Seagar’s Prime Steaks & Seafood

August 3, 2022

Seagar’s: Steakhouse standards, seasonal surprises!

By Lauren Sage Reinlie
Aug. 3, 2022

SANDESTIN – Diners who step into Seagar’s Prime Steaks and Seafood know immediately they are in for something special for the Northwest Florida area. The dark wood floors and candlelit tables. The live pianist and the sharply dressed and exceptionally attentive staff. The mouth-watering aromas wafting out of the open-air kitchen.

But beyond that, Seagar’s seeks to really set itself apart, offering their award-winning steakhouse experience with some extra surprises inspired by some of the best restaurants in the world. The staff regularly hears diner feedback comparing their experience at Seagar’s to cuisine trendsetters in major cities across the country.

“That shows me what we are doing is being received very well,” Chef de Cuisine Fleetwood Covington said recently. “I’m always focused on: how can we push Seagar’s forward? How can we continue to separate our restaurant from what everyone else is doing?”

Florida Room — Seagar’s offers multiple room options for large gatherings or intimate dinners.

Seagar’s opened in Hilton Sandestin in 1998. The AAA 4-Diamond steakhouse has been stacking up awards ever since.

Every steak from the New York strip to the filet to the cowboy rib-eye is prime-cut and hand-selected by the chefs. Grouper, snapper, and oversized shrimp are all sourced locally from the Gulf of Mexico.

The foie gras special changes each week. Popular menu items include the seafood tower and shareable classic sides like mashed potatoes and a decadent macaroni and cheese.

Their Dover sole was featured on the Food Network’s show “The Best Thing I Ever Ate!” The fish is filleted table-side in a delicate dance that removes all the bones without breaking the meat of the fish at all. Then it is sautéed in butter, capers, and lemon.

Other table-side favorites include the Caesar salad and the bananas foster.

The restaurant offers over 600 labels of wine and recently earned a two-glass award from Wine Spectator magazine. A revisioned cocktail menu is in the works, as well.

Alongside these high-quality steakhouse staples, Covington aims to bring some surprises to seasonal menu options, desserts, and especially presentation.

“Because we have such a good and long standing reputation, I really have the freedom to create unbridled,” he said. “I don’t have a lot of restrictions on what I can and can not do.”

One dessert that is currently in production is one inspired by some of the trends in high-end dining at restaurants like Alinea in Chicago. Vibrant sauces are presented straight onto the table, using liquid nitrogen. The splattered effect looks something like a Jackson Pollock painting.

“You do come to Seagar’s and expect the mashed potatoes and the prime steaks, so it’s a very easy space for me to try to shock people as well,” he said. “That experience of helping people discover something new, it’s fun and very rewarding.”

Covington came to Seagar’s in 2017. He had trained as a concert pianist all his childhood, practicing eight to 10 hours a day. After high school, he went to the South of France to perform. He planned to stay one week and ended up staying for years, touring all around Europe, performing, as well as eating delicious, new foods.

One morning, he woke up and knew he was burning out. He came home to Fairhope, Ala., looking for something new and found a role at Seagar’s as a part-time pantry cook. He quickly realized he loved the art of cooking and devoted himself to the craft as passionately as he had piano. He studied under chefs with Michelin-Star and 5-diamond experience, giving him a high-caliber education without leaving the restaurant. Now he regularly researches new techniques being used at the highest rated restaurants in the world.

“I love figuring out how to provide an experience people can’t get anywhere else or nowhere close to here at least,” he said. “The whole thing has become an obsession.”

Seagar’s Prime Steaks and Seafood is open Tuesday through Sunday from 5:30 to 9 p.m., and is located at Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa at 4000 Sandestin Boulevard South, Miramar Beach. The restaurant can be reached at 850-622-1500. Reservations are required. Learn more at seagars.com.

September 5, 2021

Seagar’s, Hilton Sandestin shuffle chefs

Blog, Home Page Blog

Resort appoints Tederous executive sous chef, adds to culinary staff

Special to 30A Food and Wine
Sept. 5, 2021

SANDESTIN – Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa announced changes to the resort’s culinary team following the announcement of Dan Vargo’s departure. Ending a tenure spanning over a decade, Executive Chef Dan Vargo will be leaving to fulfill a lifelong dream of creating his own company.

“From the top down, the culinary team we’ve assembled at Hilton Sandestin is truly exceptional,” said Gary Brielmayer, general manager of Hilton Sandestin. “It’s gratifying to see our family grow and provide an even greater depth and energy to our guests.”

Dan Tederous was selected as Hilton Sandestin’s new executive sous chef. Tederous will be responsible for all kitchen operations to ensure guest satisfaction. With more than 20 years of culinary experience, Tederous was most recently chef de cuisine at Delmonico Steakhouse out of Las Vegas. Tederous also held positions as executive sous chef at Mauna Kea Resort in Waimea, Hawaii and banquet chef at Four Seasons Hualalai in Kona, Hawaii.

Hilton Sandestin’s newest banquet chef, Lee Guidry, has been with Seagar’s Prime Steaks & Seafood for 4.5 years. Guidry will work under the supervision of the banquet culinary team lead, Robert Kent, who has been with the resort for 15 years, spending eight years as sous chef at Seagar’s and seven years leading the Sandcastles culinary team. Kent will oversee the property’s catering team. Guidry, known for his passion for cooking, will be able to display his signature style and international techniques in his new role.

With almost two decades of culinary management experience, most recently as the executive chef of Iron Hill Brewery, Thomas Mikesell attended Johnson and Wales Culinary School where he graduated first in his class and was hand picked by Marco Pierre White to train under a Michelin Star chef in the UK for two years. Spending nearly a decade fine-tuning his skills at eateries in the Atlanta area, Mikesell is excited to lead the team at Seagar’s.

Fleetwood Covington has been appointed sous chef at Seagar’s. Covington started at Hilton Sandestin in 2017 at Seagar’s. His new role allows him to direct food preparation while collaborating and studying under Mikesell; together they will emphasize high quality plates, and showcase design and taste.

Overseeing the renovation of Sandcastles Restaurant’s open-air concept kitchen is new culinary team lead Steve Withall. During his 18-year career, Withall has held many impressive culinary titles, including private beach club chef, restaurant head chef, executive chef and chef de cuisine. He most recently served as the instructional coordinator of culinary and hospitality at Gulf Coast State College in Panama City.

For more information about Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa, visit HiltonSandestinBeach.com or call 850-267-9500. For more information about Seagar’s Prime Steaks & Seafood, call 850-622-1500 or visit Seagars.com.

Photo by Michelle Farnham

March 11, 2021

Spring flavors sing at Seagar’s

Blog, Home Page Blog

Chef Lee Guidry debuts his newest seasonal menu

By Michelle Farnham
March 10, 2021

SANDESTIN – As the weather warms and the days get longer, visitors and locals alike welcome not just the spring season, but the spring menu at Seagar’s Prime Steaks & Seafood.

Executive Chef Lee Guidry always looks forward to the debut of mushroom season, as is evident in his newest seasonal menu.

At a special luncheon held March 10 at the AAA Four Diamond steakhouse, Guidry started with an off-menu special featuring wagyu, caviar, shaved winter truffle and the first morels of the season.

Next he brought out the prime filet tartar with grilled bone marrow, served right in the bone. Quail egg adds richness while the diced fennel and apple add a brightness that match the season. The house-made focaccia reminds diners that everything served at Seagar’s is made in-house by Guidry and his team.

“It’s a 2- to 3-month process to come up with each menu,” Guidry admitted. “There’s a lot of love that goes in each dish.”

His Heureux Farms pork belly first course incorporates kimchi-style Napa cabbage with sweet soy, ginger, carrot and scallion, and topped with crisp pork skin for added texture. The kitchen cures the pork belly for three days, then braises it for six hours to ensure the texture is wonderfully melty.

Guidry’s crisp bobwhite quail with foie gras and gruyere ravioli is rich in the best way possible, accented with truffled honey butter, Swiss chard and foie gras “snow” which Chef deep freezes and grates as the finishing touch.

Getting into the entrees menu, the skin-on seared snapper is served atop a Yukon gold potato cake cooked in duck fat with zucchini, artichoke mousse, trout roe, and of course, beech mushrooms.

“We have Gulf snapper – American red when it’s in season. It’s been good this year, they keep extending the season a little bit so we’ve been fortunate to keep getting it,” Guidry explained.

Chef’s pan-roasted diver scallops are legendary, and for the spring season he pairs them with a lump blue crab cannelloni and grilled king trumpet mushroom, served with pureed “smooth” gumbo.

“These are U-10 diver scallops that are hand-picked, so there’s no byproduct,” he said, noting that he only buys dry-packed scallops to ensure the best taste and texture.

His blackened Gulf grouper comes with a roasted corn and tasso, which he serves risotto-style, finished with Asiago and rock shrimp.

For dessert, he’s serving a celebration of the classic French opera cake, incorporating delicate layers of chocolate mousse, hazelnut dacquoise, espresso syrup, and ganache, aside a latte gelato and cocoa nibs.

Seagar’s will also host at least one more wine dinner before the season really gets underway, always held the first Sunday of the month. He hinted his next evening might include a caviar and vodka tasting.

Seagar’s Prime Steaks & Seafood is located 4000 Sandestin Blvd. South, Miramar Beach, within the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa. Reservations can be made online at seagars.com or by calling 850-622-1500.

Photos by Michelle Farnham