EATING OUT: Hurricane Oyster Bar in Grayton Beach
September 12, 2008 - 7:59AM
Tom McLaughlin
GRAYTON BEACH - You couldn't call the Hurricane Oyster Bar a cool, laid-back hole in the wall.
But only because cool, laid-back holes in the wall don't serve wine that goes for $120 a bottle.
You could call the Hurricane Oyster Bar a real neat upscale little drinks and dinner joint that does a good job of impersonating a cool, laid-back hole in the wall.
The Hurricane Oyster Bar is tucked into a corner of the Mystic Porte shopping center in South Walton County, just north of the intersection of County Road 30A and (Logan Lane) County Road 283.
It backs up to little pond that features a fountain and lots of lily pads. Service is provided both inside and outside on the deck.
The food
It is incumbent upon a business that advertises itself as an oyster bar to provide good oysters. Hurricane Oyster Bar serves them as well as anyplace you'll find in Northwest Florida.
The Hurricane Oyster Bar also serves them differently.
Along with the "Southern traditional oysters" served with cocktail sauce, horseradish and lemon, the Hurricane Oyster Bar serves Mexican-style oysters, Japanese-style oysters, Russian-style oysters and German-styled oysters.
A particular treat is the "World Tour," featuring a sampling of all the foreign-style oyster treats.
(And as a little aside, Germans like dill sauce on their oysters, Russians are partial to scallions and caviar, Mexicans prefer pico de gallo and the Japanese dig ... ahem ... seaweed.)
Americans seem to like them all.
"Kudos for the originality of their dishes. They're very original and creative," said one diner as she cruised around on her second world tour.
Oysters are also served grilled, steamed and baked.
Besides the oysters, the Hurricane Oyster Bar serves sandwiches, soups and salads and entrees.
A recent "special" entrée featured crab cakes, vegetables and mashed potatoes. It was a $20 meal well worth the cost.
Another thing that stands out at Hurricane Oyster Bar is its extensive wine list. Aficionado's of the fruit of the vine are likely to find their favorites among the nearly 100 offerings, and bottle prices range from the affordable ($14) to the eye-popping ($120).
Beer, cocktails and soft drinks are also available and the Hurricane Oyster Bar seems particularly kid friendly.
The atmosphere
A true hole in the wall offers visitors a comfy place to sit and socialize, and the Hurricane Oyster Bar pulls this off nicely.
There is corrugated steel above the bar, and fringe hanging from the doorway. All of the chairs are made of comfortable wood and each is a different color. Bar owners have even adopted that particular, or is that peculiar, local custom of hanging dollar bills on everything.
Artwork, local in tone and likely locally created, hangs on the walls in separate bar and kitchen areas. It's all for sale, if the price is right.
The service
The bartender shucks oysters and brings them personally to the table. The waitresses wear shorts and T-shirts and are quick to refill that empty brewsky. They've taken on, in other words, the personality of the bar in which they work.
The cook even looks a little bit like a pirate.
A final taste
What could be better on a given Florida evening than kicking back, listening to the sound of a fountain and a croaking frog, sipping on a fine wine or a cold beer and tearing into a dozen or so oysters?
Nothing. That's what.
And there are not many places finer to accomplish said kicking back, listening, sipping and tearing than the Hurricane Oyster Bar.
It's a great little hole in the wall, that's not actually a hole in the wall at all.
Quickbites
Hurricane Oyster Bar
Location
37 Logan Lane
Grayton Beach
231-0787
Hours
11 a.m. - 10 p.m. weeknights
11 a.m. - 11 p.m. weekends
Reservations
No reservations required
Handicapped accessibility
Fair
Children's Menu
No
Price Range
Oysters
traditional -- $7
"world tour" -- $10
Appetizers $7 - $12
Burgers/sandwiches $8 - $10
Entrees $12 - $20
Cocktails -- $5.50
Beer $2.50-$4
Wine $10 - $120
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