Criolla's 2008

[criolla man]

Greetings SoWal Friends,

I hope the winter has been treating you well and that you are enjoying this glorious day at the beach. We had our soft opening the past two days after major renovations and are open for dinner.

Shayne has put together a fantastic opening menu with emphasis on sustainable seafood. At the tapas bar he has also added a raw bar featuring big, beautiful stone crab claws, Apalachicola oysters on the half shell and wild caught Gulf shrimp. If you get a chance, please check out the new menu at criollas.com.

This week we are open through Sunday and then beginning Thursday 2/21 we will be open Tuesday through Saturday. Then we follow our normal schedule heading into summer when we will open 7 days a week.

I am very proud of the job Tim, Shayne and the rest of our Criolla's team have done transforming the place and I hope you have the opportunity to stop by and check it out. Reagan Herndon-Todd from Lovelace Interiors worked some magic and the fabulous folks from Neocrete did a stellar job as well.

Later this spring Criolla's opens for lunch just as soon as we finish our upcoming landscaping renovation.


Here's to a great 2008 for us all!


Johnny

[Bobby J]

You Go Johnny! I am sooooooo excited! Criollas for lunch! Anything vegetarian? Can't wait!:clap:

[peaboy]

Outstanding Johnny... can't wait to try the new menu and to see the transformation. We knew you had good things in the works.

[jdarg]

:wave: Excellent news!

[InletBchDweller]

Great!!! Cant wait to come in and use my gift certificate and check out the "new" place.....

[Dave Rauschkolb]

Greetings SoWal Friends,

I hope the winter has been treating you well and that you are enjoying this glorious day at the beach. We had our soft opening the past two days after major renovations and are open for dinner.

Shayne has put together a fantastic opening menu with emphasis on sustainable seafood. At the tapas bar he has also added a raw bar featuring big, beautiful stone crab claws, Apalachicola oysters on the half shell and wild caught Gulf shrimp. If you get a chance, please check out the new menu at criollas.com.

This week we are open through Sunday and then beginning Thursday 2/21 we will be open Tuesday through Saturday. Then we follow our normal schedule heading into summer when we will open 7 days a week.

I am very proud of the job Tim, Shayne and the rest of our Criolla's team have done transforming the place and I hope you have the opportunity to stop by and check it out. Reagan Herndon-Todd from Lovelace Interiors worked some magic and the fabulous folks from Neocrete did a stellar job as well.

Later this spring Criolla's opens for lunch just as soon as we finish our upcoming landscaping renovation.


Here's to a great 2008 for us all!


Johnny



Welcome back Johnny we missed you; can't wait for lunch!!!

[Lisa_at_the_beach]

This is GREAT news!

[SoWalSally]

http://www.waltonsun.com/articles/new_788___article.html/criolla_earles.html
Criolla’s is back and with a new fresh look
By Deborah Wheeler

When Criolla’s restaurant in Grayton Beach reopened Feb. 13, it was with a new and fresh look.
More subtle shades of “rice patty” and cool Gulf-waters blue colors grace the walls and gone is the carpet, which has been replaced with Mexican tile.
An updated decor is not the only change at Criolla’s, however. The menu has a new look also.
“The new menu is reflective of the old Criolla’s menu,” said a decidedly pleased owner/executive chef Johnny Earles.
Diners can expect to see more of the area’s sustainable seafood as it comes in season, and standbys such as Apalachicola oysters and stone crabs.
The menu will be “greener,” said Chef Shayne Vaughan. “We will be buying local produce.”
The new menu will also still feature some old favorites such as Earles’ 95-year-old aunt Irma’s Creole beignets.
“We’re just being more conscious of where our food comes from and concentrating on and highlighting domestic producers,” said Earles.
Earles is entering his 25th year as a restaurant owner in Grayton Beach. However, he didn’t always plan to be a chef. He was a pre-med student at LSU who enjoyed cooking. He came to the beach on a whim and while still in his early 20s, opened the legendary Paradise Café in 1983, where the Red Bar is now.
“It was the first of its kind on 30A,” he said. “I couldn’t get produce delivered and drove into Destin three days a week to buy produce. I cooked on two backyard grills on the deck because I didn’t have a stove. But I made enough money the first year to buy a stove. The last function we had at Paradise Café was catering mine and Debbie’s wedding.”
Paradise Café was open for five years. When the Earles returned from their honeymoon, they began building Criolla’s on County Road 30A. It opened in February 1989.
In its second year, the restaurant was named one of the top 10 new restaurants in the state by Florida Trend magazine.
“Paradise Café had been from the hip. I decided that now I had to learn how to cook to live up to the national recognition,” he said.
The budding chef spent 1990 and 1991 learning to cook with top chefs in New York City. In 1994 he traveled to San Sebastian, Spain and the Canary Islands, the land of his ancestors.
His mom’s side of the family came to New Orleans in 1853 from San Sebastian. He grew up on her Creole dishes.
“You have to go to the regional roots of the cook to study,” he said.
Earles’ efforts and love of what he does has paid off. In the 20 years Criolla’s has been open, the restaurant has consistently been honored with prestigious recognition from Florida Trend as a Top 20 restaurant in the state, and he has received Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence. Many of his recipes have appeared in media outlets such as the New York Times, the Discovery Channel’s "Great Chefs of the South" and Southern Living magazine.
In returning to Criolla’s roots, Earles said, “I decided that at the end of the day, it’s all about the 30A area, its lifestyle and the seafood. There’s no other place like it.”
Next month, Criolla’s will introduce a lunch menu, which can be eaten inside or out at his new landscaped outside dining area. The menu will feature oysters, shrimp, po boys, and maybe an excellent burger, he said.
“This area has changed a lot, but wonderful things still exist here. I want to be a part of it. I’m excited,” said Earles.

[joiei]

Hi Johnny, Sounds like the next time I am down on the beach, I will definitly stop in for a bite or three. Wish we had something like Criolla's in Tulsa.

[hnooe]

Haven't been back since I moved into the area permanently, as a local--Loved it back then and I am sure I will love it again!--

[Tootsie]

Lunch!!! I love lunch!!!:clap:

[Chickpea]

Cannot wait to try new menu - loved their tapas and blood orange margeritas!

[jdarg]

We are still basking in the awesome dinner afterglow- from last night!!!

I will post all the details in a bit (hey- it IS Mother's Day and I am taking it easy!), but I just wanted to quickly share that our meal at Criolla's was easily one of the best we have had since moving here.

We had the most marvelous time too- thanks Johnny, Shayne, and Tim for a fantastic evening- one we will talk about for a long time!:wave:

I just nibbled on Bdarg's leftover lamb chop....sigh....I had to turn it over to him...

Y'all just wait until I tell you what we ate!!! :biggrin: