Dining Out Gulf Coast: Firefly, Panama City Beach, FL

We were blessed to be able to spend the past week in Panama City Beach, FL to celebrate our 25th Anniversary.  While there, we had the opportunity to enjoy everything from fine dining to steamed shrimp on the beach with our toes in the sand.  

In the past, we have enjoyed excellent meals at Firefly.  We chose this restaurant for our anniversary dinner.  Their website plainly states "Casual Fine Dining," but for this occasion, we dressed up and ignored the gentlemen who chose to continue wearing their ball caps during their meals.

In the main dining room, there's a Mediterranean Bistro atmosphere with a spreading oak tree as the focal point in the middle of the room.  The twinkling lights woven through the branches mimic fireflies.

Devin was our server and was attentive and made sure everything was perfect.

We started our evening with the Charcuterie Board which included house cured meats, regional cheeses, pickled okra, sugar glazed pecans, spicy mustard, honey, along with flatbread and house made pickles.  The presentation was absolutely stunning and the mixture of textures and flavors definitely whetted our appetite for the next course.

I have been a fan of Firefly's She-Crab Soup for years.  This soup is thick and creamy, with a generous portion of crab.  The addition of puff pastry and sherry make this elevates it to another level.  

Sweet Harold chose the Caesar Salad which is uniquely served in a parmesan cheese formed "bowl."  The dressing is tangy and the croutons are made in house.

The bread and toppings are unique to Firefly as well.  From left to right below:  Artichoke and capers blended with softened cream cheese, roasted tomatoes, and raspberry butter.  

Sweet Harold chose the grilled grouper for his main course.  

Isn't that a beautiful dish?  Grilled grouper served over rich and creamy lobster risotto with a parmesan arugula salad.

I was torn between several menu items.  I finally, after much deliberation, chose the pan-seared Divers Scallops.  The scallops were perfectly seared on the outside.  They were served with black rice risotto and pickled cauliflower.  With the richness of the risotto, that little bit of acid from the cauliflower balanced it nicely.  The saffron butter sauce tied everything together. 

The evening was a wonderful combination of atmosphere, food, and service.  

Happy 25th Anniversary to us!