He Said
Beautiful beaches and a small town atmosphere make Destin a place I have always loved to visit. Growing up in Florida and attending college only a few hours away made this the spring break location of choice for me. It’s funny how you see things differently as you grow up. What was once all about drinking and maybe a few regrettable experiences turned into a relaxing and amazing foodie experience.
As usual, work caused me to travel to the area to do a project work with Eglin AFB. My parents who go there frequently for their own needs gave me the idea to visit Dewey of Destin’s. As my mom put it, “Go to the shack and not the nice restaurant, you’ll enjoy the basic quality of it”. She wasn’t kidding! Siri kept trying to take me to the more formal (although still beach casual) and newer restaurant version. I had to convince her that I wanted the original dive seafood shack. I finally found it only 5 minutes away from their newer location. Not complaining about the newer location, it is nice, and right on the gulf, but it doesn’t provide that really authentic feel you get when dining on the bay right on the pier.
Once you finally find the spot you will park on the gravel lot and start your walk towards the trailer and semi-permanent building built right into the pier. What’s nice is that all the tables line two piers and connect to the kitchen where you order. After you order you can help yourself to the fresh brewed tea or other drink options . Be warned that during spring break and high season you could wait in a really long line to order. I was lucky in that my project brought me in during the low season. The problem with that of course is that their hours were limited, but I made it happen multiple times during my trip. The staff is there to help first timers make a decision on what to order as they did on my first visit. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or ask for suggestions. I also have to be very honest, the owners are all Auburn grads and/or fans and being an Auburn grad myself I had an instant connection with the crew. For me, this made me love Dewey’s all the more. But truth be told, it doesn’t matter where you went to school because you are about to be in for some of the best seafood you have ever had.
So deciding what to eat will be your biggest decision. The rest of the time you will be stress free and relaxing on the pier while you wait for your food to be delivered. In my opinion you have two choices, the fried shrimp basket or the grilled grouper. They have lots of daily specials and other fresh catch selections you will have to ponder when you make your choice. For me, the shrimp is the choice of the day. It is fried in a very light batter that allows you to really enjoy flavors of the freshly caught shrimp and not be over burdened by the taste of just batter. It will be accompanied by crinkle cut fries, jalapeno hush puppies (that can be a bit spicy but, even as a non-spicey guy I enjoyed them), and coleslaw which is great but not the focus of my attention. It’s a big basket and the butterfly shrimp are plenty. Depending on your hunger pains it might be enough to share between two. Here is a hint, the owners don’t mind if you order kids versions which is a bit less.
The grilled grouper is for the healthier person in your group. This is Florida after all and Grouper is the fish of choice. But it is so flavorful and perfectly cooked it was always a tossup for me between it and the shrimp. Great grill marks and not an ounce of dryness you will not believe your taste buds. This basket is just as large but because the sides tend to border on the healthier side you can easily eat the whole thing by yourself. It comes with corn on the cob, red potatoes and coleslaw.
So if you ever find yourself in Destin for a vacation and are looking for a great dive and casual seafood place make siri take you to the right Dewey’s. But if you end up at the fancier version feel free to enjoy it because they have some fabulous options you won’t find at the dive version. But eventually find the original and enjoy the best casual fresh seafood you will ever have an opportunity to experience.
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