One day while out doing some sightseeing up and down Florida's Emerald Coast with my cousin and his wife, we decided to go get some lunch at a seaside restaurant. We found a place that my cousin was somewhat familiar with, but hadn't ever been to before - the Whale's Tail on Miramar Beach in Destin. We parked down Scenic Gulf Highway from the restaurant (see map) and walked over to the place.
For over 30 years, the Whale's Tail has been serving locals and tourists that come to the Destin area. It is part of the Seascape Resort which is located just across the highway from the Whale's Tail. It's open to the general public and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. There's also a downstairs bar in the Whale's Tail for easy access for people on the beach.
The view from the Whale's Tail is spectacular. Cindy wanted to go somewhere where we'd get a great view and hear the waves coming in. You get that and more from the deck at the Whale's Tail. The gulf waters were about 200 feet from the building.
We were greeted by a young hostess with a thick Eastern European accent who wanted to know if we wanted to eat inside or out on the deck. We opted for the outside seating. The deck was nothing more than a series of picnic tables - and not very comfortable at that.
The inside seating was a little nicer, but didn't offer the view the deck did. it had a nautical theme and featured stirdy tables and chairs - much more comfortable than the picnic tables on the deck. There was a small upstairs bar to complement the bigger bar downstairs.
We were looking through the menu when our server, Miriam, came over to greet us. She, too, had a thick Eastern European accent - possibly Russian. I could hear a number of the waitstaff talking in some sort of dialect that sounded like they may have come from that part of the world. Actually, we encountered a number of Eastern European service people during our trip to the Emerald Coast.
The menu at the Whale's Tail is pretty basic. Their breakfast menu features three different types of omelets, French toast, a basic egg sandwich and the standard two eggs scrambled or fried, choice of bacon or sausage patties, fried potatoes or grits and toast. The dinner part of the menu was also rather boring with crab legs, steamed or fried shrimp, oysters and a choice of three types of fish - mahi, grouper or tuna.
The lunch menu wasn't much more exciting. They had a burger, a patty melt, a grilled ham & cheese sandwich, and either fried shrimp or fried oyster Po-boy sandwiches. The menu looked like it was designed for a 17-year-old kid to handle working as a grill cook for the first time.
Interestingly, they had grouper fish tacos on the menu and that's what Cindy got. They were three soft tortilla shells filled with seasoned grilled grouper with chopped tomatoes, lettuce and red onions. A small bit of cole slaw came on the side. Cindy thought they were delicious.
Against my better judgement, I went with the Cuban sandwich. I have yet to find a great Cuban sandwich outside of the ones I've had in Miami years ago. The sweet Cuban bread makes the sandwich. I figured that since we were close to the Cuban sandwich strongholds of Tampa and Miami, they could have a good one at the Whale's Tail. I was wrong. This was nothing more than a pressed panini sandwich with ham, cheese and pickles. It was, well, blah...
Bonnie went with the crab cake sandwich which she thought was pretty good. John couldn't find anything appealing to him on the menu so he just ended up getting the 1/4 pound hot dog. We flipped him a small ration of shit about getting a hot dog and he said, "Hey, I felt like having a hot dog!" Actually, I know what he means as I like to get a good hot dog from time to time. But the hot dog at the Whale's Tail looked pretty basic.
Cindy couldn't eat her full plate of fish tacos, so she offered me one of hers after I'd finished half of my sandwich. They tacos were very good - fresh grouper with a bit of a spicy seasoning on them. The chopped veggies were fresh and went well with the fish. Once again, Cindy got something that was much better than what I had.
Other than the spectacular view, I can't really give a glowing report on the Whale's Tail. The menu was basic, my sandwich wasn't anything special, the service was efficient if somewhat robotic, and the picnic tables were a little uncomfortable. The fish tacos were very good, however. I think the Whale's Tail is a place that you go to in a pinch for a quick and basic meal, or you go to hang out in the bar and watch the surf come in. Of all the places we ate at on our trip to Florida, this was probably at the bottom.
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