glass and chic taupe
banquettes, but the sense of dislocation is almost too much to bear when I
spy Kobe beef short ribs with black truffle grits and seared foie gras with
roasted pineapple and mango vanilla gastrique among the appetizers. Am I on
the Gulf Coast of Florida or in the Time Warner Center? Who cares when both
offerings taste as good as they do. Southerners who think grits need only
butter owe it to themselves to try them with black truffles and Kobe beef
jus, and the foie gras, dusted with five-spice powder, is sublime.
Captain Anderson he ain't, but the chef, Philip Krajek, is smart enough to
make the most of local fare. The menu changes almost daily, though I've
noticed that the foie gras is rarely absent. Other superb appetizers have
included fricassee of grouper cheeks with sweet corn risotto, and
tempura-battered squash blossom stuffed with jumbo lump crab in a tomato
broth. One night, just as I was bemoaning the demise of my favorite produce
stand, he created a salad with the very things I would have bought there:
heirloom tomatoes with field peas, sweet corn, fried okra and
applewood-smoked bacon.
For the main course, I tend to stick with the fish from the waters just
outside the window, be it grilled gulf pompano in a saffron vinaigrette, or
black grouper in basil broth with artichokes and local potatoes. But the
13-year-old in my group was crazy about the classic filet mignon with
béarnaise, and I've been tempted by the pork loin with grilled peaches,
roasted fennel and aged balsamic offered frequently.
There are soufflés cooked to order, but we loved the lavender créme brélée
with Florida orange sorbet, and "new bananas Foster," featuring rum-roasted
banana, chocolate coffee streusel and caramel ice cream.
The wine list is staggering in length and scope and includes a 1999 La
Téche, some excellent Brunello di Montalcinos, and a nonvintage Krug, but we
managed to keep things relatively down to earth with a white
Chéteauneuf-du-Pape from Chéteau la Nerth, a Kistler chardonnay from Sonoma
and my favorite Domaine Serene pinot noir from
Oregon.
Basmati's Asian
Cuisine
When Basmati's Asian Cuisine opened its sushi bar in 1997, it was the first
one on 30A, and I think it's still the best. Their Florida roll is a
California roll with fresh lump crab from the gulf replacing the
tasteless "crab" stick, and the Basmati elite roll is a delicious wink at
the deep-fried shrimp that were once the staple of Redneck Riviera fine
dining: gulf shrimp are rolled with rice in seaweed and then the whole thing
is tempura battered and fried.
As good as the sushi is, there's a full menu that shouldn't be missed. Among
the best entrees are the firecracker grouper, tempura battered and fried and
accompanied by a spicy sweet-and-sour sauce, and the enormous shrimp in red
curry sauce with grilled eggplant. The divine rack of lamb is encrusted with
hoisin and sesame seeds and finished with an anise lemon-soy glaze, and the
Chinese barbecue duck is a classic.
In good weather ask to sit under the ceiling fans on the screened porch and
start with the spring roll of the day. The short but well-chosen wine list
includes some rieslings and viogniers that pair well with the spicy food and
a good Gigondas from Feraud-Brunel. Again, for dessert, bananas are the
thing, here in the form of a spiced banana spring roll served with ginger
ice cream and topped with vanilla créme anglaise and caramel sauce.
Café Thirty-A
This is where I go when I want a guaranteed good time. The staff is
laid-back and friendly but utterly professional, the split-level dining room
is open and always buzzing but not too noisy, and the martini menu seems
almost as long as the wine list. The chef has an occasional tendency to get
overcomplicated, but I am always happy when I keep my choices as simple as
my martini, a Bombay Sapphire straight up with an olive.
The grilled Georgia quail with creamy grits and sage fritters, a mainstay on
the appetizer menu, is by far the best quail dish I've ever had; a newer
revelation is the beef carpaccio with Asiago panna cotta and truffle
vinaigrette. My favorite salad is the baby arugula with shaved pecorino and
lemon garlic vinaigrette, which is perfect in combination with a classic
pizza margherita from the oak-fired oven, or one with chicken and roasted
peppers, or with the linguine with shellfish, grouper, toasted tomatoes and
chorizo.
The cumin-crusted grouper with black beans, avocado and corn relish could do
without the tangle of multicolored fried tortilla strips on top, but the
dish is delicious, as is the grilled rack of lamb with wild mushroom risotto
and cabernet sauce.
The wine list is especially strong on domestic bottles, including merlots
from Etude and Shafer, pinots from Merry Edwards and Cottonwood Canyon, and
cabernets from Shafer and Gary Farrell. Yet again, the best dessert is
banana based, this time in the form of flaky beignets with homemade
macadamia ice cream and a warm caramel sauce.
Onano Neighborhood
Café
On the ground floor of a bed-and-breakfast called the Pensione, this Italian
outpost is in the vaguely Southwestern Rosemary Beach. Owned by Penny and
Mark Dragonette, and named after the Italian town where Mark's grandmother
was born, Onano features a Tuscan-inspired menu.
It changes frequently, but among the appetizers, an excellent calamari,
lightly fried and accompanied by roasted tomato aioli and a fennel, orange
and mint salad, appears to be a mainstay, as does the delicious spinach
pappardelle with a Bolognese and wild mushroom sauce. But on warm nights,
especially at one of the sidewalk tables, I prefer the tagliatelle with
shrimp and tomatoes tossed with olive oil, garlic and the wonderful bite of
preserved lemon, or the sea scallops with a saffron fumet and lemon risotto.
The wine list is less Italian than Californian, but Courtyard Wine and
Cheese, which has an impressive range of wines, is practically next door,
and Onano will let you bring your own bottle for a $15 corkage fee.
Restaurant Information
Several excellent restaurants are on County Highway 30A, or nearby, all
within 15 minutes of Seaside, Fla. Meal prices are for three courses for two
people without alcohol and tip.
Basmati's Asian
Cuisine,
3295 West Route 30A, Santa Rosa Beach; (850) 267-3028. Closed Sunday. Sushi
bar opens at 4 p.m., main dining room at 5:30. About $75.
Café Thirty-A,
3899 East County
Highway 30A, Seagrove Beach; (850) 231-2166,
http://www.cafethirtya.com/.
Dinner daily from 5:30 p.m. About $90.
Fish Out of Water,
WaterColor Inn, 34 Goldenrod Circle, Seagrove Beach; (850) 534-5050,
www.watercolorinn.com/dining.asp. Open daily for dinner. Happy hour at
the sushi bar is from 5 to 7 p.m. Dinner from 5:30 p.m. Closed Monday from
November to February. About $90.
Onano Neighborhood
Café,
78 Main Street, Rosemary Beach; (850) 231-2436. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Dinner from 5:30 p.m. About $90.
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