Article on Elmo's in AL.com
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Not fancy, just famous
Family friendly Elmo's makes up for lack of view with great food
Friday, July 21, 2006 SUSAN SWAGLER
[Elmo's Grill, 6931 Scenic Highway 30-A, Santa Rosa Island, Fla. 850-267-2299.]
We found several truly wonderful things during a recent beach vacation: lots of cockle, tulip, conch and olive seashells; a beach with dunes instead of condos; and one thing that wasn't actually on the beach - Elmo's Grill.
At the end of a day at the beach, Elmo's was a very good thing indeed: family-friendly and absolutely casual with fresh, delicious seafood.
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Throw in live music and really cold beer, and you have a beach hot spot. There are picnic tables on a cool deck where low lighting combined with, let's face it, a little bit of color from the sun makes everyone look great. But we loved eating on Elmo's porch, which is outfitted with more picnic tables, metal garden furniture and a small children's indoor play area. Besides, it's a little closer to Shawn, who plays acoustic guitar and sings familiar folk tunes and the occasional round of the "Hokey Pokey."
We actually discovered Elmo's before we'd even seen the beach. Hungry from the day's ride and a little cranky after unloading, we headed down 30-A, on the hunt for food.
Elmo's, looking funky and fun from the highway, beckoned.
This restaurant has been in business for 15 years, and I don't know how we've missed it up until now. The slogan here is "Not fancy, just famous!" And judging by the crowd we saw that night, that's about right.
At 7:30 p.m. our 30-minute wait turned into 45, but we sat at the bar and people-watched. We saw folks clad in crisp khaki and white, fresh from Christmas photos at the beach. There were sunburned families devouring the all-you-can-eat crab legs, which were the day's special. And one little girl planted her 5-year-old self in front of the folk singer and entertained the room. "Fast forward 13 years," I said with raised eyebrows, "and that won't be so cute."
We finally got a seat at a picnic table on the deck and quickly ordered food along with drinks. This food arrived in short order.
An appetizer of crab cakes didn't quite fill up our teenager, but the two small portions were more crab than cake. Our younger daughter ordered from the kid's menu - popcorn shrimp ($5.75) that were tender inside and nice and crunchy outside. This basket came with small but tasty hushpuppies, fries and a slice of watermelon. An appetizer of cheese sticks ($5.95) was just right for our son, the picky eater. However, he and shrimp girl had a short but heated argument about sharing. Does one cheese stick equal one or two shrimp?
My husband and I raised frosty bottles of icy Red Stripe beer ("Here's to vacation") and let them work it out.
Our attention actually was on our own soft-shell crab sandwiches ($9.25). Without a doubt, these were the best we've had anywhere. The crab in each was large and meaty, with just the right, light touch of batter. They came with a side of fries - enough to share without any argument.
A few weeks later, we book-ended our beach trip with a second visit on our last night at the coast.
This time, about 6 p.m., we were seated immediately at a corner picnic table on the porch. Our server, brusque yet efficient, had our smoked tuna dip appetizer ($6.25) on our table in no time. We dipped warm tortilla chips into the rich spread, which was subtly smoky, a little chunky and absolutely delicious. And we scanned the room, which looks as if it were decorated by a beach bum with lots of connections and a good sense of humor. There are deer heads and marlin (a different take on surf-and-turf). There are navigational charts, folk art, fishing equipment and signs.
This time our teen ordered the soft-shell crab sandwich. A little put off at first by the fat, crunchy legs sticking out of the bun on her plate, she ended up loving this dish as much as her father and I did.
Wanting to try something new, I ordered the "shrimp spectacular" ($17.75) from the house specialties part of Elmo's short menu. This was a combination of shrimp - crispy fried, perfectly boiled, and nicely spiced and blackened. There were six of each, and each morsel was large and plump. It was hard to pick a favorite, but I really loved the blackened shrimp, with their pronounced but not overwhelming spicy bite.
My husband ordered the grilled market fish - this night it was mahi-mahi ($16.75). The fish was delightfully fresh if a bit overcooked on the slimmer ends. A touch of "Uncle Gumbo's" seasoning added extra flavor as did a light lemon-herb butter.
We finished our meal with a large bowl of fresh and fruit-filled blackberry cobbler ($2.50) and a slice of tart and creamy Key lime pie ($2.95).
As close as it is to the beach, there's no memorable view at Elmo's except, perhaps, seeing your fellow diners put their whole selves in during the "Hokey Pokey." (And that's quite an interesting view.) But the place is absolutely family friendly. Pair that with solidly good, Gulf-fresh seafood, and it really doesn't get much better than this.
Susan Swagler is a free-lance restaurant reviewer for The Birmingham News.
http://www.al.com/entertainment/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1153473810320730.xml&coll=2&thispage=1
Not fancy, just famous
Family friendly Elmo's makes up for lack of view with great food
Friday, July 21, 2006 SUSAN SWAGLER
[Elmo's Grill, 6931 Scenic Highway 30-A, Santa Rosa Island, Fla. 850-267-2299.]
We found several truly wonderful things during a recent beach vacation: lots of cockle, tulip, conch and olive seashells; a beach with dunes instead of condos; and one thing that wasn't actually on the beach - Elmo's Grill.
At the end of a day at the beach, Elmo's was a very good thing indeed: family-friendly and absolutely casual with fresh, delicious seafood.
http://ads.advance.net/RealMedia/ad...ml/34323135356439323431396430336530?955767794
We actually discovered Elmo's before we'd even seen the beach. Hungry from the day's ride and a little cranky after unloading, we headed down 30-A, on the hunt for food.
Elmo's, looking funky and fun from the highway, beckoned.
This restaurant has been in business for 15 years, and I don't know how we've missed it up until now. The slogan here is "Not fancy, just famous!" And judging by the crowd we saw that night, that's about right.
At 7:30 p.m. our 30-minute wait turned into 45, but we sat at the bar and people-watched. We saw folks clad in crisp khaki and white, fresh from Christmas photos at the beach. There were sunburned families devouring the all-you-can-eat crab legs, which were the day's special. And one little girl planted her 5-year-old self in front of the folk singer and entertained the room. "Fast forward 13 years," I said with raised eyebrows, "and that won't be so cute."
We finally got a seat at a picnic table on the deck and quickly ordered food along with drinks. This food arrived in short order.
An appetizer of crab cakes didn't quite fill up our teenager, but the two small portions were more crab than cake. Our younger daughter ordered from the kid's menu - popcorn shrimp ($5.75) that were tender inside and nice and crunchy outside. This basket came with small but tasty hushpuppies, fries and a slice of watermelon. An appetizer of cheese sticks ($5.95) was just right for our son, the picky eater. However, he and shrimp girl had a short but heated argument about sharing. Does one cheese stick equal one or two shrimp?
http://www.al.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/entertainment/1153473810320730.xml&coll=2&thispage=1 My husband and I raised frosty bottles of icy Red Stripe beer ("Here's to vacation") and let them work it out.
Our attention actually was on our own soft-shell crab sandwiches ($9.25). Without a doubt, these were the best we've had anywhere. The crab in each was large and meaty, with just the right, light touch of batter. They came with a side of fries - enough to share without any argument.
A few weeks later, we book-ended our beach trip with a second visit on our last night at the coast.
This time, about 6 p.m., we were seated immediately at a corner picnic table on the porch. Our server, brusque yet efficient, had our smoked tuna dip appetizer ($6.25) on our table in no time. We dipped warm tortilla chips into the rich spread, which was subtly smoky, a little chunky and absolutely delicious. And we scanned the room, which looks as if it were decorated by a beach bum with lots of connections and a good sense of humor. There are deer heads and marlin (a different take on surf-and-turf). There are navigational charts, folk art, fishing equipment and signs.
This time our teen ordered the soft-shell crab sandwich. A little put off at first by the fat, crunchy legs sticking out of the bun on her plate, she ended up loving this dish as much as her father and I did.
Wanting to try something new, I ordered the "shrimp spectacular" ($17.75) from the house specialties part of Elmo's short menu. This was a combination of shrimp - crispy fried, perfectly boiled, and nicely spiced and blackened. There were six of each, and each morsel was large and plump. It was hard to pick a favorite, but I really loved the blackened shrimp, with their pronounced but not overwhelming spicy bite.
My husband ordered the grilled market fish - this night it was mahi-mahi ($16.75). The fish was delightfully fresh if a bit overcooked on the slimmer ends. A touch of "Uncle Gumbo's" seasoning added extra flavor as did a light lemon-herb butter.
We finished our meal with a large bowl of fresh and fruit-filled blackberry cobbler ($2.50) and a slice of tart and creamy Key lime pie ($2.95).
As close as it is to the beach, there's no memorable view at Elmo's except, perhaps, seeing your fellow diners put their whole selves in during the "Hokey Pokey." (And that's quite an interesting view.) But the place is absolutely family friendly. Pair that with solidly good, Gulf-fresh seafood, and it really doesn't get much better than this.
Susan Swagler is a free-lance restaurant reviewer for The Birmingham News.
