Tuesday

When Kristen was very small, we lived in Apalachicola, where she learned to love oysters. Stew, fried, baked, on the grill, stovetop in a pan, in the oven. We retired home to Panama City when she was five. From time to time we had mullet at home or at The Fish Net on Highway 77 in Lynn Haven, and, a true Panama City native, she acquired a taste for mullet too. Friday, she arrived home from college for fall break, leaving about noon today to return to school.

For supper last night we took her to Buddy Gandy’s Restaurant on Highway 390, which is St. Andrew’s Boulevard from Beck Avenue to Lynn Haven. On the left driving north (west side), it’s on past the old airport and a bit beyond Si Mathison retirement home, just the other side of a gas station. We’ve had supper there three times now and find it superb for our local tastes. Unlike the two great seafood restaurants on Beck Avenue downtown in St. Andrews, there’s never been a queue, no line of people sitting outside waiting to get in. 

We ordered oysters baked, and since cheese is off my diet, specified no cheese, not even parmesan, they were delicious. After eating one oyster, a drop of Tabasco goes into the empty shell and two or three may be touched very lightly into that. Then a few fried oysters, and shared my mullet with Kris. My October allotment of fried food. My side dish was double cole slaw, but Linda, Malinda and Kris had cheese grits -- again out of my diet anymore except for one taste: beyond scrumptious. If the record shows that I already had something fried during October, this was my November allotment and I did not overdo it. And having overcome the salt shaker instinct, everything tastes just as good unsalted.

Otherwise, when we have mullet these days, we cook them outside on the grill. Perfect. October is roe month, usually good for large fresh mullet.

TW+