This text is part of the special book Plaisirs
The northwest coast of Florida is an undiscovered gem sure to please foodies. The cuisine found there is delicious and unique. Composed of an impressive variety of fresh fish and seafood, cooked in a thousand and one ways, its flavors are inspired by neighboring American states and their ethnic influences.
Destin, Panama City Beach and Pensacola are three coastal destinations that are part of Florida’s “Panhandle” region. It is the most typical and authentic part of the state. Less crowded than the south, it stands out for its warm hospitality and amazing cuisine.
Also referred to as the Emerald Coast, these three cities stand out with miles of pristine white beaches bathed in crystal clear waters with turquoise reflections, which are a delight for swimmers. The waters of the Gulf of Mexico here are also home to a myriad of species of fish, crustaceans and molluscs like nowhere else. It is the eldorado of fishermen, but also of all those who like to cook or enjoy the best seafood.
Destiny: for a miraculous catch!
This small village is nicknamed “the luckiest in the world for fishing”. A popular tournament is held there every year, bringing together anglers from all over. Culinary creativity is also an attraction of Destin. There are many good restaurants, more convivial than gastronomic, offering local specialties ranging from sushi to grilled meats, including fried foods, fricassees and many other variations of seafood delicacies. The flavors are especially reminiscent of those of New -Orléans — located just a five-hour drive away.
Here, you eat at the Boathouse Oyster Bar, renowned for its delicious gumbos and oysters from the Choctawhatchee Bay, or at the East Pass Seafood & Oyster House, which offers local fish and seafood cuisine served with typical accompaniments. of the southern United States, such as grits (grilled cornmeal) and hush puppies (fried corn balls). They also serve lion fish, this invasive fish which abounds in Florida, but which is so good when it is well prepared! For lunch, Dewey’s Bayside offers one of their famous grilled or fried grouper sandwiches, brushed with a juicy southwestern sauce and served in a burger bun, or the grilled and spicy whole shrimp dish served with corn and coleslaw. The owner of the place is a local legend, grandson of Leonard Destin, who founded and gave his name to the city in 1835.
Panama City Beach (PCB): trendy restaurants
PCB offers the most beautiful beaches in all of Florida, forming 50 km of long stretches of white sand, but also offers a well-established gastronomy with culinary specialties and award-winning restaurants serving southern or international cuisine. On the map of Capt. Anderson’s, a renowned seafood restaurant opened in 1953 by a family of Greek immigrants, offers a few specialties, such as “Johnny’s Special Greek Salad”, decorated with Gulf shrimp, crab meat or local oysters au gratin.
The Firefly remains one of the best gastronomic addresses. His specialties? Plates of sashimi, fillet of grouper on parmesan risotto, passing by shrimps and grits (grilled giant prawns served with gouda cheese cornmeal). Their key lime magpie is to die for! We will also have lunch at the Thomas Donut and Snack Shop, a must since 1971, where you can taste more than forty homemade donuts, including the famous key lime donut ! We also stop there for an American-style brunch, with fried eggs, cookies (cornmeal breads), sauce gravity and grits, or to try a Texas specialty, the kolash : a kind of rolled bun stuffed with sausage, runny cheese and jalapenos!
Pensacola: a nice hodgepodge of flavors
This seaside resort with white sand so fine that it looks like icing sugar is one of the oldest cities in the United States. Discovered in 1559, but founded in 1698, it was colonized in turn by Spain, France, England, delivered into the hands of the Confederate States of the south to end up integrating into the United States of ‘America. It has also seen different waves of immigration follow one another: Creole, African, Cajun, Asian, etc. These influences, which have colored his cuisine, are expressed in a highly diversified gastronomy. On the menu: gumbos — a typical Louisiana Creole soup — and blackened fish and seafood. Modern American specialties are not to be outdone, particularly the delicious po boy (fried oyster sandwich), shrimp tacos with fresh cilantro or smoked tuna dips as a starter served with crisps. The Casino Beach Bar and Grill, for example, offers this type of cuisine with a view of one of the most beautiful beaches in Pensacola.
International influences are also well represented in the kitchen. The Agapi restaurant, of Mediterranean cuisine, run by chef Gus Silivos, offers the classic of the house: an octopus cooked over charcoal, garnished with lemon and grilled peppers, which is frankly successful. The Drift, on the other hand, offers cuisine that fuses Japanese and European recipes. On the menu, fantastic tuna and salmon crudo, grouper and snapper on the planchabut also meat and poultry from local farmers.
Finally, for a drink, go to the Well Cocktail Bar, the Perfect Plain Brewing Co. microbrewery or the Union Public House, located in a former hangar, where cocktails, like the dishes, are carefully crafted.
Our reporters were guests of Visit Florida and Visit Pensacola.
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, relating to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.