By Rick Sylvain
PANAMA CITY, Fla. – Bekah Kozlowsky is happier than a clam at high tide.
“Love Panama City,” says Kozlowsky, self-described Chief Shucker of Saltwater Social, a traveling oyster bar in this Panhandle city on St. Andrews Bay, minutes from the Gulf of Mexico. “My family dates to the original settlers here, saltwater runs deep in my veins.”
St. Andrews — the historic neighborhood west of Panama City — was a sleepy fishing village when Kozlowsky was born. Shrimpers and other fishing boats still untie from the docks for long forays into the Gulf, but St. Andrews is now tonier, reeling in a hipper crowd to its eateries, wine bars, shops and Saturday farmer’s market.
“Stay Salty,” proclaims the neighborhood logo.
Oystering, which Kozlowsky has done lifelong, is only part of the landscape in Panama City. “I honestly think the best part of the culinary scene here is the constant supply of fresh local seafood. Generations of fishermen (and women) live off catching some of the best seafood in the world.”
Panama City can thank its perfect location on the Gulf Coast. Wild-caught shrimp and bay scallops share the spotlight with deep-water finfish including grouper, snapper, swordfish, and flounder.
Locals will tell you the spotlight still belongs to oysters. Bays and bayous are rich with the prized little darlings. Oysters served raw, baked, fried, sauteed or broiled are found along the 13-restaurant Panama City Oyster Trail. Or… Saltwater Social brings the bivalves to you!
“Oysters are every day, all day, always. It’s a way of life here,” says longtime resident Jennifer Vigil.
Hunt’s Oyster Bar & Seafood, a roadhouse in St. Andrews, can claim a bit of oystering history. It was here where a local schoolkid from Panama City signed on as an oyster shucker. Honing his knife skills to a dizzying speed, Honor Allen went on to win five-time honors as U.S. National Oyster Shucking Champion.
“Nobody wants their kid hanging out in an oyster bar,” Allen said in a 2022 documentary, The Oyster Shucker. “Money is money, being young as I was, I had a pretty good work ethic. Soon as I got off the school bus I headed to Hunt’s.”
Environmental and other factors led to the State of Florida suspending wild oyster harvesting in 2020.
Chef Dan Magner with the housemade “Bananama City” Nanner Puddin’ at History Class Photo credit: Becky Beall
Not the oyster setback (oysters are farmed in on-water cages now), not the pandemic, not even a Category 5 hurricane (Michael, in 2018) can bring Panama City down. From the boutiques along Harrison Avenue, the main drag, to a fresh-build (and pet-friendly) waterfront hotel like the Indigo to historic neighborhoods like St. Andrews, a resilient spirit defines the city.
They sing an upbeat tune at the Thistle & Thorne, a unique pub attracting songwriters and musicians to impromptu sessions. Items ravaged by Michael – parts of downed trees, an uprooted gym floor, a motel sign floating down the main street – have found new life repurposed as furnishings at History Class Brewing Company, once the town’s appliance store and now a wildly successful half museum/half brewery for local brews and elevated Southern bites.
Resilient.
On cozy Massalina Bayou, Kevin and Jennifer Shea own Bayou Joe’s, one of the few holdouts in Florida that sits over the water with 180-degree views. “We’re a little piece of old Florida with a real fan following,” says Kevin. “The day we reopened six months after Michael, the line was out the door. I cried and smiled at the same time. It gave me goosebumps.”
Co-owner Kevin Shea at Bayou Joe’s
Interestingly for a waterfront mom-and-pop, burgers are a signature item at Bayou Joe’s. The “chef’s choice” everything-piled-on Trashburger leads the way, but you won’t go wrong at breakfast, lunch or dinner with the wide-ranging menu choices. Trigger fish, tender with a lobster sweetness, led the specials the day I visited. Among house-made desserts is the Drunk & Ugly: gently stewed peaches, rum infused, crowned by Bayou Joe’s homemade cheesecake topping.
If coming by boat – and many do, to “dock and dine” – there’s a house rule at Bayou Joe’s. “If your boat blocks the view,” says Kevin, “you have to buy everyone a beer.”
For waterfront dining fronted by the slips of a busy marina Uncle Ernie’s in St. Andrews will not disappoint. Past the mozzarella sticks – if you can get past the mozzarella sticks – order up top-notch Gulf fare (delish grouper), dine indoors or out on the deck in an old bayside house. Sunsets are spectacular.
St. Andrews Bodega draws the trendy St. Andrews crowd for boutique wines, butcher counter, gourmet groceries and cafe fare that includes tapas, creative entrees and charcuterie boards perfect for sharing. A couple doors down is the darkly romantic Burgunbarrel wine bar, serving up live music and unique naan pizzas.
Ask the choice for a finer dining experience in Panama City and Ferrucci Ristorante gets the nod. In the heart of downtown yet very neighborhood in feel, Ferrucci dishes up Italian favorites and wines that include a smooth-as-silk sangiovese.
El Weirdo brings together locally created art, craft beer brewed on premises, colorful cocktails served creatively, delicious street tacos and other fare in a bizarre outpost on West Oak Ave.
Nestled on a back bayou, Big Mama’s is as local as local gets. Breakfasts, lunches and dinners reflect the Southern cooking found throughout Panama City – from fried chicken to BBQ to Cajun and Creole specialties. The pancakes Big Mama’s serves may have time zones, they are so huge, just flopping over the plate. Feeling health-conscious for fruit, oatmeal or avocado toast? Nope, not here. And please pass the salt.
At the end of the dining spectrum is easily the weirdest place in town. Appropriately named El Weirdo, not an inch of this sidestreet tacopub is without some funky art element. A dozen local artists joined forces to create this happily unhinged fun house of all things weird, from old TVs to Lego sculptures to found objects.
Other Panama City Pursuits
- Atelier Candle Bar. In a beautifully restored building in the historic district, Atelier offers a unique experience. While bartenders pour your favorite cocktail you can pour out your very own candle from your wick, er pick of more than 50 fragrances. From starting at the scent wall to waiting for final curing, novice candlemakers will have the time to stroll the town of boutiques, bookstores and galleries while their candle cools. Experts guide the process. atelierwinebar.com
- Gone to the dogs. Harrison’s Kitchen & Bar, newest option downtown, treats humans – and their canines – to waterfront dining at the doorstep of Panama City Marina. Southern coastal cuisine anchors lunch and dinner menus for the humans while their tail-wagging friends can sidle up to mains including chicken or beef rice bowls, Pooch Creamery ice cream treats or Doggie mocktails. Harrison’s is one of 16 craft beer stops on Panama City’s Ale Trail. harrisonskitchenandbar.com
- Ice Cream Boat. Panama City is surrounded on three sides by water and sheltered by Shell Island, an uninhabited barrier of white sand beaches. Seeing a ready market of rental pontoons, specialty cruises, fishing charters, kayakers, and dolphin excursions, Laura Mononno last year hit on the idea of an ice cream boat to pass among the pleasure craft offshore from Shell. Aboard the Anchor Charters skiff of Chris Bourque, we observed dolphins, sea turtles and creatures combing the seafloor all morning. Just never a Snickers Ice Cream Bar until the ice cream boat showed up. As the nostalgic jingle of an ice cream truck filled our ears, Bourque pulled us alongside for handoffs of Drumsticks and popsicles, ice cream sandwiches and Oreo ice cream bars. “Most people have never seen this before,” said Laura in the understatement of the year. (anchorcharters.net).
- Panama City Mural Trail. You might like to jump into that huge pitcher of lemonade on a scorching Florida day. Except it’s a mural. Instagram-worthy murals are found throughout the city, the work of local, regional, and nationally known artists. Murals make for a colorful ribbon around a city enjoying a hard-won renaissance.
- Sip and stroll. Extending the resort vibe of nearby Panama City Beach, city fathers in Panama City parceled out a downtown social district to allow patrons to stroll the streets with the purchase of alcoholic beverages from participating merchants. Specially marked disposable plastic cups, provided free of charge, denote participants. Along their walkabout, patrons can refuel at any designated merchant selling alcohol.
Panama City is clearly upping its game. And putting out a dining product that is fiercely local and independent.
“There was a time in 2016 there were very few people downtown, you wouldn’t see a single car,” said Allan Branch, founder of the History Class brewpub and among the prime movers in the city.
“But now there is a new confidence in Panama City. Money follows confidence. We cheerlead new businesses. It’s more than investing money, it’s changing the culture. We’re about new ideas and we can be different and that’s OK.” #LovePC, #WhereLoveSetsSail
IF YOU GO
For information about Panama City including a free guide to recreation, museums, shopping, festivals, famed area beaches and more visit destinationpanamacity.com The 124-room Hotel Indigo Panama City Marina on the downtown waterfront welcomes people and pooches. Unwind at Tarpons, the lobby restaurant and bar, or pop up to Steam on 5, the hotel’s open-air rooftop bar with stunning views of St. Andrews Bay. IHG toll-free 1 888 211 9874.
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