Last week was filled with lots of sleep, early bedtimes, hours of hours of prime beach time, and footwear consisting of variations on sandals. The weather was gorgeous – few if any clouds in the sky, and no rain to be seen anywhere.
One day, we chose to head over to Panama City Beach from Destin, primarily in order to check out a restaurant called Firefly that my parents love. The trip was quick and, as I’d been warned, the restaurant was actually tucked into a generic looking strip mall. This place is supposed to be really nice?
Once I walked through the door, it was like a totally different world than where we’d just been outside. They have a portion focused on sushi off to the left of the entrance. You walk through the bar area before you reach the main dining area. In the center, there’s a grand magnolia tree, with branches extending over the surrounding tables. There’s additional seating bordering the main floor, slightly elevated with a great view as well of the twinkle-light adorned tree.
We came early for their sunset special menu, a menu I understand used to be offered 5-7pm – a window that’s since been reduced to end instead at 6:30. Entrees come with a house salad, soup of the day, a chicken, tomato & rice soup, or, for a small additional charge, you can get their she crab soup. Seeing as they’re known for the soup, I had to try it. It did not disappoint. The crab was in such small pieces that it almost melted into the creamy soup. You can even add a drizzle of sherry on top tableside, if you so choose.
For my main course, I tried their shrimp and crab newberg, which was shallots garlic, tri-colored peppers, and sherry cream over jalapeño cheddar corn bread. In hindsight, picking a cream-based dish to accompany a cream-based soup was probably not the wisest of choices. The dish was quite good though, featuring large shrimp and much more prominent chunks of crab than the soup. Other choices included sesame tuna, stuffed chicken, medallions of beef tenderloin, salmon, and crab cakes.
For dessert, my mom and I tried their white chocolate crème brûlée, which was actually fired table side. I’m not sure it made an actual difference in the flavor – perhaps it’s a mental thing, but I would have sworn it had an even smokier flavor as a result. My dad had their warm seasonal bread pudding, which looked delicious and was quite a healthy portion (read: perfect for sharing!).
Overall, it was a great first experience at Firefly and highly recommend checking them out should you find yourself in the area.
Firefly – 535 Richard Jackson Blvd, Panama City, Florida – 850.249.3359
Reservations Recommended
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