Edward’s Fine Food & Wine
66 Main Street
Rosemary Beach, FL 32461
850-231-0550
www.edwards30a.com
Welcoming the lunch bunch
By Michelle Farnham
ROSEMARY BEACH – Edward’s Fine Food & Wine has always been a go-to hotspot for dinner along 30A, but co-owners Christy Spell-Terry and Rick Spell realized they were missing out on the chance to offer their fare to the daytime crowd.
General Manager Jimmy Berry was thrilled when he and his staff got the go-ahead to expand service to lunch hours this spring.
“We have a lot of foot traffic going by during the day, we’re a couple hundred feet from the beach, all the other restaurants were always busy, and I felt like we had an opportunity to offer a different kind of menu,” Berry said.
He pointed to the three seating areas Edward’s offers, including the air conditioned indoor dining room, the pergola-covered courtyard with fan, and street-side bistro tables.
“It’s gone really well. We’ve had nothing but good opinions about the menu, and we hired a few more people which is nice for the local economy,” Berry added.
That new lunch menu was a collaboration between Executive Chef Josh Smith – who is starting his fourth season with Edward’s – and fellow chef Erik Kellison, formerly of sister restaurant Grits & Grind.
“Whenever we plan menus, we talk to the front of the house, we talk to guests, to get as much feedback as we can so we can tap into what people are liking now,” Smith said. “We knew we were going to start doing lunch as the weather started to warm up a bit, so we wanted to do some lighter dishes.”
Smith said they are always seafood-heavy at Edward’s, and that continues to be a major part of the new offerings. Keeping the menu varied enough that they served something the whole family could enjoy was important, but could still be the ideal spot for something like a ladies’ lunch, too.
New to the table
Looking over the new dishes, Smith is especially proud of the grilled salmon and wakame wrap, with its Napa cabbage slaw, red bell pepper, jalapeño and spicy mayo.
“That’s a play on a dish I created a few years ago for dinner and we modified it for the lunch crowd,” Smith admitted. “In the spring and the summer, we often do a yellowfin tuna with that similar Asian slaw, but I thought if we did this with salmon and incorporated it into a wrap, it could turn out really well and it has.”
All the sandwiches – which also include the steakhouse burger, hot roast beef and cheddar, and chicken salad croissant, are served with choice of greens or Smith’s house-made potato chips that are a celebration of all things potato and salt.
The kitchen is taking advantage of mango and citrus for their famous jumbo lump crab cake, served as a salad atop greens. Other salads include the seared yellowfin tuna, kale Cobb salad, and local arugula.
Smith knew they would be remiss if they didn’t capitalize on their dinnertime grouper entree, transforming it into a grilled sandwich with house-made pickles for the daytime diners.
“The quality of the fish is so great, it’s unparalleled,” he admitted.
Kick the meal off with marinated crab claws, spicy smoked fish dip, frites and steakhouse aioli, crispy Brussels sprouts, or deviled eggs with applewood smoked bacon.
From the lunch entrees menu, find the simply grilled grouper, chicken Provencal, and the shrimp and grits.
You can’t discuss Edward’s and not mention the extensive wine list, which offers something for every price point.
“Our wine list is very reasonable, and of course we have some high-end bottles if guests prefer,” Berry said. “We do a nice beer and eventually we’d like to add liquor.”
Although the restaurant does not take reservations per se, Berry and his team are happy to make arrangements for big events.
“I recently discovered a lot of people didn’t think we’re available for special events, but we are,” he added.
Edward’s Fine Food & Wine is located at 66 Main Street, Rosemary Beach, serving lunch Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The dinner menu continues to be served starting at 5 p.m. daily. Tables are seated on a first-come, first-served basis. Visit them online at edwards30a.com or call 850-231-0550.