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Great Southern Cafe

Chicken and waffles 30afoodandwine1

3 for 30a- Chef Jim Shirley

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Story By Natalie Haddock
Photography Courtesy of Clutch Media Works and Jim Shirley

Chef, author, philanthropist, business owner, celebrity. Stretching from Pensacola to the heart of 30a he has influenced nine successful restaurants and finds the time to work as a community leader and activist. You probably already know who I’m referring to – Chef Jim Shirley, famous restaurateur who has also been featured on Emeril Lagasse’s “Emeril’s Florida” and on the Travel Channel’s “Bizare Foods with Andrew Zimmern.” His aesthetic is considered to be “Modern Southern Cuisine” which shares influences from around the world as well as his grandmother’s traditional southern style.

Chef Jim Shirley
Chef Jim Shirley

This week’s edition of 3 for 30a is to highlight a few of Shirley’s restaurants that complement the 30A dining scene.

Friday, April 17th – Formerly the Justin Gaffrey studio, Seaside is home to Shirley’s newest concept, 45 Central. This delightful wine bar features 45 assorted wines including those from the Seaside Wine Project and the 30A Coastal Wine. Make yourself at home by posting up at table or seated along the handmade bar, or find yourself relaxing into the comfy couch. When deciding from Shirley’s ever-evolving menu, consider the House Cured Bacon Trio. This amazing treat features bacon with white chocolate drizzle and walnuts, bacon with dark chocolate, guajillo and coconut, and also their original house cured bacon. Plates you may be more willing to share as you sip and socialize include tangy hummus, smoked fish dip, or a gourmet cheese plate. Stop in from 4:00- midnight any day of the week to see the featured menu.

Great Southern Cafe's Shrimp and Grits A-Ya-Ya
Great Southern Cafe’s Shrimp and Grits A-Ya-Ya

Saturday, April 18th – The Great Southern Café is a cornerstone restaurant in Seaside. It is famous not only for its authentic southern atmosphere, with a wide porch and cozy dining room(s), but also for its home-style cooking and cocktails. A refreshing mojito is the perfect way to start your southern day and here you can choose from an assortment of flavor varieties like strawberry, mango, and peach. The signature dish at Great Southern is the Grits-a-Ya-Ya, celebrated around the nation and named “The best Southern dish in the state of Florida” by Florida Travel and Life Magazine. Happy hour is every day from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. which includes half off all cocktails and wines by the glass and $1 off beers.

The Bay in South Walton.
The Bay in South Walton.

Sunday, April 19th – Sundays are exciting in South Walton. It is the day of the week where we are compelled to both relax and find new adventures before the work week picks up again. This Sunday take a brunch expedition on a Hydrobike to the Bay restaurant. The adventure begins at 10:00 AM when you meet with Emerald Coast Hydrobikes at Tom’s Landing in Point Washington. From there you take a leisurely ride along Choctawhatchee Bay and over to Shirley’s scenic restaurant, the Bay. Enjoy cocktails and a delicious brunch while relaxing on their private beach or on the sun deck. The chicken and waffles are worth the trip alone! Brunch menu items also include a Pork Belly Benedict as well as the Egg BLT. Return to Tom’s Landing by 2:00 PM and you’ve had a full day.

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Great Southern Cafe

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83 Central Square
Seaside, FL 32459
850-231-7327
www.greatsoutherncafe.com

Proving it’s worth the wait

Ask anyone where to dine in South Walton and most will offer the same suggestion: The Great
Southern Café. The first in Jim Shirley’s local restaurant endeavors, Seaside’s Great Southern is
well worth the wait you may encounter upon arrival. Everyone wants a seat at the table, and
it’s the combination of sumptuous menu offerings and the restaurant’s ability to offer both a
quiet date night as well as a lively get-together that makes it able to stand the test of time, a
favorite year after year for residents and visitors alike.

Great Southern opened in 2006 and hasn’t seemed to slow for a moment since.

“Our crew at Great Southern makes sure you feel at home, and proven fresh Southern comfort
food makes you think of us when you are away,” Shirley said of his eatery’s success. Luckily, the
hankering for Great Southern fare can be satisfied at any meal, with breakfast, lunch and dinner
available every single day of the year. Located smack dab in the middle of Seaside’s picturesque
town center, the restaurant is ideal for delicious cuisine with friends, happy hour meetups with
groups, and special nights out with that certain someone.

A great start

The breakfast menu has something for everyone, including a veggie frittata (made with fresh
eggs, zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, and red pepper), grits and grillades (with slow-roasted
beef in a natural rich wine broth on a bed of Gouda cheese grits), avocado toast (topped with
two eggs your way or with West Indies marinated jumbo lump crab), or five different kinds of
Benedict, including a fried green tomato benedict and corned beef hash benedict.

Traditional breakfast favorites are also available, though they are anything but ordinary, such as
biscuits and gravy or a pancake plate (with vanilla pancakes, scrambled eggs and choice of
breakfast meat). And, of course, no Great Southern breakfast is complete without an order of
beignets and a Bloody Mary (made with horseradish, spiced beans and pickled okra, available
with or without vodka).

The lunch bunch

Jimmy Buffet’s song “I Wish Lunch Could Last Forever” may very well have been inspired by the
menu at Great Southern. Even appetizer items could quickly become a very satisfying meal,
such as a baked oyster trio (Acadian, Rockefeller and Bienville styles), Duck Calls (duck confit,
poblano, onions, peppers, tomatoes and crisp wrapper with Billy’s Spicy Mustard and pepper
jelly), and Soul Rolls (Shirley’s favorite menu item), made with chicken, collard greens, crisp wrapper, peach chutney and Creole mustard-horseradish. Don’t forget to celebrate your true Southern side with a side of frog legs.

Entrée items quickly induce hunger pangs, including ginger chicken (with horseradish-spiked
marmalade, or Jezebel sauce as it is called at GSC), balsamic salmon (with balsamic glaze, feta-
caper relish, sautéed green beans and mashed potatoes), and even a surprisingly satisfying
vegetable plate, with your choice of four Southern sides and a corn muffin.

A ‘Quick Bites’ menu rounds out the lunch offerings, with such favorites as pimento cheese
(served with warm pita wedges), and a West Indies crab martini, made with jumbo lump
crabmeat, tomato and avocado.

An evening feast

The dinner menu glistens with flavorful choices, including the much-loved Grits a Ya Ya
(blackened shrimp, sauté of Applewood-smoked bacon, spinach, Portobello mushrooms, and
cream served on a bed of smoked Gouda cheese grits).

“’Travel and Life’ called Grits á Ya Ya the best Southern dish in Florida,” Shirley said of his
restaurant’s most glowing review.

For something even heartier, there’s the bacon-wrapped filet mignon (served with mashed
potatoes and sautéed green beans), or mac and cheese with bacon and shrimp (with Havarti,
aged cheddar and grand cru cheeses). Salads that serve as full meals are also available,
including a balsamic grilled salmon and a Caesar salad with blackened shrimp.

A hearty wine list, draft beer selections, and fully stocked cocktail menu complete the
experience. A kids' menu – with choices such as shrimp (grilled or fried), cheeseburger, or
breaded chicken fingers – is sure to satisfy even the pickiest of palates.

The Great Southern Café is located at 83 Central Square in Seaside, and reservations are not
accepted. Breakfast is served each day from 8 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
and dinner from 4 p.m. to “at least 9:30 p.m.” More information can be found by calling 850-
231-7327 or by visiting www.thegreatsoutherncafe.com.