Dining Out Gulf Coast: Saltwater Grill, Panama City Beach, FL

When we vacation in Panama City Beach, we always set aside one evening for what Sweet Harold and I call our "fancy dinner out." This year, we wanted to try somewhere new.

After asking for recommendations in a Facebook poll, one restaurant kept coming up over and over again—Saltwater Grill. With that many people singing its praises, we knew we had to give it a try.

Originally, we planned to go on Saturday night, but we waited too long to make reservations. Lesson learned! Instead, we reserved a table for our last night of vacation, Monday at 7:00 p.m.

Watching the crowd in the waiting area and seeing several groups turned away without reservations, I can confidently say this: make the reservation.

While we waited just a few minutes for our table, we enjoyed one of Saltwater Grill's most recognizable features—its enormous aquarium.

The waiting area is spacious, and it's hard not to find yourself mesmerized watching the fish glide through the water.

And just in case you aren't already hungry...

...there's a dessert cart sitting right beside the host stand.

Yes, that chocolate cake really does have seven layers.

More on dessert in a bit.

We were seated shortly after 7:00, and Lacey took wonderful care of us throughout the evening. The restaurant was quite lively when we arrived, so conversation required speaking up a little. As the evening progressed and diners finished their meals, the noise level dropped considerably, making it much easier to visit across the table.

Sweet Harold ordered a Long Island Iced Tea, while I decided vacation was the perfect excuse to splurge on a Lemon Drop Martini.

Both were excellent.

Before our appetizer arrived, a basket of warm focaccia bread was brought to the table with seasoned olive oil for dipping.

The focaccia had a wonderfully crisp crust with a soft, airy center, making it perfect for soaking up the fragrant olive oil. Lightly seasoned with herbs and cracked pepper, the dipping oil was simple but full of flavor. It was one of those little touches that immediately lets you know you're in for a great meal.

We had every intention of saving room for dinner...

We failed.

We ordered the Cherry Wood Smoked Grouper Dip, made with cream cheese and topped with pickled chili peppers. It came with a choice of house-made pita or house-made potato chips.

We chose the pita.

Not only was the presentation beautiful, but the portions of both the dip and the pita chips were extremely generous.

Since we'd eaten very little all day, an appetizer wasn't even a question.

The dip itself was outstanding. The smoked flavor was subtle rather than overpowering, and the grouper wasn't fishy in the slightest. Every bite was balanced, creamy, and flavorful.

The real surprise?

Those pita chips.

They arrived warm, thick, slightly chewy, and absolutely delicious. We both agreed we made the right choice.

I already knew this meal was going to be large.

I didn't care.

I had come to try the lobster bisque.

The "cup" portion was what I would call a bowl anywhere else. It arrived piping hot with a smooth, velvety texture and a generous amount of lobster throughout. The crispy fried wonton was a nice touch, but honestly, the bisque could have stood completely on its own.

It was outstanding.

Both entrées included a spring mix salad with balsamic dressing.

Again, the portion was generous, the greens were crisp and cold, and I really enjoyed the fresh flavor of the dressing.

Sweet Harold ordered the Grouper Imperial:  grilled Gulf grouper topped with blue crab, garlic-infused mashed potatoes, asparagus, and a classic beurre blanc.

Everything about this plate was perfection.

The mashed potatoes were well seasoned, the asparagus was cooked perfectly, and the grouper itself was a beautiful, generous piece of fish. The blue crab and beurre blanc pulled everything together into a meal he couldn't stop talking about.

He was one happy camper.

I struggled with my decision.

For a while, I was leaning toward the Crispy Flounder, but finally settled on the Blackened Red Snapper with jasmine rice, roasted baby carrots, and lemon beurre blanc.

I have absolutely no regrets.

Red snapper naturally has a firmer texture than many fish, making it perfect for blackening because it holds together beautifully during cooking.

This was an incredibly thick piece of fish.

I wanted to photograph one bite just to show how perfectly flaky it was.

The lemon beurre blanc added just enough brightness without overpowering the fish. The roasted carrots were cooked to that perfect point—not crunchy, not mushy—while the jasmine rice rounded out the plate nicely.

Now...

This is where sensible people would have stopped.

We should have thanked Lacey (for about the tenth time), wished her a wonderful evening, and headed back to the condo.

We did not.

Instead, we asked to see the dessert tray one more time.

We debated.

We justified.

Then we ordered one dessert to share.

Y'all...

Seriously.

Y'all.

Yes, we ordered this enormous slice of strawberry cheesecake.

Everything about it was exactly what great cheesecake should be.

The filling had that slight tang cheesecake lovers hope for. It was rich, dense, and creamy without being heavy. The crust stayed thin enough to support the filling without stealing the spotlight, and the strawberries, sauce, and whipped cream were the perfect finishing touch.

We didn't even finish half of it.

The rest went back to the condo, where four grandchildren happily helped us solve that problem.

Everything about this evening was enjoyable—from the food and atmosphere to the excellent service.

From our table, we had a wonderful view of the aquarium throughout dinner.

If you're curious, here's a look at the menu.

Yes...they also serve sushi. 

Thank you, Saltwater Grill, for giving us one of our favorite meals of the trip.

And a special thank-you to our server, Lacey, for making the evening even more memorable.

Would we go back?

Without hesitation.

Saltwater Grill delivered everything we hoped our "fancy dinner out" would be: excellent food, generous portions, attentive service, and an atmosphere that made our last evening in Panama City Beach one we'll remember for a long time.

Dining Out Gulf Coast: Shrimp Basket, Panama City Beach, FL

 

After enjoying that fantastic brunch Sunday morning, we spent the day on the beach and decided to have an early dinner at the Shrimp Basket.  

We try to eat broiled, blackened, grilled seafood some of the time.  But y'all know sometimes you just have to have some fried shrimp, fish, and oysters.  Sunday afternoon was the time!

Sweet Harold enjoys coconut shrimp.  I do not.  But it was Father's Day and I told him to order those for his appetizer and enjoy every single one of them.

He loved these and the dipping sauce was similar to a pineapple preserve or marmalade.  

Meanwhile, we both enjoyed a Shrimp Basket Pail Ale.  Yes, a "pail" ale.  

He couldn't decide whether he wanted fried flounder or fried shrimp.  And there on the menu was his solution!  A "pick two" option.  

He was very happy with this meal.  Large portions of fried flounder and about a dozen shrimp.  Lightly breaded and so very crunchy, these were what you hope to get at a beach town shrimp spot.  The coleslaw was nice and crunchy and lightly dressed.  Also included were two hushpuppies, a corn fritter, tartar, and cocktail sauce.

I finally got my fried oyster fix!  I prefer smaller oysters because to me they just taste better.  Everything was nicely seasoned and served piping hot. 

We each had enough to share back and forth so we both left happy and full!

Here is the remainder of the menu!  If you download their app, you can get updates of specials.

Dining Out Gulf Coast: Taylor's Breakfast & Lunch, Panama City Beach, FL

 

It's fun to be at the beach on a special day!  We celebrated by going out for brunch for Father's Day.  I left Sweet Harold to his own devices to figure out where he wanted to go.  He did his own internet sleuthing and decided that Taylor's sounded perfect.

It was helpful that it was located within a 10-minute drive from the condo.  Now we knew that it being Father's Day, the wait could be long.  We arrived to groups waiting, asked to be added to the wait list, and were told our wait would be about 20 minutes.  To prove they know what they're doing, our name was called at 20 minutes and 10 seconds.  

The menu had so many amazing options.  We reviewed it carefully before making our decisions.

I knew I wanted an eggs benedict, but had no idea I'd be presented with so many delicious sounding options!

The Parisian Benedict had all the things I love!  Two poached eggs, ham, crimini mushrooms, and melted Swiss on a buttery toasted croissant half, topped with creamy hollandaise, paprika, and herbs.  What's not to love?  I chose seasoned potatoes as my side dish.

Look at these pictures and I bet your mouth will water!

Every separate ingredient of these dish worked seamlessly with the others.  The croissant was the ideal base, the ham was so tender it easily cut with my fork, the Swiss cheese was melty, and the egg yolks were perfectly runny, and the whites were cooked through.  The hollandaise was well seasoned and the consistency was textbook.  

The potatoes, although named "seasoned," did not a tad of salt.  But that's up to personal taste, right?

Sweet Harold loves a good omelette and he was faced with the same dilemma that I had:  too many delicious sounded choices!

He finally settled on a Spinach, Bacon, Mushroom version that had Swiss cheese and was topped with Hollandaise sauce.  

He also selected the seasoned potatoes and opted for a buttermilk biscuit instead of an English muffin.

He reports that the omelette was delicious with a nice proportion of filling to eggs.  The mushrooms were especially tasty to him. He had never had an omlette topped with hollandaise and I'm not sure if he'll ever enjoy another one without it!

The biscuit was light and fluffy and he was impressed at the homemade taste it had.

I attempted to take photos of the interior, but with the crowds inside, I didn't get any I felt captured the essence of the decor.  

Our server, whose name wasn't noted on the receipt, was so personable, efficient, and wasn't fazed at all by the crowd that morning.  Kudos to her!

If you're at the beach and want a delicious breakfast (or lunch!), give Taylor's a try.

Dining Out Gulf Coast: Christo's Sports Bar, Panama City Beach, FL

Three years ago, we stopped in at Christo's as we left to go home.  Every so often, one of us will mention those onion rings we enjoyed here.  So we decided as a quick bite on the way to play Goofy Golf, we'd stop in for a burger.  

Yes, Christo's is loud, busy, and connected to a gas station.  Yes, Christo's has extremely delicious food, the best group of servers imaginable, and I was ready to give a standing ovation to the busser who was fascinating to watch!

Before we get to the food I'd like to take a minute to appreciate the young man at the sports bar last night. Y'all, that man was working circles around everybody. He had tables cleared before I could blink, but what impressed me most was what happened afterward. He actually sat down in each booth and wiped down every salt shaker, pepper shaker, and condiment bottle. Not just the table—the things most people never think about. It was one of those moments that restores your faith in people. He took real pride in his work, and it showed.

Now, on to the food!

I knew we were going to order burgers, but I wanted to try their version of She-Crab Soup.  Wowza, I'm so glad I did.  I should have ordered two bowls!  Of course, I'd have to walk half the way home to work on those calories.  But I do believe it would be worth it.

It was served piping hot!  I mean, stir it a few minutes and blow on it gently, piping hot.  The flavor was so rich and buttery.  There were large pieces of crab meat and the texture was so velvety smooth.  This is the one I'll be talking about for a while now.

Now, not to be outdone, Sweet Harold decided he needed an appetizer as well.  What did he order?  Chicken Lips.  He didn't ask the server what exactly that was.  He just ordered them.  She asked what sauce or dry rub he'd like.  He simply said, "Garlic Parmesan."  Now at this point I was a little skeptical of a garlic parmesan chicken lip.

But never fear!  The chicken lips were just small chicken fingers, breaded and fried and drenched in a garlic parmesan sauce.  They were very tasty!!

I had the Classic Burger with American cheese and substituted onion rings for fries.  This burger was LARGE and I couldn't finish it.  The onion rings were as delicious as we remembered.  

Harold decided the Sudden Death Burger was going to be his choice.  It was topped with Pepper Jack Cheese and sauteed jalapenos.  He drank a lot of Coke Zero with his meal!

As mentioned, service was great and super fast for the restaurant to have been as crowded as it was.  The food was definitely generous portions and everything we had was delicious and very much enjoyed.

Dining Out Gulf Coast: Uncle Ernie's, Panama City, FL

Uncle Ernie's Restaurant is located on St. Andrew's Bay in Panama City, NOT Panama City Beach.  It's a short drive, but well worth the time it takes to get there.  You can walk around the marina and enjoy the sites while you wait for your table or to "walk off" your dinner after you're finished dining.

Our party of 8 was seated upstairs and Dion was our server.  We remembered him from last year's visit and were happy to have him taking care of our table this year.

While we were selecting our meals from the extensive menu, bread and olive oil/basil for dipping arrived.  It was delicious!

We started with an order of fried crab claws for the table.

These are almost always sold for market price so make sure you request the current price for these before ordering them in any restaurant.

These were delightfully crunchy and were seasoned well.  The batter was light and allowed the crab flavor to shine.

With my dinner I had the option of two sides and I selected the Soup of the Day which was Seafood Chowder.

Their version was very smooth, no discernable bits of seafood or potatoes, but it was rich and hearty.  The flavor was well balanced in that it was seasoned "just right."

Now about this time, things went awry.  As I mentioned earlier, we were dining upstairs.  The kitchen is downstairs.  My end of the table was directly beside the staircase coming up to the second floor dining area.  I had been keeping one eye on all the runners who were literally running up the stairs with large trays of food.  

Four diners in our party had their food delivered and were about to dig in.  We were told the remainder was on the way.

And that's when it happened.  One poor young woman, running up those stairs, made the turn too quickly.  I watched as the food on that tray, almost in slow motion, tilted and crashed all over the stairwell.  I felt so very sorry for her.  Yes, that was the remainder of our meals.  We encouraged the ones who had their food to eat while it was hot and we patiently wait until the rest of our meals were recooked.  

It was worth the wait.

For my other side dish, I had steamed broccoli.  Again, the vegetables were perfectly cooked, not crunchy, but not mushy either.  The addition of parmesan was a nice touch.

I splurged at this meal.  I ordered the Seared Diver Scallops with Imperial Sauce.

Now at first look, you might say, "She only had four scallops!"  However, these scallops were larger than half dollar coins.  They were nicely seared and the Imperial Sauce was the best I've ever eaten.  Rich, buttery, and the perfect pairing for the scallops.

Aren't they beautiful?  They tasted even better.  I chose wisely!

Sweet Harold had his fried Gulf shrimp at long last!  His meal came with fries and cole slaw.

He was very happy with his entire meal.  That man loves his fried shrimp.

After the delay in getting our food, we were given two slices of Key Lime pie as an apology for our wait.  We ordered one more slice and we all shared in our desserts.

Yes, Uncle Ernie's Key Lime Pie may be the best I've ever eatened anywhere.

Even with the food mishap, we all enjoyed our meals and the time together.

Here are a few pictures of the exterior of the restaurant.