Monday, January 30, 2017

Mark your calendar for May 20th!!!

If you like Tailgate Parties then you need to be in Destin on Saturday May 20th. The Emerald Coast Parrot Head Club is sponsoring an all day party at the Mattie Kelly Cultural Arts Village in Destin. The gates will open at 10 am for a Buffett like Tailgate Party with music at the amphitheater going from noon to 6 pm. Advance tickets will be $25 per person. Details on how to get your tickets and the musical lineup to be announced soon!

Come to Destin and make an entire weekend of it. Trop Rocker Jim Asbell from Atlanta will be playing at Crab Island Cantina on Friday May 19th from 5-8 pm. No charge for this show and everyone is welcome to party with Jim and his crazy fans.

So mark your calendar and get your plans started. There will be a host hotel with discounted rooms, a special local charity will be the benefactor and many more details to follow very soon!

It was a busy week for Sunshine Cindy and myself. Wednesday afternoon with the Board of Directors of the ECPHC we visited the Mattie Kelly Cultural Arts Village to get a feel for the layout and finalize the lease agreement. From there we all headed to LuLu’s where Paul Roush was going to be playing.

The weather was perfect with temps in the upper 70’s. I had the top down on BadAss to soak up the sun and warm air. At LuLu’s they had the back bar open and a good crowd was taking advantage of the nice afternoon. Paul and Paula got there and Paul set up. Mark & Stephanie and Brodie also came out to party and listen to Paul. We took over a couple tables right in front of Paul and everyone had a good time. Our friend from Alabama Keith even showed up. He was in Destin working and heard about Paul playing. It was a fun time.

Friday morning we took Chaos to Airport Road Vets to get her nails trimmed. She does not like having that done. Lol  After we finished with that Sunshine Cindy and I headed to Fort Walton Beach to run some errands. It was lunch time when we were done so we stopped at AJ’s on the Bayou. It was our first time there and we were impressed. The transformation from what it was to now is amazing. The staff was fun and the food was good. We will be back!

Friday night was a Parrot Head meeting at Crab Island Cantina. A big crowd of almost 100 folks showed up to Party with a Purpose. Lynley from the Calypso Nuts provided the music. This was her first solo show for a Parrot Head club. She did great. The highlight of the evening was a lick’um, bite’em, shoot’em and eat’um contest. It’s is basically you do a shot of tequila (with the salt and lime) and eat a tamale. Who can eat the most in 2 minutes wins. I entered the contest and won eating almost 2 entire tamale’s in the two minutes. It was fun!

Saturday the Board had a special meeting at Hogs Breath to finalize our desire to move forward with the “Tailgates Down, Phriends All Around” May party. Sunshine Cindy was named the committee chairperson who will be responsible for the planning and execution of the party. It was a good meeting and you could not beat the location!

When the meeting ended Sunshine Cindy and I stopped at Landshark Pizza. We were invited to a retirement party later that evening at Landshark and we wanted to get a gift certificate for the guest of honor. By the time we got home we only had a couple hours before we headed back to Landshark.

It was a combination birthday and retirement party for Bobby. Want to know how dedicated Bobby is? His last day was Friday and he stayed an extra hour to make sure stuff was done. That is the kind of person Bobby is. The party at Landshark was a blast with almost 100 folks there to celebrate. Congrats Bobby and enjoy your retirement!!!

And on Sunday we rested. Well almost. We spent the day at home cleaning up, doing laundry, changing light bulbs, playing with Chaos…Normal at home stuff!

Around town the new Funkys Blues Shack will open today, Monday the 30th. It is in the old Chili’s building across from where Friday’s used to be. It was reported in the Destin Log that Dick’s Sporting Goods is still coming to the Beals Shopping Center. I will believe it when I see it. And next to Club Destin the lot where a building was torn down is in the planning stages to bring a new Surf Style shop there. They had a location there but are building a bigger place. Just what Destin needs, another bigger tee shirt shop!

I want to mention that Sunshine Cindy and I took Uber on Saturday evening. We have used Uber several times now and each time it has been fast, easy and a lot less than a cab. We will not hesitate to use it at any time. We are hooked. Cities that won’t allow it to protect their “good old boy” taxi companies (I’m looking at you Key West) need to give the people what they want. Clean cars, professional drivers and a good price. What’s not to like.

This Saturday in Harborwalk Village in Destin is the ECPHC chili cookoff. About 20 restaurants will be there as they try to win the best chili in Destin award. The cost to taste the chili’s is $20 per person at the gate or $15 if you purchase tickets early. I even have some for sale if anyone wants some. And yours truly will be a judge too. I am looking forward to it. All proceeds from the sales of the tickets will benefit The Arc of the Emerald Coast.

For Super Bowl Sunday we will be at Landshark Pizza. Go Falcons! Have a great week. See ya next Monday.

Destin Steve

Monday, January 23, 2017

It rained on our parade…

The big news from Destin this past week was the weather. We went from foggy mornings and nights during the week to severe thunderstorms over the weekend. Unfortunately the storms caused the Mardi Gras parade on Okaloosa Island to be cancelled. We had a lot of rain and strong winds hit Destin and Okaloosa County but we did not get the tornado’s that hit Mississippi and Georgia killing about 18 folks. Our prayers go out to those affected.

Even though the parade was cancelled the Emerald Coast Parrot Heads still had a group get together and party at Anglers, Rockin Taco and Helen Back. A little rain didn’t slow them down!

Wednesday evening Sunshine Cindy and I went to Crab Island Cantina to listen to BT play. Julie, Suzanne, Alan and Jackie were also there as a small crowd enjoyed BT’s music. It was eerie as the fog rolled in making it feel like we were in San Francisco. BT did his usual fun show. He is performing each Wednesday starting at 4 pm for the snowbirds playing till 7 pm. Get out and listen to him if you get a chance.

On Sunday Sunshine Cindy and I went to Landshark Pizza to watch the Falcons / Packers game. Landshark is a Packer Backer bar and it was filled with fans. We had 8 at our table and we were all rooting for the Falcons. We were definitely outnumbered. We got there at 12:30 for the 2 pm start and we were lucky to get a table. Landshark had a hot wing eating contest using their Liquid Death sauce. I swear this stuff could melt metal it is so hot. They use Ghost Chili peppers to make it. It’s not for the novice! LOL 

The winner ate his ten wings in about 7 minutes. Not bad but not close to the record time of 1 minute and 32 seconds set a few years ago. Of course just eating those wings should get you some kind of metal. The game saw the Falcons destroy the Packers. It was real quiet except for the few Falcons fans that were there. Brian, Sue and the entire Landshark team does a great job. It was tough on them to see their team play so badly but on the bright side, they did make it that far which is better than the majority of teams. Being a Browns fan I always say we will get them next year and they were saying the same thing.

Sunshine Cindy and I stayed for a while talking to some folks while the Steelers / Pats game started. Out on Hwy 98 there was a wreck as a truck flipped. I didn’t hear how the driver was doing and don’t know what happened but there always seems to be something happening on this stretch of road.

Around town the new Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins stores are getting ready to open. It looks like it could be any day now. They are located almost across from Big Kahuna’s.

This weekend the Parrot Heads will be meeting at Crab Island Cantina in Harborwalk Village on Friday starting at 5:30 pm. Come out and Party with a Purpose as the Parrot Heads raise money for Alaqua Animal Rescue.

Have a great week. See ya next Monday!

Destin Steve

Monday, January 16, 2017

A quiet week in Destin

For the next two months things will be pretty predicable in Destin. We have the snowbirds driving slow in the left lane, locals complaining about them driving slow, sunny and cool or warm and wet weather, and an overall nice slow pace to life. It’s a nice time of the year in Destin.

Sunshine Cindy and I got out and about a few times this past week. Thursday night we went to Mimmo’s for dinner. Mimmo’s is an Italian restaurant with excellent food. Mimmo was born in Sicily and uses recipes from his homeland. We actually got a chance to chat with Mimmo for a while. He is a young guy but he runs a fine restaurant. Sunshine Cindy had pasta carbonara and I had chicken parmigiana. Both dishes were excellent. Check it out if you are looking for good Italian food.

Friday we had to go to Fort Walton Beach for an appointment with our eye doctor. After the visit it was noon so we decided to stop at Anglers on the island for some lunch. We have not been to Anglers in a year or so. We walked in and no one was around. The bar was empty and no bartender was in sight. We didn’t even see anyone in the dining room although I suspect there had to be some folks on the deck area. We waited for a few minutes then decided to leave when no one showed up.

Rockin Taco is a newer place that opened last year on the Boardwalk. We headed there to check it out. We are glad we did. This is where Howling at the Moon used to be. The new owners put in over $1.8M in renovations into the place. It is open, airy and right on the beach. Sunshine Cindy and I sat at the bar outside as it was about 75 degrees and beautiful. The bartender was Tad who we remember from TGIFriday’s in Destin. Then I saw Roy who also used to work there. He is a manager here. Finally we saw the GM. It was JP who we have known for several years. We worked with him doing events at Anglers years ago. He came by and we talked for a long while catching up.


We had a fun time there. We shared some food and soaked up the sunshine. But we had to head home to take Chaos to her one year checkup. She is in perfect health although she was not happy about the shots she got. But Chaos is a trooper and did fine.

Friday night Sunshine Cindy decided to stay home but I went to the Parrot Head meeting at Landshark’s. Jan was playing for us. It was a fun time but I was tired and headed home a little early.

Saturday afternoon Sunshine Cindy and I wanted to see the Falcons game so we went to Landshark to watch it. A good crowd was there for the game. We enjoyed some brews, pizza and wings as the Falcons beat the Seahawks. Paige took good care of us. While there we talked to Glen and Bruce who stopped in. Brian and Sue were preparing for a big crowd for the Sunday Packers game. They had more tables brought in to handle the crowd they were expecting.

We hung around for a little of the second game but headed home to Chaos. We kind of watched the Pats game but mostly just played with Chaos! Lol

We planned to go out to watch some of the Packers game on Sunday but Sunshine Cindy got into some spring cleaning around the house and didn’t want to leave. I decided that I would go get us some food and headed to Hogs Breath. I watched the first half of the game then got a to-go order. The bars at Hogs were pretty busy with folks watching the game. I saw some pictures from Landsharks and they were packed. With the Packers winning that means next week they will be busy again! Good for them.

Around Destin it was announced the Destin Diner is getting new owners. It will now become a Mary’s Kitchen. There is one in Fort Walton but we have never been there. I hear they have good food so we will have to give it a try when they open.

The Waffle House in Destin by Airport Road is undergoing a complete renovation. They tore it down to some studs and it is being rebuilt. The place leaked a lot when it rained so it was overdue. We also heard the old Friday’s in Destin will be home to Panera’s as they move from the Commons.

In HarborWalk Village a new Italian restaurant is open above Crab Island Cantina. This is where La Famiglia used to be located at. (The La Famiglia in the Commons is still open.) The new place will be called Bella Sera and is co-owned by David Seering. David is a piano player that will bring his music to his new place.

On the island Pandora’s is closing. Pandora’s has been around for many years. The owner died last year and his children are running the place but they have decided to do other things. It sounds like a new restaurant or two might be opened on the island by them.

This Saturday is the Mardi Gras parade on the island. Come out and let the good times roll!!! I will have a full recap next Monday!

Destin Steve

Monday, January 9, 2017

Winter comes to Destin

Just like the rest of the country, winter arrived in Destin this past weekend. Our week started out with nice warm temps and even some strong thunderstorms. By Friday we had a cold front come through. On Friday we had our high temp about 7 am and it dropped the rest of the day. By the evening we had a cold rain falling and one last strong thunderstorm blowing through town. Saturday morning we were in the low 30’s with the wind blowing about 800 mph! lol  At least it didn’t snow!

Trop Rock musician Don Middlebrook was playing at LuLu’s in Destin Friday and Saturday nights. Sunshine Cindy and I didn’t go out Friday as we are wimps but we did go hear Don on Saturday. On Saturday we had about 15 friends show up to listen to Don. LuLu’s was thrilled to have us as the place was pretty empty otherwise. LuLu’s has a good deal on PBR bottles. They are just $2 each. I always order them as I like PBR. Yeah, I really do! They have a fun special promotion with the PBR’s. You guess a playing card (like a 9 of hearts) and on the bottle cap is a card number. If you guess right you get the beer for free. I just missed guessing one correctly. I had the right number but wrong suite. It’s just something fun to do at the bar.

There was a couple at the bar from upstate NY. They are big fans of Don and made a special trip to Destin to hear him. Renee and Todd were traveling to Port Charlotte and made a detour to Destin. They are both parrot heads and also fans of the Cleveland Browns so we had that in common! They were nice folks and I’m sure we will see them again sometime.

When Sunshine Cindy and I left LuLu’s we were going to stop at Chan’s Craft Bar. To our surprise the parking lot was packed and we could see the inside was filled up. So instead we stopped at Longhorn’s. We had some appetizers and enjoyed a quiet time at the bar.

I took Chaos out for walks on both Saturday and Sunday mornings. I froze both times. The wind was the killer. It was howling and with temps in the upper 20’s on Sunday made it feel like was in the teens. That might not be too cold for our Ohio and Minnesota friends but it is like the artic to us! 

Sunday I went to Landshark Pizza for a while to watch some football. It was not too busy for the first game but I knew it would get packed for the Packers game later. The Steelers routed the Dolphins so I didn’t stay real long. Paige was working the bar and told me on Saturday night they were super busy. One of their busiest nights yet. That was strange as the town is pretty empty right now with just snowbirds around who don’t stay out late.

Last week I attended my first parrot head board meeting. We have a lot of good things coming up with the Emerald Coast Parrot Head club for this year. The club raises and donates a lot of money and man hours each year. Last year the club donated over $15,000 to local charities and over 2500 volunteer man hours were noted for things like our beach cleanups, working on a Habitat for Humanity house and other worthwhile causes. We really do “Party with a Purpose!” Come join the club and help out the community. Our next meeting will be this Friday at Landshark Pizza in Destin starting at 5:30 pm. Jan Patton will be providing the music for us.

Around town it was reported chef Emeril Lagasse is going to be opening a new restaurant in Grand Boulevard. The restaurant has not been named yet but the plans are for a spring time opening. Emeril has a house in the area and is seen frequently out and about.

See ya all next Monday!!!

Destin Steve

Monday, January 2, 2017

Welcome to 2017 in Destin

Sunshine Cindy and I hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year’s celebration. It was a fun week where we had great weather and lots of folks in town to celebrate.

Last Monday we took Tiffany to The Back Porch for lunch. The place was packed but we got some seats at the bar. After lunch we walked on the beach. The sun was out and it was actually hot. There were even a few folks in the water. They must have been tourist from up north someplace.

Tiffany flew back to Atlanta on Tuesday. Meanwhile Sunshine Cindy and I relaxed around the house. We did go to Landshark Pizza on Thursday for lunch. People kept coming and going as the place stayed busy. Tommy, Capt. Browning, Pops and others were there enjoying the afternoon. Brian and Jason were staying busy keeping up with everyone.

Friday evening the ECPHC had a New Year’s Eve Eve party at Harry T’s. About 100 people were there having a great time. Flash Flood duo played music and Dan put out a great spread of food for everyone. Sunshine Cindy and I got there a little early and went to the downstairs bar. Wayne, Judi and Kelly were already there. Then Alan and Jackie, Suzanne and Mike showed up. The party had begun. We all went upstairs when the doors opened. The party was a blast. While we partied upstairs the Florida State alumni club was downstairs watching the FSU / Michigan bowl game. That ended up being the most exciting game of the bowl season as FSU pulled it out at the end.

Saturday was New Year’s Eve. The last few years Sunshine Cindy and I have gone out early then got home to relax while watching everyone on TV party. This year was no different. We headed to Landshark to watch the Bama game. While there Alan and Jackie came and joined us. As they were leaving Kenny showed up. About the time Kenny was leaving Steve and Becky come in. It was fun catching up with everyone. I had a pizza while Sunshine Cindy had a Brat sandwich. Glen was smoking port butts and ribs and they smelled and looked so good. That’s what we will get next time!

We did go home and watched all the different things cities drop to ring in the new year. There were live cut-ins from Harborwalk Village in Destin and it was packed. We could hear the fireworks at our house when they were shot off too. It was a nice way to bring in 2017.

Sunday was the last NFL game of the season for the Browns. We went to Charlie’s inside Crab Island Cantina to watch the game. Ken, Cheryl, Donnie, Julie, Alan, Jackie, Steve and Becky all joined us. The Browns played a pretty decent game but still lost. This season is mercifully over. But we had a good time with our friends!

Around town, the day after Christmas the TGIFriday’s in Destin closed down. This was no surprise as this place had gone down the last few years. The building was run down and all the good workers were run off. Fridays used to be the place to party in Destin. When I first got to town back in 1999 Friday’s was all by itself with no Destin Commons or the other centers around there. Everyone went to Fridays. If you didn’t get there by 4 on Friday afternoons you could not get in. One of our favorite servers of all time, Rick worked days and he was a hoot. Then a new GM came in and ran off everyone including the locals. That plus they didn’t do anything to upgrade the building. Earlier today as I drove by the building there were U-Haul trucks being loaded. I guess they wanted to save the 1980 era bathroom fixtures that were still there. LOL

In Fort Walton Beach I got some info that The Spot has already closed. This is the old Staff’s building. Word on the street is they closed suddenly and left a lot of unpaid bills in their wake. I never saw or heard any advertising about this place so it’s no surprise they closed so soon.

The snowbirds are here. I went to Publix this morning and I was the youngest person there. LOL This reminds me of a joke by our friend Brent Burns; “If a car from Michigan passes you this time of the year, It’s stolen!”

Let’s have a fantastic 2017 in Destin and beyond! See ya next Monday!!!

Destin Steve