The journey between Pensacola and Destin Florida used to be a quiet and desolate ride.  Not any more!  Located just east of the Navarre Beach Bridge is one of Navarre’s newest businesses “The Slippery Mermaid “.  Opened in A ugust 2009 by longtime resident Karen Hineman, this little jewel offers locals as well as travellers along Hwy 98 a casual dining experience featuring some of the freshest sushi along the Gulf Coast.  Please enjoy the video we shot while dining at the Slippery Mermaid recently.  It is sure to stimulate your palate and encourage a visit in the near future to one of Navarre’s newest businesses.  The Slippery Mermaid is located at 8779 Navarre Parkway, Navarre, FL 32566, ph: 850-621-2119 or visit them online at http://slipperymermaid.com

by Karen Harrell
Originally posted March 2008
Lucy Buffett, like many people, had a book in her head for many years.
But, finding the time to put words on paper was tough for the busy restaurateur to find.
“I finally got down to business and made it a goal to complete the book by the end of the year,” said Buffett, sister of music icon Jimmy Buffett and owner of the enormously popular “Lulu’s” restaurant in Gulf Shores, Ala. “I published it myself. I figured if I couldn’t find places to distribute it, I would sell it myself in our gift shop.”
The result of Buffett’s labor of love is: “Crazy Sista Cooking – Cuisine and Conversation with Lucy Anne Buffett.”

She has had no trouble finding distribution outlets for her new cookbook. It is marketed through major online outlets such as Amazon.com, but also in selected major bookstores. She will be the guest of honor at a book signing event during the Fairhope, Ala., “First Friday Artwalk” from 6-8 p.m. March 7 at Page and Palette bookstore.
The popularity of her first book signing during the restaurant’s recent Mardi Gras anniversary party caught her by surprise. Some people – including many Snowbirds – waited an hour or more to have her sign a copy.
“People would say thank you for autographing the book,” she said. “I said that I’m actually glad people want to buy the book.”
The cookbook includes recipes from many of the restaurant’s most popular dishes along with family stories told in Buffett’s inimitable style.
The Snowbirds have become a part of Lulu’s winter regulars. Several local clubs host regular breakfast meetings there and the open-air atmosphere lures many back for an additional meal.
“The Snowbird business has helped our business not feel so seasonal,” Buffett said.
The process of writing a book is something many people don’t expect. It’s tough.
“It was so torturous that I said I’m never writing another book. But I’m already starting my second one.”

by Joe Culpepper
Originally posted February 2008

In his book “Playing For Pizza,”
best-selling author John Grisham vividly describes Italians’ unabashed appreciation of fine food and wine.
Dining in romantic Italian locales such as Rome, Venice, Sicily or Florence –
or Parma, per Grisham’s novel – is typically reason for celebration; meals often last for hours.
Vinnie R’s, a family-owned New York-style Italian restaurant in Navarre, Fla., strives to make dining a similarly enjoyable experience.
Daniel and Paulette Rollant, along with general manager Michael Giachetti, opened Vinnie R’s three years ago with one goal: To serve the finest, freshest Italian food at affordable prices and with an attitude.
“There are a lot of Italian restaurants around,” Daniel Rollant said recently, “but we offer something that’s different, unique. All of our food is fresh, made from scratch. We only use top-of-the-line ingredients, like Grändé Wisconsin Mozzarella cheese.
This philosophy carries through to the other ingredients that we use.”
Not only does Vinnie R’s serve only the finest and freshest ingredients, it also prepares its sauces from scratch.
The cooks mix, weigh and roll their own dough daily. Many ingredients such as olive oil, ziti and linguini noodles are imported directly from Italy. Vinnie R’s homemade lasagna is its most popular fare. It’s a combination of layers of pasta, Ricotta and Parmesan cheeses, homemade meat sauce and smothered in Mozzarella cheese and baked to perfection.
Another favorite is the Tour of Italy, featuring a two-cheese or meat Ravioli with Manicotti and a choice of spinach or cheese shell, covered in Vinnie R’s signature Marinara sauce, with an extra-large meatball and toasted garlic bread.

Mama-mia!
Seafood is popular in Navarre, and Vinnie R’s offers several mouthwatering pasta specials.
One best-seller is the Lobster and Shrimp A La Trattoria – succulent butterfly shrimp topped with fresh lobster, dusted with cracked black pepper and sea salt, baked in Vinnie’s original white wine/garlic butter sauce over linguini in a homemade Alfredo sauce.
Another fave is the traditional Shrimp Scampi, featuring eight fresh Gulf shrimp roasted in garlic and Parmesan butter sauce with a side of Angel Hair pasta.
Vinnie’s also specializes in spaghetti, strombolis and calzones, subs and salads. But you don’t want to leave without experiencing the New York-style thin-crust pizza. The Vinnie R’s Special features eight gourmet ingredients – pepperoni, sausage, hamburger, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, black and green olives.
Vegetarians will love the Bada-Boom topped with artichoke hearts, spinach, feta, mushrooms, tomatoes and minced garlic.
Vinnie’s offers a variety of wines that complement every entrée. In addition to domestic brands, several Italian beers are available: Peroni, Nastro, Azzurro, Moretti La Rossa and Birra Moretti.
“We try to stay away from wines you can buy most anywhere,” Rollants said. “Most of the prices on our wine list are in the moderate price range,
between $17 and $22 a bottle. We have two that sell for $39 a bottle for special occasions.”
Snowbirds are among Vinnie R’s most valued customers.
“Several Snowbirds have remarked that our food is very similar to what they are used to back home,” Rollant said. “Many of them appreciate premium cheese, which we go to great lengths to acquire and serve.”
A brief wait can be expected on weekend nights. That’s a good time to check out Vinnie’s paperback book exchange. You might even discover a copy of Grisham’s “Playing For Pizza” to further whet your appetite.

Originally posted February 2008

Jim Shirley is well-known in the Pensacola culinary scene as executive chef and part-owner of two thriving downtown eateries – The Fish House and Atlas.
The waterfront restaurants are popular among Pensacola’s business community and draw a loyal customer base.

But today he divides his time with a new venture, Great Southern Café, the restaurant he started last year in Seaside.
The idyllic community is located along Florida’s Scenic 30-A and was featured in the movie “The Truman Show,” starring Jim Carrey.
Although his market at Seaside is different, Shirley uses the same formula for success.
“I am actually using the same philosophy that I used in Pensacola,”
said Shirley, who contributes a regular column to the Pensacola News Journal and is publisher of a popular cookbook.
“Great food and good service have earned us loyal customers in Seaside as well. The difference is they are only in town two weeks a year.”
The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner to accommodate Seaside’s overnight guests. As the name implies, menu items include Southern fare, such as biscuits and gravy, collard greens and fried okra.
Seaside’s winter market includes many day visitors who spend several months in nearby communities. Always looking for a chance to be creative in his menus, Shirley has adapted his winter fare to serve Snowbirds.
“I have some great seafood and salads and at least six fresh soups every day that will fit right in with the drive in Snowbirds,” Shirley said.
Among the winter specials: Mondays – 1/2 price wine by the bottle or glass and 25 cent oysters till March on Mondays; Tuesdays – complimentary beignets until noon, fried chicken and $3 dollar mojitos all day and Wednesdays – Couples lunch, which includes a soup sampler, salad, fish, shrimp and today’s veggy for $14.
The regular menu features several of his signature dishes from The Fish House, including Grits A Ya Ya. The tasty dish features smoked Gouda cheese grits, topped with cream gravy laced with bacon, spinach and mushroom with seasoned shrimp.
Shirley recommends winter visitors leave enough time to not only dine with him, but also stroll and shop in Seaside’s unique community.

Originally posted January 2008

Many new restaurants have opened along the Alabama Gulf Coast in the past few years, but Hazel’s Seafood Restaurant in Orange Beach maintains its status as a Snowbird favorite.
Each year, a variety of Alabama Snowbird clubs and small groups of winter visitors gather at the venerable restaurant to reconnect, chat and visit with their favorite wait staff.
“Both employees and the Snowbirds look forward to seeing each other,” said Wick Goldsmith, who has owned the 21-year-old restaurant for about seven years. “The servers love seeing the Snowbirds come back.”
Snowbirds are offered free VIP cards, which gives them a 10 percent discount off every meal, making the already affordable restaurant a popular choice.
The unpretentious building features a seaside décor and casual atmosphere. Three meals per day are served either buffet-style or off the menu.
“One reason the Snowbirds really like us is everything is made from scratch,” Goldsmith said.
“A lot of the Snowbirds eat one meal out a day and usually it is a late lunch or early dinner. They want to eat a good wholesome meal, which is what we do.
“We serve real food.”
The breakfast buffet includes an omelet station that is especially popular. The lunch buffet features 10-15 fresh vegetables, fried chicken and other items, such as smoked ribs that are as “good as any place you might go.”
On weekends the restaurant serves a 17-entrée seafood buffet.
The restaurant suffered about a half million dollars in damage from Hurricane Ivan, but Goldsmith didn’t wait to haggle with the insurance company and began repairs right away.
The restaurant reopened just a month later and began serving many reconstruction workers.
The former executive with the Piccadilly Restaurant chain decided although he wanted to retire at the beach, he wasn’t ready to quit working entirely.
Today, he leaves much of the daily management of the business to trusted employees, many who have been at the restaurant for 15 years or more.
He said putting his employees first pays off and shows when customers like the Snowbirds return year after year.

You choose to spend your winters on the Gulf Coast. Hawaii, thousands of miles away in the Pacific Ocean, just isn’t a viable alternative.
But Snowbirds visiting Northwest Florida need not book a transcontinental flight or Pacific cruise for the opportunity to experience a taste of native Hawaiian cuisine.

Originally posted March 2007

A search for a good, quality breakfast restaurant some 10 years ago led engineer Ron Green down a path he never imagined.
When Green couldn’t find the California style restaurant experience he was used to in 1992 when he returned to his roots in Louisiana, he started looking into what it would take to open his own place.

Originally posted January 2007

The white sands and mild winters of Panama City Beach lured restaurateur Jack Bishop from his home state of Michigan and family when he was just 27 years old.
jack_bishop_breakersToday at age 63, Bishop still runs the Gulf-front restaurant, The Breakers, and its next door neighbor, Harpoon Harry’s, and two others: Captain Jack’s and Bishop’s Family Buffet.

Originally posted January 2007

At first, I thought it was an illusion.
Jutting out nearly to the water’s edge was what looked like a restaurant.
Convinced that it was an abandoned building from one of the recent storms, I was quickly reassured that, yes, Sea-n-Suds was a fully operational restaurant.

Originally posted December 2006

Finding a good breakfast spot is like gold to me.

For years I was loyal to one place – the Holiday Inn on Pensacola Beach. This was more than 10 years ago – pre-Hurricane Opal when the hotel was full service. The restaurant there had an amazing Gulf view, the food was good and inexpensive and servers had worked there for 15-20 years each.

When you came in, they knew your name. Ah, how times have changed. That hotel evolved into a limited service Holiday Inn Express which was later destroyed by Hurricane Ivan. So, I’ve been on the lookout for good breakfast joints ever since.

Originally posted December 2006

Off the Beaten Path
– in this case off Hwy. 98 – can often mean great finds!

One day I was leisurely making my way to Panama City and decided to veer off at Hwy. 30 in South Walton County to find a place to have lunch and browse. I was greeted by the first of several small communities along that stretch called “Gulf Place.”

Opened in 1996 in a scenic location overlooking Destin’s famous blue-green waters in an area known as “Crab Island,” this McGuire’s Irish Pub won’t disappoint.

by Karen Harrellmontego_bay_restaurant_0309
Originally posted February 2009

One of my mother’s favorite shows was the sitcom “Cheers.”
Cleverly written, the show featured a camaraderie and “sense of place” that’s just hard to find.
Although the show was based on a bar, there is such a place in Panama City Beach, Fla.