Hurricane Oyster Bar and Grill - Grayton Beach Florida

(also published to Yelp)
Hurricane Oyster Bar and Grill is located at 37 Logan Ln, Grayton Beach, FL 32459 at the end of a line of buildings in a small shopping center. Parking is along the street or within a couple of small lots - the sign is a bit hard to see but worthwhile, especially during happy hour. 

I've been going to Hurricane's a couple of seasons now - last year we were told by some locals that it was a good spot for Oysters and a frequent location for local residents. This seems to be true as there weren't many of us tourists there in September 2014 (when I last visited) or September 2013. This is very much a bar with dark halls, spirits and beer taps. I could see it being my weekly after-work hangout.

I think the best time to go is early afternoon to take advantage of the happy hour. Oysters are also discounted during that time at about a buck apiece. The tables in the enclosed patio are picnic-style with holes for a bucket (to both hold and discard the free shelled peanuts, of course). Enjoy your goober-peas and kick back to a  nice ale - I'm a big fan of both the Bell's Two Hearted IPA and the Lagunitas IPA - on my last visit I had one of each. Some of the others with me enjoyed the margritas. 

The menu is fairly extensive with many seafood, sandwich and snaky options. I've heard that the fish tacos and wings were quite good. Of course, I come here for one thing only, the oysters.  These are seasonal (but for the most part they always have them) and locally caught. Last season they were really exceptional - very large and juicy. This season not-so-much and a bit on the smallish side.

Service tends to be exceptional with very attentive bartenders and servers. As with most of the local-to-30A restaurants and drinking establishments, they only take cash so make sure you bring enough for that 3rd round! I'll be coming back. 

-- John

 

World of Beer Atlanta - Grand Opening

(a much shorter review also posted on Yelp)
The World of Beer Atlanta is located at 855 Peachtree St NE, STE 5 across from the Gordon Biersch and near the Fox Theater - note that if you use Google the address is incorrect (missing the "NE") and will take you to the wrong location. It's also a free WiFi hotspot. This is a nearly 4000 SF facility with 500 bottles, 4 nitro and 53 rotating taps. This is also the first WOB opening in Georgia (there's a second coming to Kennesaw) for the Tampa based company, currently operating in 19 states and 63 locations.

Parking is available at Viewpoint Midtown Condominiums (corner of Peachtree St. NE & 6th St.) with up to 2 hour validation. There's also an uber code: WOBATL. The loyalty club is also worth joining (free T-shirt and a draft worth up to $7, along with "points" as you sample and attain badges), along with a free app on iOS and android. The bar and seating are extensive with many flat-panel TVs with the current game (with sound!) going. There's an exterior deck for a street level view, and interior, covered courtyard and the bar itself with elevated tables. It was loud and hectic, as you would expect for an opening night.

I held a technology MeetUp on the opening night with about 10 participants, drinking beer and sampling apps. We were provided an iPad with full descriptions and useful filters (like by ABV or country of origin) - see photo above. We had:

Tavern Taters - the tots were covered with beer cheese and fresh jalepenos and a bit of onion and a drizzle of sour cream.

Gigantic German Pretzel with Beer Cheese - the Bavarian standard baked and lightly salted. I liked that it wasn't killed with salt as you normally see in the smaller variety - appropriately soft on the inside with a bit of crust and delicious dipped in yellow mustard or the optional house-made beer cheese.

Margarita Flat Bread - there were two sizes on the menu, and of course we went with the largest - plenty of fresh basil on this and well apportioned cheese and pesto.

Mac n Cheese - shell-pasta with just a bit of spice, flashed with herbed bread crumbs

Dry Rubbed Chicken Wings - the jumbo 20 count. In a word, delicious and for this alone worth trying WOB. Slightly sweet, smokey and good - if you don't like these then there's something wrong with you.

Of the apps, the Pretzel and wings were a cut above the rest.

I have a simple philosophy regarding beer - I like to start with something dark and rich, drink either an IPA, brown or amber while eating, then finish with a smoky stout (basically a dessert round). This night I had three pints:

Lion Stout - this rich, dark stout from Sri Lanka has become one of my favorites, after originally trying it at Cafe Bombay - it has an ABV of 8.0% and is just plain good.

Sweetwater Hop Hash - this more-than-appropriate bitter Imperial/Double IPA is much darker than you would expect and at 7.8% ABV will certainly get your buzz on. I found it went well with the pretzel and beeer cheese and the rubbed wings.

Terrapin Moo-hoo - this chocolate stout from the venerable Athens brewery was one of the better I've sampled, cleaner than most I've tried with distinct chocolate flavor. At 6.0% ABV a bit less of a hit than the Lion I started with. I'll have to be careful with this one or my waist size will go up a couple of notches.

I also tried a few other drinks including free samples from a rep attending from the UK's Ilkley brewery who was passing out shots of Chocolate Chipotle Stout - this reminded me a bit of Harpoon's Chocolate stout only cleaner  in the initial hit and but with much heavier Chocolate at the finish.

I also sampled the Infusion for the evening - Green Bullet with citrus accents (mango and pineapple). I normally don't care too much for infusions but this one was very clean, with a delicate finish - it also starts with a Green Flash Green Bullet Imperial IPA at 10.1% ABV, already big with grapefruit and melon. There was a surprisingly large number of brews available above the 10% ABV mark - more than enough to get your drink on!

 We all had a great time!

 -- John

Local Catch in Santa Rosa Beach Florida

(shorter review posted to Yelp)
Local Catch Bar & Grill is located on 3711 W County Hwy 30A, Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459. The building's long side faces 30A with outside seating, a well-stocked bar and additional tables for diners. This part of the panhandle West of Seaside but East of Destin is part of the beaches of Fort Walton, including Santa Rosa, Blue Mountain and Grayton State Park. This area has been one of our frequent vacation spots due to the white sands, wide beaches and lack of commercial development - it's also frequented less than Panama City and other larger city centers and we enjoy a bit of solitude. There are several restaurants along the County Hwy 30A corridor and Local Catch is one of the better, in my opinion. We visited in late September 2014 which is a perfect time at the beach - clear weather, still in the 80's during the day so the beach isn't too hot, calm surf and few people.

The bar dominates the main room and I can see this as a great hangout for locals (there are a few flat-panels so you can drink, munch and watch your favorite team). The exterior seating was empty the night we went but this was in late September so not prime-time for tourists. Noise levels were high so if that's not your bag you may want to try visiting earlier in the day when it's less busy. Mid week with 8 in the party we were seated pretty much immediately and given menus. Our waiter was in a word, fantastic, making great recommendations based on a superior understanding of both the food and drink Local Catch offers.

 The menu is fairly extensive with many seafood options - in particular Florida grouper in incorporated into many of the items and is in several of the specials. If you can't decide, I'd recommend the grouper. There's also a few local brews to sample as well as the old standards including my backup Sweetwater 420. I decided to go with the Pensacola Ba IPA in the jumbo, 20 oz size (hey if you're going to drink, then drink, right?). This IPA was appropriately bitter with great depth, color and secondary flavors - I think it was my favorite restaurant-bought for this trip.

I had the opportunity to try most of what we ordered:
Seafood Gumbo - served in a bowl over rice.

Shrimp Po Boy, served with tomato, lettuce and a piquant remoulade with a side of fries

Grouper Fish Tacos with green beans

Grilled Shrimp with grits and sweet potatoes

Caribbean Shrimp Tacos (slaw, roasted peppers, mango) with green beans

Fresh Grouper Po Boy served with green beans

Pecan Encrusted Grouper with grits and green beans - this last is what I ordered and I can speak the most regarding it. For me I thought it was a bit over-done (not that it was over-cooked - that part was perfect) with the pecan, which totally dominated the flavor of the fish. I can see why it would be very popular, especially in the South. I thought it had a bit too much fatty mouth-feel, especially with the grits. The lemons don't add anything to the flavor but do add a bit of acid that's usually good to cut the fat. I would rather have seen this served on some sauteed-with-lemon greens like kale or chard, with a side-starch. The dish felt very heavy - but this is my own opinion, most of you who like fish and nuts, especially pecans, will enjoy this very much.

All of the grouper I tried (in the various dishes) was in general superb, as were the shrimps. This will definitely be a spot for future visits.

-- John