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BEST OF THE COAST 2005 | Vol. 5, No. 35, September 15, 2005
(Best of the Coast 2005)
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Dining


BEST OVERALL RESTAURANT
BEST SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
Fish House, 600 Barracks St., Pensacola. 470-0003.
Other Top 3 Finishes: Best Cheeseburger, Best Outdoor Dining, Best Restaurant - Pensacola, Best Place to Eavesdrop, Best Place for a Power Lunch, Best Selection of Wine by the Glass.
The newly renovated Fish House is to seafood what McGuire's is to beef. Fresh seafood, hand-picked by Chef Jim Shirley, is creatively prepared daily. Red snapper, grouper, wahoo, triggerfish, scamp, mackerel, cobia, amberjack, pompano, and mahi mahi are all offered, along with shrimp, oysters and crab. Fried, grilled, blackened, ginger-crusted are just a few ways Shirley and his chefs offer their seafood creations. All come with an assortment of Southern sides to choose from: collard greens, corn fritters, gouda grits and more. When it comes to delicious seafood, IN readers head to Fish House.

BEST RESTAURANT - PENSACOLA
BEST RESTAURANT TO SPLURGE
BEST CHEF
Jackson's Restaurant, 400 S. Palafox St., Pensacola. 469-9898.
Other Top 3 Finishes: Best Romantic Dining, Best Overall Restaurant, Best Original Menu, Best Place for a First Date.
Irv Miller is one of Pensacola's resident culinary geniuses. His restaurant, Jackson's, has won Florida Trend's Golden Spoon Award for five consecutive years and is honored as one of Florida's Top 25 restaurants. There is no dining experience like it in the Pensacola area.

BEST NEW RESTAURANT
BEST SALADS
Eat!, 286 N. Palafox St., Pensacola. 433-6905.
Other Top 3 Finishes: Best Brunch, Best Original Menu.
Chef Lee and his wife, Heather, have taken a tough restaurant location and turned it into one of Pensacola's hottest dining spots. Chef Lee prepares food using the combinations of flavors and ingredients that reflect knowledge of tradition and history with a modern touch. They also have the coolest restaurant Web site (www.eatmorefood.com) that displays its entire menu. If you're salad aficionado, then you have to try their Cobb Saladóplum tomato, blue cheese, avocado, greens, hickory bacon, and egg with chicken or crawfish. Mmmm!

BEST ORIGINAL MENU
BEST MARTINI
Global Grill, 25 S. Palafox Place, Pensacola. 469-9966.
Other Top 3 Finishes: Best Chef, Best Wine Selection by the Glass, Best Appetizer, Best Desserts, Best RestaurantóPensacola, Best Place for a First Date.
Original can only begin to describe Global Grill, a place that is known for its tapas. The idea of tapas was relatively foreign to locals before Chef Frank Taylor decided to open a restaurant dedicated to serving them. Tapas are similar to appetizers, and there's enough for everyone to share a little from each plate. Not only does Global Grill serve tapas, but they also serve main entrees as well. Some of the various items that can be found on the menu are Fried Stuffed Artichokes with Boursin Cheese, Tuna Cubes Skewered in Sesame Vinaigrette, and Filet Mignon. So, if you;re in the mood for a wide selection of food, grab some friends and head down to Global Grill. Martini's have become synonymous with Global. Martini Night with the Independent News on Wednesdays is a weekly tradition for Pensacola.

BEST SPORTS BAR
BEST LATE NIGHT EATS
New York Nick's, 11 Palafox Place, Pensacola. 469-1984.
Pensacola's ultimate sports bar has the area's most complete sports programming complex. With the NFL Ticket, NHL Center Ice, ESPN Game Plan, Major League Baseball Xtra Innings, NBA League Pass, ESPN Full Court and every college sports package, Nick's can display every sporting event imaginable on its five 60-inch high-definition big screens and its 30 other big screens and televisions. As far as late night eats go, the Independent News staff can vouch that NYN's kitchen can fill the bill. Our staff has closed down Nicks a few too many nights.

BEST RESTAURANT - GULF BREEZE
Aegean Breeze, 913 Gulf Breeze Parkway, Gulf Breeze. 916-0430.
This two-time Best of the Coast winner offers a full selection of Greek cheeses, salads, sandwiches, pasta dishes, seafood, Black Angus steaks and desserts.

BEST RESTAURANT - NORTH PENSACOLA
New Market Steakhouse & Seafood Grill, 2100 W. Nine Mile Rd., Pensacola. 505-0098.
For three years in a row, this locally owned steakhouse has won this category. New Market Steakhouse & Seafood Grill serves fresh, made-from-scratch dishes in an elegant, but relaxed atmosphere. Fill up on your protein allotment for the week with its great steak menu. Make sure to leave some room for the enticing selection of homemade desserts. Thereís also a covered courtyard with a huge 61-inch big screen for 'MondayNight Football' games.

BEST BAKERY
J's Pastry Shop, 2014 N. 12th Ave., Pensacola. 432-4180.
For 58 years, this Pensacola original has satisfied the sweet tooth of locals without breaking the bank. And throughout the years, the fresh-baked cinnamon bread, French bread and pound cakes remain the main staple of Pensacolian's diet-be-damned binges.

BEST CHINESE RESTAURANT
BEST PLACE FOR KARAOKE
Hunan Chinese Restaurant, 3102 E. Cervantes St., Pensacola. 438-7641.
In a town where Chinese restaurants can be found on nearly every street corner, Hunan has earned the admiration of IN readers for the third straight year. Hunan's freshly prepared buffet satisfies its regulars with more than 50 scrumptious dishes including General Tsao's chicken, sesame meatballs, shrimp tempura, egg foo yung and cashew chicken. Young and old alike also enjoy karaoke here. The spinning disco ball and oriental decorations make for an odd yet dreamy ambiance, as deejay spins a variety of hits for aspiring Kelly Clarksons.

BEST PLACE TO FEED THE WHOLE FAMILY
Fire Mountain, 9006 Pensacola Blvd., Pensacola. 478-4561.
Other Top 3 Finishes: Best Buffet
At Fire Mountain, you'll find families of all shapes and sizes just waiting to dig in. Even your pickiest child will find something to enjoy. Kids love all the choices (especially that dessert bar), and parents can manage to throw a vegetable or two underneath the mounds of mashed potatoes and chicken fingers.

BEST MEXICAN RESTAURANT (tie)
Tiajuana Flats Burrito Company, 4970 Bayou Blvd. (behind Pier
One), Pensacola. 476-2200
Tijuana Flats has made a big impression on IN readers in just its first
year in Pensacola. The secret must be its "anything goes" approach to
food, décor, hot sauces and life in general. You can eat what you like,
how you like it and as hot and as wet as you like it. Hot is the new cool!
Cancun's Mexican Grill, 1385 Shoreline Dr., Gulf Breeze. 916-4520. 21 W Romana St., Pensacola. 429-0126.
Other Top 3 Finishes: Best Restaurant - Gulf Breeze.
Cancun's has all the authentic Mexican cuisine you could ask for at rock bottom prices. In fact, itís been there longer than any other restaurant we can remember. Besides your typical soft tacos and burritos, treat yourself to some carne asada, chimichangas or enchiladas.

BEST PLACE TO POWER LUNCH
Portabello Market, 400 S. Jefferson St., Pensacola. 439-6545; 5045 N. Ninth Ave., Pensacola. 484-4158.
Other Top 3 Finishes: Best Salads.
The original location is inside the Pensacola Cultural Center and is a lunch spot favorite for downtown powerbrokers. Chef Erika Thomas serves Modern New American Cuisine in a casual elegant atmosphere that is perfect for closing that big business deal. Recently, Erika and her husband, Ryan, opened a second location on Ninth Avenue near Sacred Heart Hospital that is also open for dinner

BEST ALL YOU CAN EAT DEAL
Barnhill's Buffet, various locations in Pensacola and Gulf Breeze. 435-9914.
Other Top 3 Finishes: Best Place to Feed the Whole Family, Best Buffet.
Sure, the whole barn décor thing is a little cheesy, but that hasn't kept away the hungry crowds.

BEST CATERER
Big Sexy Foods, 405 E. Government St., Pensacola. 438-SEXY (7399).
Chefs Jack McNulty, Chris Kimbrel and John Murphy have taken the city by storm with their attention to detail and quality presentations. The trio has worked together for the past 10 years in some of New Orleans' most famous restaurants, always with the idea that the best ingredients make for the biggest and sexiest food experiences. Big Sexy now has 'Thursdays Take Out.' Call on Wednesdays between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to find out what's cooking and place your order. Your appetizer, entrée, dessert, fresh bread and wine can be picked up the following day between 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.


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