Bogeys- defuniak springs, fl

[laurawood]

so................
the new restaurant in defunk is now open......its been 3 weeks now...............oysters are fabulous....topped with caviar ( 2 kinds)
as well as a sour cream horseradish sauce) witled spinach sald was awesome.
must also recomend the garlic bread as well as the 12 oz ny strip, my date had it and was very happy).............. have to try other things there as well,


live music fri & sat 7-10 pm.
more to suggest later.......................lwp
check it out........... worth the drive. the lakeyard district is beautiful

[steeleing1]

The fried green tomatoes are the best! We went for lunch and were very impressed. It's charming and affordable with great food.

We did have a weird experience at breakfast. Stay away from anything with cheese. The pancakes were good, though.

Living in D-town, there are very few options for dining. We're looking forward to trying dinner.

[miramargal]

steeleing--
I'm in the middle of plans to relocate to the general area. I've been warned away from DeFuniak several times. I think it's a charming town. Any idea why the warnings? I never got a straight answer, only "you don't wanna go there" type of thing. I'm very confused...:idontno:

[steeleing1]

steeleing--
I'm in the middle of plans to relocate to the general area. I've been warned away from DeFuniak several times. I think it's a charming town. Any idea why the warnings? I never got a straight answer, only "you don't wanna go there" type of thing. I'm very confused...:idontno:

I had my reservations at first about moving here, but I'm sure the type of answer you received is brought about by stigma. People used to say the same of Freeport.

The major reason we bought here a year ago was value. For what we could spend we could get so much more for our money, and we've been happy with our investment. We bought a 100 year old home five blocks from the lakeyard that we're almost finished remodeling (for the most part).

DeFuniak is a charming town. There are pros and cons of living here. It is very peaceful and beautiful. There are conveniences that I appreciate, such as getting easily to and from the grocery store, mechanic, library, pharmacy. It does lack the amount and caliber of restaurants of Sowal, but there are a couple great places to eat.

However, we do drive almost every day to South Walton; and the traffic to and from is increasing. My child still attends school there, and my husband and I both work there. That also means that we have not really become involved in the DeFuniak Springs community or met many people that we consider friends. As a lifelong Grayton Beach girl, I do have to say it's nice to have the best of both. My husband and I do like being able to "get away" from South Walton and just be at home where we can really be alone; and it's been fun exploring and getting to know the town.

I think DeFuniak is only going to improve in the future. I think that its charm will attract those who don't want to overspend in Sowal and don't want to live in the suburbia of Freeport.

I could say more, but I'm running late. PM me if you want more information or if you want to see any houses in the area that are on the market. I happen to know a good real estate agent...shocker.

[kurt]

steeleing--
I'm in the middle of plans to relocate to the general area. I've been warned away from DeFuniak several times. I think it's a charming town. Any idea why the warnings? I never got a straight answer, only "you don't wanna go there" type of thing. I'm very confused...:idontno:

Probably people that don't like small southern towns. The same people who want SoWal to be charming but can't wait for it to be much more like their big city. :roll:

[miramargal]

Thanks steeleing--I'll PM you later for more info. I appreciate it. I fell in love with Defuniak when I first saw it .

Kurt--the main thing people have said was that outsiders aren't welcome there. I just didn't know what to think about that. I hope that's not true. It seems like an artsy community and my husband and I are both artists so we thought it would be perfect. That's one of the things we love about SoWal is the artiness of it. We have done business there before and had a great response.

[chrisv]

DeFuniak is what you make of it, the scout camp is up there so I spend a lot of time around town. Not a cookie-cutter type place, and that makes a lot of people uncomfortable. Great folks living and working there, and there are some hidden gems- make sure you get a blueberry shake at Ed's.

[miramargal]

Thanks for the input chrisv. I appreciate it. I can see where it wouldn't be a cookie cutter place and that was part of what we liked about it. I love old southern small towns, especially when they have some big city amenities close by (like the shopping and eating in Destin). I think I'm going to give it another look over when we are there in October.

[laurawood]

i too recently bought land and moved to defuniak after being in sowal my whole life. It is beautiful and quiet. I believe there is going to be another movement.....

after all the yankees have invaded and it is time to retreat........

[goodwitch58]

where is the restaurant?

[Donna]

I grew up in DeFuniak and have watched it gentrify, from afar, with great interest. I would have a hard time going back there to live, but I think this is true with many people where their hometowns are involved. I mean, the town we now live in the Napa Valley is smaller than DeFuniak, although barely an hour from San Francisco. I think the pluses in DeFuniak are that it is a small place and people tend to care about each other a bit more in that setting. It is lacking amenities like good restaurants and theaters, but the people there socialize a lot and don't seem to miss those things. This is especially the case if you are a member of a church. The churches there are like country clubs. And I believe the area will continue to gentrify and improve as it grows. So a good investment opp there.

On the downside, small towns can be less than welcoming to newcomers. People can be judgemental. And there are parts of the town that look poverty-stricken (like the old Highway 90 corridor). There is a lot of poverty in the North County, because there are a lot of uneducated people, many of whom seem disabled, and there are few job opportunities. There are meph labs in those woods and more than a few people hooked on prescription painkillers for ailments that are often the result of unhealthy lifestyle more than anything else. I don't know that the schools are good. A trip to the Walmart or Winn Dixie there can be a bit alarming.

Many people who grew up in DeFuniak stayed there and others who left returned. It is very rare that I talk with anyone living there who isn't happy to be there. Lake DeFuniak and the historic little public library (the oldest continuously operating library in the State) are wonderful, and I think there are some beaches a mere 30-minute drive away :funn: that are the world's most beautiful. There's something to be said for proximity! :clap_1:

[peapod1980]

steeleing--
I'm in the middle of plans to relocate to the general area. I've been warned away from DeFuniak several times. I think it's a charming town. Any idea why the warnings? I never got a straight answer, only "you don't wanna go there" type of thing. I'm very confused...:idontno:
Mira, steeleing1 sent us to eat at a local Defunk landmark--H&M Hot Dog--where we met the current owners, transplants from St. Louis who ended up being sort of long-lost friends of ours. Anyway, they are transplants in the true sense in terms of having moved there with no real ties to the area, and they said they chose there because they "had never been anywhere that was so Mayberryish" in their lives. They love living there and are glad to tell people why. I have their email address if you think you might want to get their input. PM me, and I'll give you their contact info.

[miramargal]

You all are getting me so excited about moving down there to the area. We have been planning this for three years, just waiting for our son to finish middle school, and now that we're in the final year, I've been getting sort of nervous. Now I just feel stoked! I know we are making the right decision.:clap_1:

[laurawood]

H&M hot dog is a cool place. As is busy bee cafe and the bookstore as well as the music store.

[steele mama]

where is the restaurant?
It is right downtown in the old/new hotel. someone else knows the street.

[nowgirl]

Yes, Bogey's is at the corner of Hwy 90, also called Nelson Ave. and 8th Street , directly across from the Miracle Cleaners, very reasonable dry cleaning, and don't miss the "Little Big Store" for all the best toys you played with growing up, but have long forgotten.....and other good stuff.

My Best of DeFuniak:
Pancakes at Ed's (also called the Tasty Freeze)
Anything with Meat sauce at Mom and Dad's
Church Bells on Sunday mornings
Watching little old ladies, and how much they still accomplish in housecoats and sponge rollers....
Sound of the train whistle at night,
Neighbors that bake!
My giant magnolia tree

[miramargal]

ok...you guys are gonna make me buy my land in Defuniak!!! I want neighbors that bake!!!

[Beachbummett]

:welcome: We have been driving through for years and never stopped in. This past Thanksgiving (we always do Thanksgiving at the beach) we had heard about the Christmas lights forever and drove up Thanksgiving night...what a blast! I never knew about that beautiful lake and old homes existed. Everyone was so nice. The people were so friendly.
I actually read about it here on the SoWal board, called the nice old gentleman that posted about it and two car loads of us drove up from the beach. Then you have to come to Seaside the Saturday after Thanksgiving and do the parade and Santa "Turns on The Town!" (ok he plugs in the lights) is very nice. There is a Christmas tree and a band, cider and cookies. Is a very special time there.

I think you will love it there.

[Discover K9]

Defuniak Springs is definitely a town that is growing. From my point of view, I wouldn't call it artsy. It seems to be a traditional, Southern town. We are originally from a small town in Northern Mississippi. Defuniak reminds me a lot of it, but larger! You will see quite a few poverty strickened areas; there are tons of those in Fort Walton Beach as well. Yes there are meth labs; but not in ALL of the woods. Unfortunately that is very common in most places nowaday. You won't see a lot of conveniences like outlet malls and movie theaters. You will see a lot of people that will wave and speak even if they have never seen you before.

We moved North of DFS last year because we could get a large amount of land at a reasonable price. It was our teenage neighbors that found our dog that had been missing for over a week. Several neighbors helped us look and called other people they knew; they called every day or so to see if we found him. The first day our 17 year old neighbor that has been looking ever since turned down payment because he said he was helping because he was our neighbor - not for the money.

We just went to the fireworks display around Lake Defuniak which was spectacular. My husband has been at Eglin the past 5 years, so we always went to the Destin Harbor and loved that. This show was every bit as spectacular and beautiful.

We are just about to get our kids involved in their soccer program this fall and we homeschool so I can't speak about any of the education programs.

But honestly, when we were preparing all the inspections ect to move there, EVERYONE in EVERY office was nice. I kept thinking, "okay, they can't all be nice." But they really were!

So, overall my opinion and experience with Defuniak Springs has been very good. You will definitely see a range of people at Walmart shopping on Saturday - some may only come out once a month! Most don't get dressed up to shop. Many live on a very small amount of money. But, most are very nice and genuine.

Good luck.

[daddymac]

Howdy all
Just found this site and it's quite addictive :D

My wife and I ate at Bogey's at the Hotel Defuniak last week. I had the soft shell crab appetizer and it's probably the best I've had anywhere (they're kindof my weakness) the wife had a yellowfin tuna app. and it was very fresh and well presented with seaweed salad and wasabi etc. The waitress said its shashimi grade and it showed.
I was hard to choose an entree, the menu is pretty big and varied, I went for the grouper on the menu, I think it was called normandy or something. Again some of the best fish I've had. Lots of dinner specials too.
It was prime rib night (wednesdays) the wife had that, a big ole' cut for $12.95 .
Service was great, refined yet casual, the place is charming, we even went to the front desk of the hotel and the innkeeper let us see one of the unoccupied rooms, very quaint with real antiques and pretty cheap too, $75 during the week. (the innkeeper is quite the salesman, he was trying to entice us with one of their romantic packages lol) thier brochure says they have virtual tours of the rooms, and indeed they do: http://www.hoteldefuniak.com
Apparantly bogeys got reviewed by Colleen Cofield (sp?) from the Daily news and got 4 stars (if you read her reviews 4 stars is the highest and she rarely gives them out) They had a plaque with the article by the front door, good for them.
I give it a thumbs up.

[Miss Kitty]

:welcome: daddymac!

[Smiling JOe]

Thanks for the latest report. I should get up to De Funk someday soon and eat at Bogey's

[jodiFL]

I ate there last time I was there for jury duty and was really impressed. Portions were BIG...and very good prices.