First let me tell a little about myself. I was born in Fort Walton Beach and raised in Destin Florida. I am a true Destin Local. My father was the founder of Sam’s Oyster House in Fort Walton Beach. The restaurant was open for 26 years when we sold it in 1996. My father left Sam’s Oyster House to my family when he died in 1985. My mother, brother, and I ran the business for 11 years after my fathers death. When we sold we had 2 location, 1 on Okaloosa Island and 1 in Navarre Florida.

I grew up in a kitchen and behind a bar. I practically lived on fried shrimp and raw oysters. I still love seafood and miss the convenience of owning and having a kitchen fully stocked with fresh seafood and hand cut steaks. However I do not miss the headache of running a restaurant and dealing with the lieing, belly aching, and theft that comes with it. Running a restaurant is tough work and very stressful. I give credit to all restaurant owners and their desire to sell quality food.

Destin isn’t the same little town I grew up in and the days of good ole "mom and pop" owned restaurants are almost extinct. Today Destin is swarmed with big money and big corporations cashing in on the tourist business Destin offers.Although I admire some of the big boys that are playing in the restaurant game, I really dislike franchise restaurants sucking up the profits from small family owned restaurants. It is only at the small "mom and pop" restaurants that you will really find fresh and quality food. Besides that I hate seeing the same restaurants in every city and town I visit. I really can’t understand why with all that Destin has to offer why anyone visiting would eat at TGI Friday’s or OutBack Steak House. I mean come on, these restaurants are good but why eat at the same places you can eat at when your back at your own home town.

I’m a real critic of food and restaurants, especially seafood restaurants.. I find it hard to eat anywhere that I actually like. I try to stay away from tourist trapping big profit restaurants and stick to the more off the cuff, low key restaurants that only the locals eat at. Like I said before I do admire some of these big players and would probably do the same exact thing if I had their money, I just know there is better quality elsewhere.

So within this site you will notice where my focus is and I will try to guide visitors to places they might not have ever known about. In my reviews, I give every restaurant a fair shack and benefit of the doubt. I know running a kitchen and serving food is touch, especially when busy. So I usually don’t write a review unless I’ve made at least 2 visits.

This site is still new and I predict will be growing quite large over the next few years. I will do my best to give the best information and show my visitor the best places to eat in Destin. Over the next few months I will be updating and expanding the pages within this site, so check back from time to time to see whats new in Destin Florida.

For Now My Two Best Places That You Need To Eat at in Destin are:

• Grafiti
• Thai Delight