Hi Steve. And thanks. There's no shortage of good places to eat here in the Sandestin area!

Finz and Finz Loft, both located on the Hilton Sandestin property, are two really great places to dine on the beach. Finz is beach casual while Finz Loft is more along the lines of fine dining. Both have great food and great wines. And the service at both has always been tops in my book.

The Marlin Grill located in the Village is very good, too. The bar staff is excellent so we usually eat in the bar area to avoid waiting for a table. Their appetizers are terrific and their wine selection is great (although a little pricey). Half bottles of wine are nice when you don't care for a full bottle. The salmon entre' is wonderful. But for myself, I prefer the grouper. Oh yeh, skip the "lettuce wedge" salad. That's exactly what it is ... one HUGE wedge of lettuce that nobody could possibly eat! I prefer the ceasar salad. Be sure to get some fresh bread from the "bread girl". And be prepared for a bit of a wait if you'd like regular butter instead of their special butter.

I'm usually pretty positive but I can NOT recommend Poppy's Seafood Factory in the Village. While the food has always been very good - I have a tough time with poor service that comes at high prices. We gave them one more try the other night and they failed miserably. We had stopped in for a bottle of wine and some King Crablegs. But we left after waiting almost 30 minutes for a bottle of wine. Perhaps others have had better luck at Poppy's. But we have NO PLANS to go back!

Hammerheads at the end of the Village has always provided great food and great service at reasonable prices. It's very "beach casual". Their sandwiches are always great, their beer is always cold. And they have great shrimp, crablegs, etc. But forget the wine! :o)

Blue Point Fishclub in Destin Commons used to be one of our favorite stops until recently. But we started to notice a steady decline in the availability of their published wines. Then their service started to decline. Then they changed their menu (omitting some of our favorite items). They went up on their prices and down on quantity/quality. So -- we don't go to Blue Point anymore!

Cuvee Beach caught our eye one night so we thought we'd give it a try. The parking lot was packed with cars which is usually a good sign. As it turned out,t the hostess was "not a happy person", our server appeared equally disinterested, the wine and entre's were expensive and the atmosphere in general was very unappealing for us. We ended up cancelling our wine order, tipped our server for "troubling him" and we cut our losses while we had the chance. Whew .... who needs all of that?!!

Panera Bread in Destin Commons always provides great soups and great sandwiches in a timely fashion. Whenever we're in DC, we usually try to plan on having lunch at Panera Bread.

Hey, if you haven't tried Dave's Dogs in Destin Commons ... give them a try. I know -- it's a hot dog. But for five bucks, you get a great hotdog loaded with chili and all of the trimmings on a grilled" bun with a cold drink (bottled water if you want). Hey, there's not much you can buy in Destin Commons for five bucks - so give Dave a try! He's working hard for his money!

Hard Rock in Destin Commons ... nice place, good food. But we won't go back. It's just not for us. We blew out our eardrums during the sixties and seventies. So we prefer something a little quieter now!

The Red Bar in Grayton Beach used to be a favorite of ours but for some reason we've stopped going there. The food used to be fabulous but it seems they've lost their passion for their business. Maybe it's just a cycle they're going through!

Another Broken Egg Cafe in the Village for breakfast or lunch is fantastic! Take your time .. and read everything on the menu before ordering. Be sure to bring your appetite because the portions are large! Omelets, Scrambles, Croissants, etc ... it's all great at the Broken Egg. Last week, I had the Farm Fresh Omelet with broccoli, mushrooms, onions and cheese ... deee..lish! And forget Starbucks and waiting in line - because the coffee at Broken Egg is great!

By now, you know that I'm a nut for good service. I'm a 20% plus tipper if I don't have to ask or wait for everything. Well, McAlister's Gourmet Deli made themselves a big "zero" in the tip category. Their food is great .. that is, if you can get somebody in the kitchen to make "what you ordered" ... and if you can find someone to give it to you! Enough said ... McAlister's Gourmet Deli ... a big zero. Oh, and forget the Burger King next door. It's no better than McAlister's!

Applebee's on Emerald Coast, just east of Baytowne on Emerald Coast Hwy(Hwy 98), has always been a good stop for us. Okay, so it's Applebee's. But they deserve some credit. They're open when others are closed. Their food is always consistent. Their prices are reasonable and their service has always been very accomodating.

I heard the other day that OceanClub is a big "thumb's up" for fine dining. We planned on going there the other night but not wanting to leave the Village, we ended up at the Bistro Bijoux instead. While the Bistro was an excellent decision, we still want to try the OceanClub. Stay tuned.

Harbor Docks in Destin proper has the best blackened amberjack anywhere. Well, there's one other place (Ryan's Catch in Perdido Key but who's going to make that drive?) So, amberjack you ask? Yes, try it blackened. It's fabulous. And the service at Harbor Docks is always good.

Oh, Harbor Docks used to be great for breakfast, too. But I haven't been there in quite a while (for breakfast) so my information may be dated. I don't know if they still serve breakfast. if they do -- I'm sure it's still just as great as it always was.

All of this talk about food has made me hungry. I wonder where we'll go tonight. Hmmm, it's New Years Eve and we don't have reservations. This could be interesting! Stay tuned!

Happy New Year!!