Sunday, June 01, 2008
Food, Travel

Gourmet goes green

The Beaches of South Walton, Fla., boast local, organic cuisine

By Carly Felton

When I was young and growing up in South Florida, days at the beach were focused on swimming, sunning and playing in the sand. Food was an afterthought. Mom would bring a big cooler packed with tuna fish sandwiches, apple slices, Pringles potato chips, cookies and lemon-lime Gatorade sip-ups, and whenever I was hungry, I’d scarf down my choice of munchie and run right back into the sand.

However, living in Atlanta necessitates a longer time commitment and prearranged accommodations for beach trips, which often makes packing a picnic lunch much more difficult. Because of that, I end up spending more money buying prepackaged foods that are often less filling, less healthy and less tasty than Mom’s homemade goodies. So when I was offered the opportunity to visit the Beaches of South Walton in Florida’s panhandle to check out the area’s gourmet green culinary scene, while absorbing some sun and a little R&R, I jumped at the chance.

After a six-drive from Atlanta, my boyfriend, Dan, and I were famished when we arrived at Alys Beach, the newest and perhaps greenest of the 26-mile, 14-community stretch between Panama City and Destin. Intending to stop by our room only momentarily to drop off our bags, we were so captivated by our accommodations that exploring took precedence.

Our three-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath courtyard home, part of the Alys Beach vacation rental program, not only featured limestone flooring, a fireplace, winding staircase, flat-screen television, full kitchen with deluxe appliances and an attractive neutral and blue-green color scheme, but it had its own enclosed courtyard with a stylish wading pool. We called it our grotto. (We later learned that the accommodations were built to be hurricane-proof and as energy and space-efficient as possible, as well as aesthetically pleasing.)

The spacious and luxurious place we were to call home for the next three days was incredible, but our stomachs were grumbling, and dinner at Criolla’s, a Creole/Caribbean restaurant in Grayton Beach (20 minutes away by car), was waiting. Chef de Cuisine Shayne Vaughan, who has worked at Bluepointe, Strip and Shout in Atlanta, treated us to a satisfying meal, starting with Slipper Lobster Corn Dog, Griddles Black Bean Queso Cakes and West Indies Crab and Johnny’s Guacamole tapas. Served with a tomatillo-avocado salsa, the queso cakes were crispy, airy and unlike anything we’d tasted before.

Dan sipped a blood-orange margarita, hand-squeezed in-house, as he waited for his next course: Oak Grilled Angus Flat Iron Steak with Lobster & Crab Yams; while I looked forward to my Georges Bank sea scallops, served with paella fritters, Caribbean slaw, herb pesto and chili oil. The scallops tasted as fresh as can be, and Vaughan explained that the seafood is purchased daily from local fisherman. The restaurant’s cheeses come from Georgia’s Sweet Grass Dairy, and even the vinegar in the Caribbean slaw is made by a local. Earles strives to carry as many organic and local products as possible, and he is currently testing out biodegradable to-go boxes. “[Green] is not just trendy; it’s something we’ve believed in for a long time,” he said.
Similarly, at Fish Out of Water restaurant at the famous WaterColor Inn in Seaside the next night, Chef Phillip Krajeck said using seasonal, local foods makes his dishes taste fresher. “I think it helps me cook better to learn about the history of where food comes from,” he said. Located on the second floor of the colorful inn, the restaurant features floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto the Gulf of Mexico, and much of the seafood served there is caught in those same and nearby waters. Fish that are indigenous to the area include: cobia, a dense white fish; and tile fish, a light, flakier fish; as well as grouper and flounder.

After enjoying Jim Whitaker’s arugula salad (the arugula comes from Whitaker Farms, 45 minutes from WaterColor), I tried the line-caught cobia, made with faro and avocado salad, beet emulsion, while Dan dug into the grouper. A thick, fishy fish, the cobia was heavier than I expected but tasty nonetheless. Served with cannelloni beans, roasted peppers and persillade—a mixture of garlic, olive oil and parsley—the black grouper was so soft and flavorful, it practically melted on our tongues. We finished off the meal by sharing the chocolate soufflé—whipped cake batter, cooked with pastry cream and strawberry glaze. It was way better than the store-bought chocolate chip cookies I had on the beach as a kid.

Our last night in the Beaches of South Walton, we decided to go for a low-key meal at a place frequented by locals. In a wooden building on a lake, Stinky’s Fish Camp in Dune Allen Beach (on the far end of the strip of beaches), turned out to be just what we had in mind. The restaurant makes everything in-house—except its bread, which is baked in New Orleans—from mayonnaise and mustard to chicken stock and bread pudding. The fish, which is not so stinky after all, comes from the Gulf every day, and is filleted in house so nothing goes to waste. The majority of the produce comes from local farmers and the chef even grows the peas himself! In addition, the excess oil from the fryer is saved and converted to biodiesel to power the manager’s car.
Not only is Stinky’s green, but it has great food, too. The blackened tile fish, served with stone-ground corn pepperjack cheese grits and brabon potatoes, had just the right amount of spice to titillate the tongue and keep us eating until our plates were clean, and the blackberry pie served a la mode with vanilla ice cream cleansed our palates without weighing us down. To top it off, the live music and laid-back atmosphere made us feel like we were really on vacation. 
Don’t tell Mom, but after meals like these, I don’t know if I could ever go back to the tuna sandwich beach meals of my childhood; however, now I know where to go to do it right. SP