A couple of weeks ago I talked a little about where to stay when you visit the Emerald Coast, but today we’re getting into some really good food. Our little group did a whole lot of good eating, so you’ll be seeing one more of these posts. This may have actually been my favorite new experience while I was in Destin! I’ll kick things off with a fun thing to do:
Deep Sea Fishing: Now, I had never been deep sea fishing before…and I’ve never really had a good thing with boats unless it’s just a little fishing boat. I did get to go out on an excursion on a catamaran in Jamaica, but a deep sea fishing boat is a whole different thing. So, crazy nervous, and armed with all the motion sickness meds, we went for it. We we went out on a chartered fishing boat, the Backdown 2 and went out on a 4-hour fishing trip. Luckily, I didn’t have to bait my own hook, but I had a blast and we caught a fair number of fish. Once back at the dock, our fish were cleaned and bagged for us, and we walked them up to be cooked for lunch. It was definitely the freshest fish I’ve ever eaten! I would definitely head out on another trip, though it was exhausting (I absolutely took a long nap after our fantastic lunch).
Where to Eat: When we got in from our fishing trip, we walked our fresh filets up to Brotula’s, where we were seated out overlooking the docks and ordered a whole lot of ice water and a round of cold beer. We snacked on appetizers, we all really enjoyed the fresh tuna dip, while the chef came out to ask how we’d like our fish cooked (that’s him in the first picture, along with an array of fried goodness). We opted to let him cook each fish in the best way for that particular type of fish (we brought in Amberjack, White Snapper, and Trigger Fish).
Our fish and side dishes came out family style, served on big wooden boards. As you can see, it looked AMAZING and tasted just as good. Most of us grabbed for the board of fried fish first, but there wasn’t a bad preparation in the bunch. It’s quite an experience to catch your own lunch, but all of the fish was just fantastic. I can’t really choose a specific side that was a favorite for me…but there were some stellar brussels sprouts and a slaw that I went back for more of.
I’m headed back down to Destin this summer with my family, so I’ve got a plan to take them over to Brotula’s for one of our meals. Keep an eye out next week for Part 3 of my Emerald Coast Travel Guide!
