Old Florida Fish House

My family loves Seaside, Florida and I was excited to eat at some of my favorite restaurants in the area and try some new ones during our most recent family vacation.  Having passed by Old Florida Fish House several times on our last vacation to the Seaside area, we decided to dine their on our first night of vacation.  The restaurant has their regular dinner menu, but they also have a sushi menu and even a sushi bar.  

Caesar Salad

For starters, I ordered a Caesar Salad and split an order of Fried Green Tomatoes with my wife.  The Caesar salad was pretty basic but it had a simple, yet flavorful dressing and had croutons that had a faint hint of garlic to them.  The fried green tomatoes were outstanding, mainly due to the fact that they were topped with a fantastic beurre blanc sauce and butter poached lump crab meat.  I wouldn't hesitate to order either of these items again.

Fried Green Tomatoes topped with beurre blanc sauce and butter poached lump crab meat

I went with the Chef's Special for my entree, which was Blackened Mahi Mahi over spinach and herb rice pilaf and topped with crawfish beurre blanc sauce.  This dish was the best seafood dish I have had in several months and I was blown away by the combination of flavors and textures in the dish.  The blanc sauce tasted similar to the sauce on the fried green tomatoes, but the crawfish put this dish over the top.  

Blackened Mahi Mahi topped with crawfish beurre blanc sauce

My wife went with the Sauteed Grouper Fish House, which our waitress claimed was the house specialty.  It was served over mashed potatoes and topped with a lemon beurre blanc sauce.  This dish was outstanding as well and my wife allowed me to eat several bites.  Although I loved both entrees, the mahi mahi was slightly better than the grouper.

Sauteed Grouper Fish House

Other members of our party ordered the sushi and were very pleased with what they ordered.  The food was outstanding and the service mostly good, although there were a couple of hiccups.  Bud and Alley's Seafood Restaurant seems to be the most popular seafood joint in the area, but the food at Old Florida Fish House was considerably better than any dish I have had at Bud And Alley's on my three visits there.  I highly recommend a visit to the Old Florida Fish House if you ever find yourself in the Seaside area.

Old Florida Fish House
http://www.oldfloridafishhouse.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=4

Seagrove Village Market Cafe

While vacationing with my wife's family in Florida, my two brother-in-laws visited a place in Seagrove Beach that they said had the best po' boy they have ever had.  The place was called Seagrove Village Market Cafe and they had a grouper sandwich that they said was amazing.  In fact, Garden and Gun Magazine claimed their grouper sandwich was one of the 100 Southern Foods You Must Eat Before You Die.  Although I have never heard of the magazine before, I assumed it had to be credible because it combined two of America's favorite things; food and firearms.  If that isn't a high enough endorsement for you, the cafe has also been featured in Southern Living,  Travel + Leisure, and Coastal Living.  

Entrance to the Cafe 

My wife and her mom

The restaurant has been around since 1949, which makes it one of the oldest restaurants in the area.  The place certainly lived up to they hype of my brother-in-laws and we actually ate here twice.  After sampling the fare, I regret that I did not eat here a third or fourth time during our visit.  During our first visit, I ordered the blackened grouper po'boy and it truly was the best po'boy I have ever had.  It was perfectly blackened and served on a bun with horseradish spiced cole slaw.  It was served with some very good fries, but they played second fiddle to this great sandwich.  This sandwich was slap-ya-momma good.  My wife got the blackened shrimp po' boy.  She let me have a bite and it was very good, but not as good as the grouper.  I also ordered a side of hush puppies, which were some of the best I have ever had.

Blackened Grouper Po' Boy-Best Po' Boy I have ever had

Blackened Shrimp Po' Boy

During a second visit, my wife got the the blackened grouper po' boy and I got the fried grouper basket with fries and slaw.  The fried grouper was some of the best fried fish I have ever had, but it paled in comparison to the grouper po' boy.  The fish was very light, with a flavorful and crispy batter.

Fried Grouper Basket

Some fantastic hushpuppies

This place was very busy during each of our visits, but the food is quickly served and you can be eating your food within 5-10 minutes.  The menu is pretty basic, but the items they have are fantastic.  My wife and I even joked that it would be worth the 12 1/2 hour drive just to eat this sandwich again.  

Seagrove Village Market Cafe
http://seagrovevillagemarket.com/
3004 Highway 395
Seagrove Beach Florida
Livin the Good Life Rating = 5