Emerald Coast, Round 2, Part 3

I made 6 eggs and an English muffin for breakfast, I was nice enough to let mom have two eggs. We drove to Topsail Park and rented a kayak. We had it for 4 hours and cost $50.00. Mom wouldn't go too far away from the starting point, which bothered me, though I was never going to say it. That was not an argument that I needed. But I guess I wanted a little bit more of an adventure. We lasted 90 minutes on the lake. Then we ate a Jon Smith's Italian sub that we had brought along. The Italian cold cuts was pretty good, especially when I added the hot cherry pepper relish for a little extra heat. But I will stick by this principle until the day I die, regular ham has no business on an Italian hero sandwich.

We got back and I really had a desire to run, especially after my legs had been stationary for the last 2 hours. So in the Florida heat, I decided to run westbound, shirtless down the scenic coast highway. After about 20 minutes, I felt a pain in my left Achilles. I made it about four miles or so, but I really ran 3.25 along with alternating running and walking the last mile. I limped back into the apartment, applied sunscreen, and laid in the sunset for an hour, trying to catch my breath and forget about the discomfort. 

After a shower, it was time for dinner and we went to Boshamps. Holy crap. And I mean that in the absolute most positive sense. What a great experience I had. The two of us arrived around 630 on a Monday and were told the wait would be 60 to 90 minutes. By the grace of God, we found two seats in the outside rectangular bar. Even though there wasn't live music going on, there was still a happy relaxed energy that was easy to sense. 

Grits, one of the bartenders, was super friendly and engaging. I started with a mojito, but I tasted more soda than anything else, such as lime, mint, or rum. Decent but not too good. 

Then the food started coming. The Devils Crab app in a Mason jar. Lump crab meat, fried saltines, a couple varieties of peppers (I'm thinking jalapeno and Fresno, since one of them was red but overbearingly hot), a little seasoning, and not much else. And more fried crackers with a little salt and pepper for dipping, and they gave us a long thin spoon for scooping. Now this wasn't saucy, it wasn't a dip. The dominant ingredient was crab meat, followed by crunch and spice. Satisfying, a creative presentation, but not a heavy dish that exhausts the stomach. They gave us a perfect amount of crackers for the dip too.  

As for the entree, I thought about their crawfish  salad because I love fried crawfish. Grouper is huge down there but I don't love the flavor and it usually gets overpriced anyway. I have always been a huge snapper fan when I can find it, so I went with the Snapper Destin. A large filet of red snapper, topped with jumbo lump crab, two gulf shrimp, served over mashed red early potatoes, braised local greens, lemon butter, and béarnaise honey roasted nuts. 

This truly may have been the best fish dish I've ever eaten. Crunchy, meaty, salty, hearty, a  complex fusion of flavors that came together perfectly. $39.99, and it was well worth the price. That plate went back to the cleaning crew  totally empty. 

They only had one dessert available, a cake with Maker's Mark rum, so instead I drank a Lucky Dog cocktail with vodka, and several fruit juices. Sweet finish to a dynamic meal. 

Now this isn't cheap for dinner, so lunch or happy hour might be a wise way to go. But this was a special experience and that snapper may well have been the most memorable part of my 5 day Florida trip.