30AEats.com contributor’s, Erin and Matt Browne, are the faces behind Brownie Bites: They visited Old Seagrove Beach, Florida and spent a lot of time enjoying the town of Seaside and Scenic Hwy. 30A.
FROST BITES – AIRSTREAM ALLEY
Frost Bites specializes in shaved ice and frozen custard. Let me tell you, a fruity frozen dessert really hits the spot when that Florida heat gets going! The trailer is so tiny and cute!
This is only part of the menu, and there is SO much to choose from. Here’s a tip: visit their website BEFORE you go: http://frostbitesseaside.com/ so you can have an idea of what you might want. I did this and it made selecting a flavor combo so much easier. There are so many choices that it can be overwhelming and I’m sure I would have stood there for half an hour trying to decide if I didn’t have an idea beforehand!
I got the Dreamsicle – orange and vanilla shaved ice topped with a drizzle of sweet cream. It was so refreshing and cool, I’ve never had any kind of drizzles or toppings on shaved ice before, and Frost Bites has lots of options such as sweet cream, chocolate syrup, graham cracker crumbs, and gummy candies.
Matt tried the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, served “piggly wiggly” style. That means there is frozen vanilla custard on the bottom topped with pineapple shaved ice, drizzled with sweet cream and topped with graham cracker crumbles – wowza!
On a different day, Matt and I came back to share a lemon-lime piggly wiggly, mmm mmm yummy!
BAREFOOT BBQ – AIRSTREAM ALLEY
Can’t go wrong with good old-fashioned barbecue! Barefoot has lots of options for pork, chicken, turkey, or beef entrees. Choose from sandwiches, combo platter, BBQ nachos, and even some lighter options like spinach salad and chicken salad. The neatest part about Barefoot is that all of the sauces are available via pumps outside of the Airstream, so you can try them all! Here are their descriptions!
Hang Ten – Traditional – Tomato Base, Brown Sugar w/ Bourbon
Wipeout – Vinegar Base, Light, Tart and Fruity
Pipeline – Mustard Base, Sweet and Spicy
Hot Lava – Spicy with a kick of Cayenne and Pepper Sauce
Pssst… my favorite was Hang Ten!
You can click right here to find Barefoot BBQ on Facebook!
I ordered the turkey leg and it was pretty much perfection. The meat was juicy, flavorful, and fall-apart tender. It is also absolutely enormous – two people could easily share this monster! I ordered potato salad on the side, and you guys, I gotta be totally honest… I’m not sure I can recommend it. It just wasn’t my favorite. But the meat? Delicious. Make sure to give all of the different sauces a try!
Matt ordered the beef brisket sandwich and loved it! He said the brisket was juicy and tender. His platter came with two sides, so he chose the mac and cheese and potato salad. Sadly, he agreed with me about the potato salad, and also said that the mac and cheese was “just okay”. But honestly, even without the sides, the meat and sauces are delicious and more than filling, so all-in-all we were not all all disappointed or unsatisfied with our lunch here!
We did stop at Wild Bill’s on an evening walk through Seaside and shared a dipped frozen key lime pie on a stick. Tasty!
Even though we didn’t visit the remaining food trucks in Airstream Alley, I thought I’d at least mention the Raw & Juicy truck. They specialize in vegan, raw fresh food, and looking through the menu, I really wish I had made time to try out some of their delicious sounding juices and smoothies! I also remember really wanting to try the veggie hummus wrap. Next time!!
PICKLE’S
Pickle’s is a casual counter service diner located on the main strip right next to Amavida coffee – can’t miss it. It’s totally open air with covered outdoor seating and a bar that faces the street, so it’s a fabulous place to grab some shade and people watch. There’s even fan misters on hot days to cool you off!
I ordered the breakfast platter with scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries, and buttered toast. Pretty classic and hearty meal!
This looks like a regular plate of French toast, yes? Um… no. Although it doesn’t say it explicitly on the menu, this French toast is actually dipped in MELTED ICE CREAM you guys!! How genius is that? I mean, it makes sense… you normally make French toast by dipping the bread into whisked egg or a mixture of egg and milk or cream, right? So why not make it even more decadent and sinful and use melted ice cream instead? I just can’t even… brilliant idea and you simply must try it!
Loved the colorful seating area! Great place to watch the comings and goings on 30A.
BUD & ALLEY’S
On our last night in town, we decided to attempt to grab an outdoor table at Bud and Alley’s, named for the town’s Dachshund mascot, Bud, and the restaurant owner’s cat, Alley. Considered one of the more upscale restaurants in Seaside, it still manages to feel friendly and comfortable. There is a rooftop bar overlooking the Gulf of Mexico where you can take in the sunset. We planned for an evening of drinks and appetizers while enjoying the late afternoon breeze.
Visit Bud & Alley’s main website right here. Or follow them on Facebook right here!
We knew that the outdoor tables at the bar would be a hot commodity, so we arrived pretty early and were able to find an empty table with no problems. Not a bad view, eh?
The menu has some seriously tasty sounding specialty drinks, including some naughty ice-cream blended drinks – yum! Since alcohol was obviously off the menu for me due to my pregnancy, I got as creative as I could and simply ordered a Sprite and pineapple juice. Matt, however, ordered a Pain Killer – spiced rum with orange, pineapple, and coconut juices.
We ordered a sampling of appetizers to share. This is the bay scallop ceviche (don’t worry, I didn’t try it-but I wanted to!).
Baked Oysters Seaside – gotta be honest, these left something to be desired. The flavor was pretty bland and the texture was off. The worst part was that they were cold by the time they made it to our table. Kind of a bummer!
Sweet potato fries – don’t these have a chunky unique batter? I thought they were really tasty, but unfortunately these also arrived cold, but I can otherwise recommend them. Different from any other sweet potato fries I’ve had for sure!
Aside from the fairly disappointing appetizers, I’ll offer a small warning if you are lucky enough to snag an outdoor table at sunset. Bud & Alley’s is open seating, which means that there are customers walking around and waiting for tables. Several of these people actually approached our table and asked if we were leaving soon, going as far as pointing to our almost empty drink glasses and plates and commenting that it looked like we were almost finished, and asked for our table. It was a little distracting when we were just trying to have a relaxing last evening in Seaside with our friends. What’s worse is that the crowd of people stalking tables were lined up against the deck railing, effectively blocking most of the view and the sunset that we were there to see.
But the view really is quite beautiful. 🙂
What are some of your favorite places to eat in Seaside or along 30A? Let me know in the comments!
Read more of Brownie Bites by clicking here. And, here… Where To Eat In Seaside, Florida: Part 1, Where To Eat In Old Seagrove, Beach, Where To Eat In Rosemary Beach.
