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Emeril Lagasse

Emeril’s Coastal: A seafood experience

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By Michelle Farnham
May 21, 2022

SANDESTIN – Since opening nearly five years ago, Chef Emeril Lagasse’s Sandestin restaurant has rolled with the tide, you might say. When the world-famous chef made the decision to temporarily close the doors to all his restaurants during the thick of the pandemic, he and his staff used that time to rework and re-imagine. The former Emeril’s Coastal Italian became Emeril’s Coastal, they switched to a dinner service with Sunday brunch, and the tastes of the sea became the kitchen’s main focus.

“We have always wanted to be seafood-centric at Coastal,” Lagasse explained. “The pandemic gave us an opportunity to regroup and rethink the menu, dropping the ‘Italian’ and focusing more on the advantages of being on the coast with the Gulf of Mexico in our backyard.”

With Lagasse and his chef de cuisine Frank Szymanski both being coastal kids by birth, and with a gulf full of fresh seafood at their disposal, the transition was a natural one.

“We have the opportunity to create dishes with the freshest seafood available and Chef Frank has done an incredible job with the seafood concept and seafood specials. When you dine at Emeril’s Coastal, you are going to have ‘a seafood experience,’ enjoying the freshest and most creative seafood dishes,” he said. “The guests have given very positive feedback.”

Nightly specials include a fresh catch like snapper, grouper or swordfish.

Both chefs are proud of their whole fish preparations, which are as much a feast for the eyes as the palate. Lagasse also pointed to the nightly special blackboard – which features a fresh catch like snapper, grouper or swordfish – and Bob Doyle’s Maryland Style Crab Cake, served with lemon butter and shoestring potatoes.

“We try to keep our menu pretty seasonal and our menu constantly evolves from one week to another,” explained Szymanski. “We print menus in-house so if mussels aren’t available, for example, we’ll do a dish with clams instead. We have so many repeat customers and they don’t want to eat the same thing every time, so we’ve got to keep it moving.”

Although there is a fine dining vibe at Coastal, they don’t take themselves too seriously. Halloween saw the waitstaff dressed in costumes, and special occasions are celebrated with freshly spun cotton candy and a festive flair.

Oysters are served your choice of three ways.

Platters of oysters are celebrated three ways: raw with mignonette, chargrilled with Parmesan or baked with brie and bacon, or enjoy them over house-made spaghetti with garlic and cream.

“My team and I work hard every day to be the best restaurant with the freshest product,” Lagasse said. “We have some amazing local purveyors who provide us with the best seafood to provide our customers an experience that we are proud of.”

Those with a hearty appetite can tuck into the 22-ounce bone-in prime ribeye, or for lighter fare, EJ’s Chop Salad with avocado, sweet corn and bacon is named for the famed chef’s son, EJ, currently studying to be a chef himself.

Salmon
Salmon bagel, anyone?

The party continues behind the bar, featuring house-made extracts and specialty cocktails. The staff is poppin’ bottles during Sunday brunch, including bottomless mimosas, frozen Lushies, alongside midday nosh favorites like Meril’s Eggs Benedict, lobster Benedict or the fried oyster omelet.

A special take-out menu allows diners to enjoy the tastes of Coastal on the go, including apps, entrees, sides, a kid’s menu and desserts.

Life outside the kitchen

Lagasse is certainly known for more than the plates of food he produces; he’s a philanthropist at heart.

“This year, we are celebrating 20 years of the Emeril Lagasse Foundation,” he added. “We are looking forward to continuing to provide capital and programmatic support to organizations across the nation through our Community Grants Program and our signature program, Emeril’s Culinary Garden and Teaching Kitchen.”

After missing out on several of their live events last year, Lagasse and his wife Alden were thrilled to be able to get back to the business of charity. The Carnivale du Vin returned in November in New Orleans; the Line, Vine & Dine in Fort Lauderdale in February; with more events populating the famous chef’s upcoming calendar.

“Alden and I are looking forward to coming back together in person for the Emeril Lagasse Foundation’s Spring fundraising events like the Chi Chi Miguel Fundraising Weekend here in Santa Rosa Beach,” he said. “Line, Vine & Dine and Chi Chi Miguel support incredible local charities in the Florida communities and we are so grateful for the continued generosity of the donors, sponsors and friends who make them possible.”

In between events and trips to check in on his eight other restaurants, look for Lagasse, Szymanski and their team on the line at Coastal, serving up that fresh coastal fare!

Emeril’s Coastal is located at 435 Grand Boulevard in Miramar Beach. Open 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 4 to 9:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and for Sunday brunch 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reservations are accepted; visit them online at www.emerilsrestaurants.com or call 850-608-7040.

Emeril

Emeril cooks up big news at Seaside

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Lagasse Foundation grants $500K to Seaside School at Taste of the Race

By Michelle Farnham

Emeril Lagasse wants to get down to the meat and potatoes of education – literally. The famed chef stole the show at the fourth annual Taste of the Race fundraiser and culinary event March 2, announcing the Emeril Lagasse Foundation would be presenting a $500,000 grant to the Seaside School Foundation.

Emeril Lagasse
L to R Jim Richard of Word of Mouth Restaurant Group, Emeril Lagasse, Jim Shirley of The Great Southern Cafe

That money will be earmarked for the implementation of a new culinary-based curriculum, one the foundation worked with some of the top curriculum designers in the country to create. Plans also call for the creation of the 1,800-square-foot Emeril Lagasse Culinary Kitchen and Schoolyard Garden at Seaside Neighborhood School, as well as three additional classroom buildings and a performing arts center. Additionally, Seaside Neighborhood School – ranked No. 8 among Florida charter schools – will finally be able to expand to the elementary grades.

“It’s wonderful to be a local and support the local scene of what we’re doing – not only as restaurateurs and chefs. I’ve experienced (Seaside Neighborhood School) with two children. This is a very, very special place,” Lagasse said.

Brian Kish, president of the ELF, stressed the importance of refocusing students’ outlook toward food.

“These kids are going to know where their food comes from, they’re going to appreciate the food, they’re going to understand how hard it is to grow and prepare food,” Kish said. “They’re going to eat healthy and share conversation around a kitchen table again.”

Rick Helfand, chairman of the Seaside School Foundation Board, is pleased to see the long-awaited goal of adding younger grades finally coming to fruition.

“This is an amazing opportunity for the Seaside School. We’re adding grades K through 4. We’ll have a K through 12 probably in the next year-and-a-half or so. We should start construction in the next four or five months,” Helfand explained.

Event co-chair and local restaurateur Jim Shirley revealed that the foundation has been raising money to build out the elementary school as part of a grassroots effort.

Emeril and Jim Shirley
Chef Jim Shirley, sharing the stage with Seaside Neighborhood School students, said he thinks the charter can build a curriculum model that could spread all over the country.

“We’re three-quarters of the way there, underground and within our group. Now we’re publicly announcing that we are fundraising for this school,” Shirley said. “Emeril has this incredible vision for a culinary garden and teaching kitchen. We’re going to build one here and combine that incredible idea of everything that’s culinary is science, is history, is reading, writing, it’s math, it’s everything. Everything about cooking is education.”

Lagasse feels this shift of focus is an excellent lesson in practical learning.

“When you think about cooking, it’s more than just turning on a stove and putting in ingredients,” Lagasse explained. “What are those ingredients? Where do they come from? The equivalent of math to that: a cup, a quarter, a pound, an ounce, a tablespoon. Not only the mathematical part of that, but the educational part of that, the resource part of that. These children have a great opportunity, and when you talk to these kids, they’re super-excited about what’s happening.”

As part of the fundraising effort, longtime Seaside restaurant owner Dave Rauschkolb and Kish hosted a Raise the Paddle, seeing large monetary donations coming in from the likes of Spell Restaurant Group, Bud & Alley’s, Amavida Coffee, George and Ann Hartley, Geoff Chick, Dan Buckner, and Word of Mouth Restaurant Group, to name a few. Rauschkolb and Jim Richard offered dinners at their restaurants, Bud & Alley’s and Trebeaché, respectively, to higher-level donors.

Don’t forget dinner!

The smell of food wafting around the giant tent on Seaside’s Lyceum Lawn quickly reminded attendees of the 30-plus vendors waiting to dish up everything from Restaurant Paradis’s red snapper, cobia and grouper ceviche over a fried plantain chip; to Seagar’s New York strip loin with mushroom and madeira jus. amici 30A Italian Kitchen had both dinner and dessert covered, with warm Italian greens, Amy’s Meatballs, and chocolate chip and salted caramel popcorn cannoli.

Booth No. 1 held an extra-special exhibition when – for the first time – Seaside Neighborhood School students were on hand to present the ultimate in farm-to-table cuisine.

“We have made some dips with ingredients from our school garden and we’re here serving up some dip!” explained eighth-grader Emma Salinas. “This is our cold yogurt and cheese dip,” she said, gesturing to the tray in front of her.

“It’s Emeril’s recipe,” added classmate Knoxye Grinstead, as she stood next to sixth-grader Kingston Mixson and a platter of spinach dip with pita chips. “All the recipes are from Emeril’s cookbook for kids.”

Photos courtesy of Michelle Farnham