Reveling at the Red Bar

There are some places that beckon you back across the years.  I realized that this morning, when a coworker who had just traveled to New Orleans shared how one of the restaurants was on her mother's 'must go' list based on the last time she had been there...35 years ago.  I love how the combination of place, food and that special something pulls us all back.

Last week, over Thanksgiving break, I had the chance to do just that by going to dinner at the The Red Bar in Grayton Beach, Florida.  I don't know how long my family and I have been going there.  Fifteen, twenty years?  (Mom, Dad, chime in here!).  I know we've introduced it to scores of friends and family ourselves.  On this trip it was a friend of my brother-in-law who brought it up in conversation over lunch earlier in the day, and by the end of the day a small group of us decided to make the 20 min drive to have dinner.  I was so excited to be back!  And, miraculously, a parking space opened right in front.


Glad you're here - come on in!
At first I was disappointed in myself for not taking more photos.  Then when I scoured the internet for photos, I realized they really don't do it justice.  Let me try with words instead: Yes, it's Very Red.  It glows outside and in.  There's always a giant group of people waiting to be seated, but you can sit outside with a favorite beverage and it doesn't take as long as you think.  It's lively, crowded even, but you can eventually belly up to the bar.  The menu is on chalkboards.  There are usually only 5-6 menu items.  Order the chicken dish.  Yes, I know you are in Florida, but trust me.  And you will have leftovers.  The bathrooms are decorated as fully as the restaurant - the women's room has a signed headshot of Jim Carrey - likely when he was shooting The Truman Show at Seaside nearby. There's a jazz band that plays in the front room and people sit on couches around them.  Everybody is in a good mood, and the bread pudding dessert has a sauce made almost solely of butter. This is the place when you mention it on Facebook, random people chime in on the comment section saying how much they love the place.

But I think the real secret of the place is - it makes everyone feel like it's the cool little place that is their very own secret.  That is no small feat.  Check it out, and let it become your secret too!

Christmas tree on the beach

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