local catch

August 25, 2022

Chanticleer Eatery: Something old, something new

By Pam Windsor
Aug. 25, 2022

GRAYTON BEACH – Chanticleer Eatery has been a lunchtime favorite for years, with its gourmet sandwiches on homemade bread and popular desserts like fresh chocolate chip cookies and key lime pie. And now it’s becoming a hot spot for dinner with expanded nights and hours, and exciting new seafood dishes, as well as surf and turf.

When new owners, Jimmy Hasser and Adam Yellin (who also own Local Catch Bar & Grill), bought Chanticleer from husband-and-wife duo Sandro and Emily Wever, they wanted to keep everything that people already loved about it, but add and expand it just a little bit.

“We didn’t want to change a thing for lunch because of how popular lunch is with the locals,” Hasser said. “I would have no problem saying it’s the best lunch spot in or around 30A. So, when the deal was structured, we wanted to keep the people and the recipes. They had a lot of special ways they prepared some of the stuff. It was prepared with love, and we wanted to make sure we could do that.”

So, they kept what already worked and just added a little seafood to the menu, with lunch additions like the new Mahi Sandwich, served alongside the popular Reuben, the Turkey Avocado BLT, and the chicken salad sandwich on homemade bread.

And while Chanticleer was previously only open for dinner a couple of nights a week, it is now open seven nights a week with an expansive menu.

“What we did was we kept a couple of the most popular items from dinner (like the hand-rubbed pork chops), then we added seafood to it,” Hasser explained. “And we added a great executive chef. His name is Innocent Utomi.”

A native of Nigeria, Chef Innocent is a French-trained chief who has served as executive chef at prestigious restaurants like Capital Grille in Miami, and Great Southern and all the Seaside concepts in Santa Rose Beach.

“He’s so highly qualified and we think he does such a great job,” Adam Yellin said. “And we think he’s a great person, as well.”

Chef Innocent’s influence shines through the diverse dinner menu such as the Fresh Catch with Tomato Butter, Smoked Filet Mignon topped with demi-glace, served with mashed potatoes, green beans, and garlic butter sauce, and the Lobster Bisque Soup.

And during both lunch and dinner, the desserts that help make Chanticleer famous, are always available.

“Gourmet desserts made from scratch, like the key lime pie,” said Hasser, “and the cookies are exactly the same. The key lime pie is the same recipe, the carrot cake is the same, and we also have the fudgy brownie. People love those cookies and buy a dozen on the way out. It is the owner’s original recipe and she was kind enough to give that to us.”

Guests can also enjoy Happy Hour seven days a week from 3 to 6 p.m. at their full bar with craft cocktails, draft and bottled beer, and an extensive wine list. Menu items include burgers, wings, and poor boys, just to name a few.

Chanticleer Eatery has struck a unique balance: keeping what has worked so well for so long and creating new and exciting things that only add to the experience. It’s a win-win combination.

Chanticleer Eatery is located at 55 Clayton Lane, Santa Rosa Beach. Open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., reservations are not accepted but you can reach them at 850-213-9065 or visit www.chanticleereatery.com.

August 1, 2021

Local Catch: Coastal Cuisine with a Southern twist

Blog, Home Page Blog, Uncategorized

Aug. 1, 2021
By Laura Holloway

BLUE MOUNTAIN BEACH – When in Rome, do as the Romans do, and when on 30A, do as the locals do and pull up a chair at Local Catch Bar & Grill. Coming up on its 10th anniversary in 2022, Local Catch has become a 30A staple, offering not only a flavorful menu of favorite feasts but also a home for live music and good times, for both locals and area guests.

“It’s the kind of place that makes you feel at home the minute you enter.” – Jimmy Hasser and Adam Yellin, co-owners

Co-owners Jimmy Hasser and Adam Yellin (who is also the restaurant’s chef), said, “From the outside it appears to be a dive bar but as you enter the building the clean, comfortable feeling and amazing aroma of fresh food and smiling faces immediately lets you know that there is love put into every detail, from the personnel to the fresh, locally sourced ingredients. It’s the kind of place that makes you feel at home the minute you enter.”

Located on 30A between Blue Mountain Beach and Gulf Place, Local Catch simultaneously feels like the place you can dine with family after church and the location for a full bar and live music kind of Sunday Funday. It’s a pregame spot, an after work hangout, and a meetup space for so many because it’s vacation, or because it’s a day that ends in ‘Y.” It’s the place for everyone, and the menu reflects that.

Yellin sees the restaurant’s fare “as a mix between Baja Mexican and Cajun cuisine. We call it Coastal Cuisine with a southern twist.”

There’s a full menu of appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts. Starters include a traditional Grouper Ceviche (made with local Gulf grouper, green tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, and lime), Crab and Cream Cheese Wonton (served with a sweet gastrique and cabbage salad), and their infamous Gumbo (made with house-made Andouille sausage and Gulf shrimp).

Salads don’t feel like salads at Local Catch, as evidenced by the Mile 4 Fish Salad (a spring mix topped with local Gulf grouper, pico de gallo, pineapple and homemade tortilla chips), which is so good it was featured in Southern Living.

Entrees (which all come with one side), invite a quick return to the restaurant, because selecting something for just one meal might be impossible. Caribbean Shrimp Tacos (with grilled coconut rum marinated shrimp, pineapple salsa, cabbage, house white sauce, and roasted red peppers), Buerre Blanc Chicken (served with mashed potatoes, green beans, citrus beurre blanc, and a picco de gallo garnish), and the ambitious and delicious Seafood Sampler for Two, which includes (hold onto your napkin) 6 ounces of fresh Gulf fish, six Gulf shrimp, six fried oysters, six ounces of fried crab claws, a crab cake, French fries, and one additional side of your choice. And the sides? They can be a meal in themselves, including Candied Sweet Potatoes and Cheese Grits.

“We just want to serve a fresh, delicious product in a clean and comfortable atmosphere,” Yellin said. “As a chef, I like to use fine dining techniques for common food like tacos and po boys. We use a lot of classic flavor combinations. For example, our pork tacos are topped with a sweet pineapple salsa, so a classic play on sweet and savory, like prosciutto and melon.”

A children’s menu is even available, offering popcorn shrimp, crab claws, cheese quesadilla, chicken tenders, cheeseburger, and kids-portion shrimp. And of course, don’t dare leave without sampling the dessert menu, even if you have to order the Fried Oreos to go. A full bar is available, and signature cocktails invite guests to stay just a little longer.

Hasser added, “The front of the house provides a relaxing atmosphere with a great happy hour to make sure our patrons feel welcome and never leave with an empty stomach.”

Local Catch is open Sundays 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and Friday and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Located at 3711 W. Co. Hwy. 30A in Blue Mountain Beach, you can find out more about the restaurant or daily specials by calling 850-622-2022 or visiting localcatch30a.com.

March 24, 2015

Catch Praise

Blog, Home Page Blog

Story by Sarah Murphy Robertson

Local Catch Bar & Grill in Blue Mountain Beach is quickly becoming a 30A institution. How have they garnered such a great reputation in a relatively short time? Since opening doors in March 2012, co-owners Jimmy Hasser and Adam Yellin credit one key to their success: consistency. It is the common denominator for all aspects of this thriving business, and diving into their fourth tourist season, they are determined to keep it up. Like clockwork, cars line 30A on Sundays to catch live music as locals and visitors alike are embracing this gem on the westside.

Local Catch's Caribbean Shrimp Tacos — Local Catch’s Caribbean Shrimp Tacos

Cordon Bleu trained Executive Chef Adam Yellin partnered with college friend, Jimmy Hasser to establish Local Catch. Their longtime friendship is another telling example of consistency working to their advantage. They ebb and flow well together and have found a great rhythm to their ownership style. Adam will woo you with his delicious food and Jimmy’s positive energy and hands-on attitude keep this operation running smoothly. Their collective enthusiasm for this popular restaurant they’ve created together is evident.

Check out the Mile 4 Salad at Local Catch in Blue Mountain Beach.

“We wanted the food to always be the focus. Fresh and local fare is the reputation we have sought since day one” explains Jimmy. Local Catch is certainly also a great place to have a good time, but the consistent excellence of their southern-inspired coastal cuisine has kept customers coming back.

A chief food philosophy for Chef Adam is balance. His dishes exhibit flavor profiles perfectly balanced and thus take his creations to another level. He credits his culinary career spanning time in New Orleans and San Diego for the Creole and Baja influences on the menu. Their crab cakes are sauced with both sweet and spicy elements. Likewise, the pulled pork tacos are served with a fresh homemade pineapple salsa. Each individual ingredient shines and the result is elevation for the entire dish.

Many of their plates are built entirely from scratch – dressings, sauces, seasonings, even in-house butchering and smoking of meats. And again, Local Catch prioritizes quality and consistency in their food service. The shrimp and grits, variety of stellar tacos, and pork nachos are all customer favorites and serious good eats. I could devour those nachos every day of the week and never tire of them. Crunchy, airy flour tortilla chips are topped with braised pulled pork, Monterrey cheese, pico de gallo, pickled jalapenos, and homemade white and hot sauces. Jimmy and Adam met at the University of Alabama where regional barbeque is a religious experience, so it seemed only appropriate for their version of a pork sandwich to grace the menu. Served up with a nod to the white BBQ sauce tradition of Northern Alabama, this sammie is going to make a lot of folks full and happy this summer.

Versatility is another facet the Local Catch has in spades. The space accommodates both larger boisterous porch-side gatherings as well as dining indoors for quieter dinners. Families with children can enjoy upscale yet approachable cuisine in a casual environment, and sports fans can cozy up to the bar for banter and beverages.

Make sure you try the bacon-wrapped jalepenos the next time you stop by Local Catch in Blue Mountain Beach.

So what’s on deck? In the works for next fall are plans to start serving brunch. It will be the perfect marriage to their Sunday live music tradition. Start dreaming now about crispy golden Bananas Foster pancakes – are you hungry yet? I have a good feeling once you try them you’ll be hooked.

Located at 3711 W County Highway 30A Santa Rosa Beach, Fl 32459 (850.) 622.2022. Open 7 days a week ; 11 am – 10 pm.

All photography provided courtesy of Local Catch Bar and Grill.