Gulf Shores Restaurants: Dining on the Alabama CoastThe main drawback to dining out in the Gulf Shores area is trying to decide. Steak, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, steakhouse, seafood. What are we in the mood for? How much do we want to spend? Those are the questions? Most Gulf Shores restaurants are mid-range priced, family-style. Should the mood and occasion strike there are upscale restaurants in the area. Fortunately, from our experience the quality of food doesn't necessarily equate to how much is spent.The restaurants on the island that stay in business year after year, do so because they consistently deliver a good product. Operating a restaurant in a tourist community is difficult; a restaurant has to be very good in its chosen niche, and it is only as good as the last meal it served. There's a fine line between losing money and breaking even, so the ones that last a few years are doing almost everything right. They couldn't weather the winter months and the intense competition if they weren't. Then there are the things beyond one's control that will put a favorite out of business - like fires and hurricanes. We lost a favorite restaurant to fire recently. Wolf Bay Lodge in Elberta was totally destroyed by fire in December 2008. Wolf Bay Lodge wasn't the most convenient restaurant for us; we either had to drive around Wolf Bay through Foley or take our boat across the Bay. It was worth the extra effort though. The fried whole flounder couldn't have been any better. Along with the flounder, I will always remember those dollar bills on the walls. Many had been returned by local residents after Hurricane Ivan blew them all over Elberta and Wolf Bay. Wolf Bay has recently opened a new restaurant in Orange Beach. With escalating real real estate prices, beach side Gulf Shores restaurants are becoming rare. Lillian's Pizza at Perdido Key, one of our favorites, sold out to a condo developer at the height of the real estate bubble. The restaurant moved across the street and up a little from the old one. The pizza is still the best on the beach, but the new shiny one is missing some of the charm that the old shack on the beach had.
But there is some good news for those who's like to dine as close to the beach as possible when trying to decide among Gulf Shores restaurants. The Hangout opened earlier in 2008 at Gulf Shores.
When most tourists hit the beaches they are thinking seafood for their first meal out. There are plenty of very good, even great, Gulf Shores restaurants that specialize in seafood. We've tried most of them. Click here for our favorites. Almost all beach tourists are going to want to have breakfast out at least a few times during the vacation.
Click here for breakfast suggestions.
Read Shelly's Review of Villaggio's Grille at the Wharf: By Far The Best Burger in Gulf Shores and Surrounding Area ...
|
