Great Southern Café’s Crab Martini is made with jumbo lump crabmeat, a refreshing quick bite on a warm day. Bud & Alley’s smoked tuna dip is a fan favorite.
Stay cool with fresh seafood, in-season veggies and cool treats By Susan Benton
Brutal summer temps are unavoidable in the South. But with Seaside’s breezy beach to stroll, a plethora of refreshing swimming pools, and amazing restaurants with sweet and savory delights, you will feel chill in no time.
During the languid heat of summer is not an ideal time for pot-stirring, or for toiling over a Bolognese sauce or stew. Better to wash crisp, fresh vegetables in water and eat them as salads, enjoy fresh local breads with cold charcuterie meats and cheeses, or make a gazpacho recipe in advance, and then later sip it while sitting on your front porch swing.
Modica Market, Seaside’s iconic grocery store, is my family’s one-stop shop. It’s the perfect place to pick up all of your recipe items or prepared foods to go, like my favorite shrimp salad. Large local gulf shrimp are perfectly cooked and seasoned before being chilled. Savor the succulent shellfish straight from the container, or jazz up the presentation for your guests by filling half of a seeded and peeled avocado with the shrimp that is then served nestled on a bed of lettuce.
It’s Heavenly’s ice cream and gelato are locally made and hard to resist.
If you are fond of a good martini, you will love the food flip of it at The Great Southern Café. Iced cold lump blue crab is marinated and tossed with avocado, grape tomatoes, and a lime vinaigrette before filling an icy martini glass to the rim. Plan to kick back and relax with this Gulf Coast classic.
If you are seeking a view with your food, Bud & Alley’s Waterfront Restaurant has you covered with its housemade smoked tuna dip. I can literally make a meal out of it. The chunky cold fish dip is served with lavash, a type of thin cracker hailing from the Middle East. Add an ice-cold beer to your appetizer and view, and you have what I’d call heaven.
Susan Benton is a food and travel writer with published articles, recipes, and photography in many local, regional and national publications. Her website is 30AEATS.com where she writes about the secrets of Gulf Coast food.