[thisismyname10]

You get tons of these I'm sure, but a search of the threads didn't produce many results for some reason.
Humor me?
Any links to threads on the same topic? Must eat restaurants, best place to rent jet skis, best beach areas? We are staying in a friend's condo the 2nd week of June. Mostly (fun) adults ages 24-40 and a couple of 16 year old girls.

Thanks

[HeartofFlorida]

Originally Posted by thisismyname10

You get tons of these I'm sure, but a search of the threads didn't produce many results for some reason.
Humor me?
Any links to threads on the same topic? Must eat restaurants, best place to rent jet skis, best beach areas? We are staying in a friend's condo the 2nd week of June. Mostly (fun) adults ages 24-40 and a couple of 16 year old girls.

Thanks

I was there with my family just last month and plan on going back sometime this summer.

Where in Destin is the condo and is it beachside? Are you trying to eat seafood and or you looking for a good mix? Do you want a beach with a lot of people or something less crowded?

[thisismyname10]

We actually don't know exactly where the condo is, it is a friend's, not sure of the exact address yet. But we will have our vehicles with us and driving around is definitely an option. We are from southwest Louisiana so we eat seafood all the time. We can eat at seafood restaurants but its not a must, a mix would probably be better. And something less crowded. Although I think we may try to go to Big Kahuna water park.. any fun? My husband is 26 goin on 12

[jghorton]

You may find that annual Big Kahuna passes (with free 'guest' passes) cost much less than Day passes (We never go to BK, except when the grandkids come and the annual pass saves us money). Callahan's Rest. and also LandShark (both about 755 Hwy 98 E) offer good food, large quantities (splits are easy on many meals) and reasonable prices. Lively Movie Theater in the same area gets latest movies, yet, only charges $6 per ticket. Beasely Beach Park (off 98 between Destin and FWB) is less crowded, but, just as nice as other Destin beaches... and you don't have 'beach chair vendors' blocking your water access/view. There is an impressive, free Armament museum off of north Eglin Blvd - wide range of planes plus large indoor collections (No. of FWB)

[thisismyname10]

Originally Posted by jghorton

You may find that annual Big Kahuna passes (with free 'guest' passes) cost much less than Day passes (We never go to BK, except when the grandkids come and the annual pass saves us money). Callahan's Rest. and also LandShark (both about 755 Hwy 98 E) offer good food, large quantities (splits are easy on many meals) and reasonable prices. Lively Movie Theater in the same area gets latest movies, yet, only charges $6 per ticket. Beasely Beach Park (off 98 between Destin and FWB) is less crowded, but, just as nice as other Destin beaches... and you don't have 'beach chair vendors' blocking your water access/view. There is an impressive, free Armament museum off of north Eglin Blvd - wide range of planes plus large indoor collections (No. of FWB)

Thanks so much for the great suggestions!! We will be checking into all of those

[osufeth24]

It's kinda funny, I've lived in the Destin area since 1996 (when I was 8). I started working at a resort in Destin about 2.5 years ago, so of course I get questions all the time about where to eat. It surprised me how much I couldn't really help when I thought about. My family never went to many of local places, just went to chains. And the ones I did tell them, my co-workers would give me a hard time because I would give them the "tourist" places.

So some of mine are

Seafood/Sushi- Habror Docks. Hands down the best sushi I ever had (won award also for best sushi on the emerald coast). They catch their own fish and cook it there, unlike many places around here.

Mexican- None that stand out, most are your typical mexican places

Pizza- Hands down Jordano's is my favorite

There's really not a lot of stuff to do in this area outside of the water park, the Track, the Beach, and shop. Okaloosa Island has all the nightlife you need (I like the Piano Bar there, but that's it)

[thisismyname10]

Originally Posted by osufeth24

It's kinda funny, I've lived in the Destin area since 1996 (when I was 8). I started working at a resort in Destin about 2.5 years ago, so of course I get questions all the time about where to eat. It surprised me how much I couldn't really help when I thought about. My family never went to many of local places, just went to chains. And the ones I did tell them, my co-workers would give me a hard time because I would give them the "tourist" places.

So some of mine are

Seafood/Sushi- Habror Docks. Hands down the best sushi I ever had (won award also for best sushi on the emerald coast). They catch their own fish and cook it there, unlike many places around here.

Mexican- None that stand out, most are your typical mexican places

Pizza- Hands down Jordano's is my favorite

There's really not a lot of stuff to do in this area outside of the water park, the Track, the Beach, and shop. Okaloosa Island has all the nightlife you need (I like the Piano Bar there, but that's it)

Ooooh we love sushi, we will be there And pizza is always a win.
Mapquest is showing Okaloosa Island to be only about 10 mins away, awesome

[beachmouse]

I also like Sushimoto out by the outlet mall for sushi.

Thai food is very popular here (lots of foreign Air Force wives from Eglin AFB started restaurants back in the day). If they've reopened in their new location by Fresh Market & Marhsalls yet, I really like Jasmine Thai.

For seafood, we've given up on Destin and usually end up at Stewby's on Racetrack Road in Ft. Walton Beach- doesn't look like much and is kind of wedged between a pool supply store, but really good in terms of seafood price-performance ratio. As for chains restaurants, up until about 2004, Red Lobster in FWB had a really excellent manager and was significantly better than a lot of the local seafood places. Not sure the current status out there though.

For beaches, the teenagers would probably like the Boardwalk (Brackin Park) on Okaloosa Island the best- lots going on there. If you want a really different experience, Tops'l Hill SP is very quiet and lightly used.

Up until about two months ago, I would have recommended Pepito's for Mexican, but something seems to have gone horribly wrong lately in all their locations. If we want California-Mexican these days, we'll road trip to Cactus Flower in Navarre.

[osufeth24]

yea, I hate Pepito's. If I want mexican, I just get Taco Town in Niceville, good cheap tacos

Haven't tried Sushi Moto yet, want to though

[StarfishKey]

Would the locals here please consider posting your info on the favorite local spots of Destin to this thread?:
//www.city-data.com/forum/flori...fl-please.html

I am trying to get a sticky going about the best of every town in the state, for a local experience (not a touristy one). Thanks!