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Angelo’s Steak Pit (Panama City Beach, FL)

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It’s hard to miss Angelo’s Steak Pit, what with the giant bull in the parking lot. Nestled next to an assortment of kiddie parks and arcades, it even looks a bit like a roadside attraction of some sort.

It is an attraction, actually, if you find yourself unreasonably fond of beef. If you’ve got enough testosterone to generate stubble, this almost certainly includes you and the women who find your hairy ass appealing. (And if you’re an unhairy lady

If you hit the place a bit early in the evening, you won’t face a long wait. And why not go early? The necessary intake of nutrition should never conflict with the pursuit of inebriation and random acts of debauchery. So cruise in around 5:00ish, load up on fuel, and give yourself something so delicious that you won’t mind tasting it a second time at 2:00am.

And our meal at Angelo’s was delicious. It’s such a gloriously unsubtle experience that calling it “fare” or even “food” would be disrespectful… this stuff is grub. Pure, unvarnished, wonderfully prepared grub that pokes at the animalistic recesses of your brain and says, “Hey, this is how eating is supposed to be!”

After making our way to our table (note: you’ll need a GPS to find your way out of the mammoth collection of dining rooms), We ordered the breaded crab fingers as an appetizer, a ribeye with baked potato, and a filet mignon with fries… all of which came with the de rigeur soup/salad and house bread. The only disappointment was the salad, which appeared to have been deluged rather than dressed.

Both the steaks were ordered medium-rare, because let’s face it, you’re some kind of prissy wuss if you eat your beef without a moo echoing in the distance. The rib-eye was flawlessly cooked, and the filet nearly so, with a precise layer of seasoning and internal texture. For my money, the filet was also the finest cut of steak I’ve ever seen; huge, and yet devoid of even a single string of fat or gristle.

Our server (Mary) was cheerful and attentive, only slowing down when held up by the bartender. Speaking of booze, our drinks were well-mixed and not shy with the happy-making stuff.

If there’s a real downside to Angelo’s, it’s that the place is what it is… a provider of wonderful cuts of beef, with a few fish and chicken dishes thrown in. Great beef doesn’t come cheaply, so don’t expect to exit the building without leaving at least $20/person in the till. It’s worth every penny, of course, but those counting their loose change will want to take advantage of the evening’s special when possible.

TIP: The house bread is as great as everything else they serve, so those who live in fear of carbs, consider yourselves warned: that stuff is loaf-shaped crack.

Angelo’s Steak Pit
Panama City Beach, FL

Captain Anderson’s (Panama City Beach, FL)

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Captain Anderson’s sits on Panama City’s harbor, providing pleasure cruises, fishing expeditions, and a seafood market to the area. It also offers up one seriously good restaurant.

The look of the place is as nautical as one might expect, with a focus on local maritime history. The lighting is on the dim side, which made navigating the largish dining room rather difficult for someone with my weak vision. Fortunately, I’m not the type to get up and wander away from my table during a meal, so it wasn’t a big deal.

CA’s is a family place, a description that often chills the blood of childless folks like me. Nothing kills a meal quicker than someone who decides to bring a screaming, running brat out for the evening. (Keep them to yourselves until you teach them to behave, people.) So I was pleased to note that there was a smoking section available for non-smokers looking for refuge from the joys of someone else’s parenthood.

We were escorted to our table promptly, even in the face of a Spring Break rush, and found the seats comfortable and the environment pleasant. The acoustics of the place are such that a full house generates a low, persistent rumble of conversation that provides just enough background noise to keep private conversations private without having to constantly lean in or raise your voice.

We had sauteed crab fingers to start, and they turned out to be far more satisfying than the battered and deep-fried version I tried at a different restaurant the night before.

My entree was a charcoal-broiled seafood platter, featuring shrimp, scallops, grouper, and stuffed crab. The first two were prepared perfectly, browned nicely without being even slightly overcooked. The grouper was prepared nicely, too, but I’m just not a big fan of the fish itself; flounder would have been a nice substitute.

The highlight of the meal, though, was the stuffed crab.The stuffing was delicious… flavorful and substantial, but never burying the flavor of the crab itself. Fantastic stuff.

When the check arrived, it left a dent in my credit card, but not out of proportion with the quality of the experience. With tip, dinner for two weighed in around $70, but could have been had for perhaps $20 less if we had avoided alcohol and the appetizer.

Hook’s (Panama City Beach, FL)

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After banging up my ankle, I had to put Blogging the Break on hold for a day, just to heal up… so we had some lunch, checked out the marina, and headed back to the room to crash.

Hook’s is a fine little place with a fine little menu, assuming you enjoy an open-air view (and smell) of moored fishing boats. The jerk chicken is pretty damned fantastic, and in an inexplicably delightful surprise, they have some of the best chips-n-salsa I’ve yet experienced. (And I am an absolute bastard when it comes to salsa.) Given the relatively inexpensive prices and free chips, I’d say it’s a near-ideal stop for Breakers looking for something beyond the strip… assuming you can stand the outward facade of the Treasure Ship, which houses Hook’s. KiddieLand looks aside, give it a shot.

Attached are some shots of Hook’s and the marina itself.

Hooks PCB Florida front

Vinny T’s of Boston (Shrewsbury, MA)

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An unexpected delight after a less-than-promising start, I was quite impressed with Vinny T’s. Things got off on the wrong foot with an over-crowded parking lot and an hour-long wait for a table. The only saving grace at that point was the friendly and outgoing waitstaff, and the semi-comfortable seating provided in the upstairs bar area.

But when we finally got a table, things started looking up. The menu offered a number of interesting options, and our waitress was the cheeriest person you could possibly meet on a cold, snowy New England night. She warned us in advance that Vinny T’s portion sizes were large, and thus to avoid the “due” orders unless we were planning to share.

We settled on the Mussels Pomodoro for an appetizer, and our jaws dropped when the plate arrived. It was massive… absolutely piled with hardshell goodness, at least thirty of ‘em. Great value for the money, definitely. And I’m a bit of a red-sauce snob, so when I say the Pomodoro was excellent, it comes as high praise.

After that, the actual entrees were a bit of a let-down, but not by much. First, the guidance of our waitress was borne out by the plates that arrived at our table… my wife’s Linguine in Clam Sauce and my Calamari Fra Diavolo came in heaped portions on large, oval plates. So the first lesson of Vinny T’s is this: unless you have a bottomless gut or a desire for leftovers, buy one plate for every two people and just share.

I consider calamari a litmus test for a restaurant, because so many get it wrong. Too often, I see over- or undercooked meat that is rubbery and tasteless. So it was immediately pleasing to note that the rings yielded easily to the tooth, and had benefitted from a long soak in the spicy Fra Diavolo. The sauce didn’t approach the Pomodoro’s excellence, but it was above-average, and very good.

Highly recommended.