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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 crème brûlée 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 Tâche, some excellent Brunello di Montalcinos,
and a nonvintage Krug, but we managed to keep things relatively down to
earth with a white Châteauneuf-du-Pape from Château 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 crème
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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