Fleur de Lolly: Dining Out Gulf Coast: The Grand Marlin, Panama City Beach, FL

August 2023 we celebrated my birthday here at the Grand Marlin and we've remembered that meal fondly ever since. While visiting Mexico Beach last week, we knew where we wanted to celebrate our 28th Wedding Anniversary!

From the minute you enter, you are made to feel so welcomed and are always warmly greeted.

When Sweet Harold called for reservations, they asked if we would be celebrating anything special. As for my birthday, they had a special menu printed just for us!

We were seated at the same cozy table as last time. It's in a small alcove and is out of the busy section of the dining room. I asked and this table is Table #10. I put this information specifically in this post so if you ever want a semi-private table, you'll know which one to ask for when making your reservations.

The view is lovely overlooking St. Andrews Bay.

Christopher was our server for the evening and he made certain everything was perfect from beginning to end of our meal.

I was attempting to select what I wanted to drink and he told me if I ordered something and didn't care for it, not to worry. He'd make sure I received something I'd enjoy.

I selected the Watermelon Lemon Drop: Absolut Watermelon Vodka, Triple Sec, lemon juice, and a splash of grapefruit juice. No need for me to try something else. The drink was light and refreshing and the watermelon flavor was center stage. I loved this one.

Sweet Harold had the Dirty Blue Martini: Absolut Vodka, Lillet Blanc, splash of olive juice, and bleu cheese olives. He ordered this same one last year and he agreed this one remains a favorite.

We started the festivities with Sweet Corn Hushpuppies with cinnamon butter. Now for someone who grew up eating savory hushpuppies with ketchup, the idea of a hushpuppy with powdered sugar on top and served with a cinnamon butter, seemed different. But, these were expertly fried in that the outside was crispy with a nice crunch, there were tender pieces of corn inside, and the interior had a sweet flavor. The cinnamon butter was the ideal accompaniment.

I love She-Crab Soup and last year's cup was delicious. I knew I had to enjoy it once again. The soup is made with local blue crab, cream, sherry, and a drizzle of chive oil to top.

It was served hot (!) and the chive oil is a nice addition. There was a nice amount of crab and this cup of soup well be fondly remembered again!

Sweet Harold compares every wedge salad he orders anywhere to the Grand Marlin version. I swiped a bite or three and agreed that the blue cheese is the star. As you can see, this is a LARGE wedge of iceberg covered with blue cheese, bacon, scallions, grape tomatoes, and a creamy dressing. It definitely deserved two photos.

If we were locals, I could see us being weekly regulars just for the she crab soup and this wedge salad. Both are that special.

Now we'll move on to the main course.

Sweet Harold chose the Grilled Mahi with a caper brown butter sauce which was served with whipped potatoes and green beans.

Now any menu description that has browned butter will get my full attention. This was a nice sized portion of mahi and was expertly grilled. The little crispy capers were yummy.

The potatoes and green beans were more than a filler on the plate. Both were delicious as well and the entire entree was a nice change from deep fried fish and fries.

A beautiful presentation isn't it?

I had been craving crab in all the varieties, hence the She-Crab Soup. I wavered between the crab cakes listed on the regular menu and the crab claws on the appetizer portion. I made up my own entree in that I ordered the fried crab claws from the appetizer menu and the Parmesan Truffle Fries from the "Sharable Sides" portion of the menu.

First the fries. They were definitely a sharable size and, yes, I shared! Not greasy at all, they were fried to a gorgeous golden brown and topped with parmesan and truffle oil. Decadent AND delicious! I was offered a choice of ketchup or homemade ranch for dipping. I selected the ranch and I can assure you, it was definitely homemade. Yummy, yummy.

And now to the crab claws! These beauties were large in size and flavor. They were served with both cocktail and tartar sauce. Thank you for the lemon wedge for squeezing over these pieces of heaven for the added zip. There were 32 of these crab claws. To say my crab craving was satisfied is an understatement.