anthonytrumbo.com

I had two goals for my brief trip to Destin; relax on the beach and eat some great food. I think I have accomplished both as I start getting ready to head back to Nashville tomorrow morning. The above picture captures both as it was taken from the deck of the Back Porch restaurant at lunch today. My beach chair is the first one behind the volleyball net with the blue and white beach towel hanging on the back. I will get to lunch today but decided to post about the meals in chronological order.

Dinner - Friday
Upon arrival in Destin and getting settled in my room, I began my search for a place to eat for the evening. I had already done some searching at home and one of the restaurants on my list of possibilities was Zampieri’s Harbor Grille. Given it was just across the street from the hotel it seemed like a good choice.

Appetizer - Chicken and Andouille Gumbo - Generous amounts of chicken and smoked sausage (smoked in house by the chefs) as well as some fried oysters in a light broth. Unlike many gumbos this was very light on the rice and really highlighted the meats. I didn’t even mind the lack of okra. A very good start.
Entree - Potato Wrapped Grouper - I was pleasantly surprised by the entree. I sort of expected a piece of fish with a potato pancake type encasement. Instead it was completely surrounded by very thinly sliced pieces of potato that seemed almost like a nest. The outside was crispy and the inner layers nice and moist while the grouper was thick and meaty. This was nestled on top of a few stalks of asparagus. The stalks were larger but they were tender from top to bottom. The entree was finished off with a citrus butter.
Dessert - Banana Foster Bread Pudding - Wow, sooo good. The bread pudding was nice and warm and served with a Jameson sauce. Along side the pudding was a piece of carmelized banana and some strawberries and blueberries with whipped cream.

Overall a great way to start the culinary excursions.

Coming soon - Saturday Dinner at McGuire’s Irish Pub, Sunday Lunch at the Back Porch and Sunday Dinner at Vin’tij.