The Great Southern Cafe

Seaside, Florida has quite a few restaurants in the downtown area.  During our previous visit to the town, we tried quite a few of them but didn't get to dine at all of them.  The Great Southern Cafe was one of them that we did not get to try on our first trip to Seaside.  We made it a point to remedy that situation on this trip because several friends highly recommended the restaurant.

Covered Patio Area 

Since my wife and I are both fans of collard greens, we started with the Soul Rolls.  They were essentially spring rolls filled with chicken and collard greens.  We both enjoyed the Asian-style take on a Southern-style food.  The rolls themselves were quite good, but I didn't particularly care for the peach chutney or the horseradish sauce that was served with them.

Soul Rolls

I had heard through the rumor mill that their Grits and Grillades was a dish that was not to be missed.  Having never had grillades before, it was a very unique taste and reminded me of gumbo made of beef.  This restaurants version of the dish consisted of slow roasted beef in a Shiraz stew and served over smoked Gouda cheese grits.  I absolutely loved the flavor of the dish and it was unquestionably the best-tasting food item I had on this trip.  It was so good that I almost cried when I shoveled the last bite in my mouth.

Grits and Grillades

My wife decided that she wanted to try the vegetable plate.  When people order the vegetable plate, you assume that they are trying to eat healthy.  This was not the case this time around as my wife chose fried okra, fried green tomatoes, grits, and black-eyed peas.  Everything on the plate was delicious, but the fried okra cut length-wise was absolutely incredible.

Veggie Plate-Fried Okra, Fried Green Tomatoes, Grits, and Black-Eyed Peas

We enjoyed the food at The Great Southern Cafe and were pleasantly surprised how cool the breeze as it was blowing off the ocean while we sat on the patio.  The place always seems to be packed to the gills, but the service was more than adequate despite the large crowd.  This place will definitely get a return visit from me the next time my family visits Seaside!  

The Great Southern Cafe
http://www.thegreatsoutherncafe.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=4