Gluten Free In The Destin Area

[skinnyminny]

Does anyone know of any good gluten free resturants or resources in destin? I know they have a Bone Fish but other than that I am not sure?

[floridanative]

In my book from Triumph ( which I do not recommend buying) they list a place call The Back Porch in Destin. So I posted that for someone on another Celiac site and she reported back that they didnt' know what gluten was a The Back Porch - they had a new chef. Sorry not to have better news. I'm from that area of the state (left over 20 years ago) and to say they don't know about Celiac is an understatement to say the least.

[jenvan]

hmmm... no one has any other info? i think dh and i will be vacationing there last week of this month or first of october. probably staying at hilton sandestin. OR does anyone want to suggest fun things to do in Destin?

[Turtle]

Hmmm....I have frequented Destin and surrounding areas often...i've had the best luck w/ fresh boiled shrimp and a baked potato and of course educating the staff/chef...

I'm very to hear that The Back Porch has a new chef and he's clueless...that is one of the places I actually had luck eating at safely....Bleh....

[jenvan]

Hmmm....I have frequented Destin and surrounding areas often...i've had the best luck w/ fresh boiled shrimp and a baked potato and of course educating the staff/chef...

I'm very to hear that The Back Porch has a new chef and he's clueless...that is one of the places I actually had luck eating at safely....Bleh....

That stinks...I saw your other post on that. I am having great luck, thus far with the hotel. E-mailed on a whim and woman is working with chef and will arrange everything for me in advance. I just need to call her and set up this week. That's nice!

[floridanative]

Have a great vacation! We stayed at this hotel and it was nice.....went during Atlanta's spring break last year which was a big mistake. I have never seen so many unruly kids at one place - not college kids by the way, there were not many of them, if any. This will be a perfect time to enjoy the beach, after the crowds have desserted it.

I'd tell most people to eat at Red Bar but not someone eating gluten free. Their specialty is crab cakes and theirs are like no others. We arrived at 6 pm and waited almost two hours to be seated. It's a small place with flour in tons of dishes so I fear I may never visit the Red Bar again. I do think you'll find many places will accomodate you with fresh grilled or broiled seafood. Please post about where you ate when you get back. Safe travels!

[Turtle]

The RED BAR! HAHAHAHAHAHA! Haven't heard that in a long time...fun times for meeting up w/ friends for cocktails but I wouldn't eat there either...

Then there is the Donut Hole...the BELOVED Donut Hole...they have the BEST key lime pie on the face of the earth....obviously since learning i'm a celiac there is no more key lime pie for me ...so I watch everyone else eat it and cry like a baby

I did have several safe meals at AJ's....and I shook my shell on their dance floor too! Our tradition is we jet ski then come in and eat and drink and be merry at AJ's....I've been going to AJ's for years...love it there!

I'm trying to think of the name of this other place...AGH it's on the tip of my tongue...they had an all you can eat broiled shrimp nite and man I ate so much shrimp that I almost blew up but it was sooo good! "The Swamp" I think it's called?? Maybe?? It's there near the aquarium...

We went to another place too but it was AWFUL! Overpriced and NOT safe at all!! It was so bad i've blocked it from my brain...but I wish I could remember do I could tell you as a warning...I'll ask my other half when he gets home...maybe he'll remember.

One place I would also NOT recommend if Fudpuckers...NOT safe! And it's not the Fudpuckers it used to be back in the day...it's quite sad actually.

FloridaNative: You are the bravest or maybe the craziest person I know for heading to Destin over Spring Break. UTTER CHAOS doesn't even begin to describe that scene....i'm glad you made it out safely!

JenVan: TONS of fun things to do in Destin....

The Aquarium

JET SKIING

Deep Sea Fishing

Snorkelin

AJ's is a fun hangout if you like to dance, hear live music and good food and fun drinks too!

I'll post more later after I talk w/ my other half...he'll have some input!

[jenvan]

Ooo, please do post more if you can Dh gets motion sickness , so no boating or deep sea fishing, which is a bummer, but I won't complain since he puts up with me! He does jetski though. So we thought about that or most likely kayaking too ! I found a place to rent them... Ever ck out any of the local malls? I saw the local outlet place has Le Creuset--and we will be driving, so I have room to buy! (Hmmm, better see how much $$ I have to buy : ) The aquarium sounds like fun. I'll look up AJ's too.

Tiffany--Glad we won't be there at spring break! I would have been very cynical about the situation, to say the least !

[Turtle]

Yes, the outlet mall there is pretty big...

Here's a link to a calendar of events so maybe you can find some other things to do or special events that might be happening during the time you're there.

Open Original Shared Link

Also, if you like to fish you can always do it from the pier not a boat!!!

There is also some neat shopping at Seaside: Open Original Shared Link

Another nice area is Santa Rosa Beach...here's the link to their calendar of events, a lot of times they will have things going on in the gazebo courtyard....be sure to scroll down on this link or you'll think there isn't a calendar of anything there.

Open Original Shared Link

[floridanative]

Well Turtle - it wasn't the college spring break, but Fulton and Dekalb county public schools....we didn't have much of a choice about when we could go due to other obligations...a friend warned me that we picked the worst time to go and she was right. The hotel service was so bad that a small complaint e-mail got us a coupon for two free nights. I'd never go back there since there are so many other places I prefer so my sister and hubby got to enjoy two nights there for free. They let me transfer the coupon to her. Oh and I did think the Outlet Mall was pretty nice but their Coach store was more than the one here for same items.

[mouse]

I have been following this, just because I used to live in Ft. Walton Beach in 1957. I am laughing trying to invision a mall in Destin. When I lived on Santa Rosa Island in Ft. Walton, there was a restaurant by the bridge, an Acquarium, a duplex and about 3 homes. I went to Choctawhatchee (can't remember how to spell it and don't want to look at my records) HS and so did the kids from Destin. Destin was a don't blink you will miss it town. One thing about joining this forum is I certainly relive my youth. I want to know if the causeway from Ft. Walton to Destin still floods when it rains?

[floridanative]

Mouse - I can't beleive you went to Choct. high school! We played them in b'ball conferences. I went to Port St. Joe High. It really is a small world. Oh and you would not believe Destin now. There is one property that I think has 5000+ hotel rooms. It's like a little city in itself. It's not the charming place you remember, in my opinion. And the outlet mall is the nicest I've seen and I've seen a lot of them - lol!

[Turtle]

I agree....Destin was once a quaint secret hideaway...NO MORE...it's now wall to wall condos, high rises and other such stuff which has been built up around it everywhere! *SIGH*

And Mouse: the last I heard the causeway still floods...although it did get washed out in one of those HUGE hurricanes last year I think it was...so who knows since it's been repaired how it handles the rain...that's funny you mentioned that...I remember as a kid there were several times we couldn't get across the causeway b/c of this issue.

If we go to Destin, we try to go either in early May or after Labor Day to avoid most of the chaos. It helps somewhat.

Floridanative: HAHA...I grew up in ATL (Dekalb County)! However, I was NEVER one of the crazy spring break kids in Destin...now days it's a free for all and quite scary. Stay away from that time of year if you go back.