Farm-to-table restaurant sourcing is one thing. At the restaurant The Hope Farm in Fairhope, Alabama, radishes and carrots, mint and scallions all come from beds within arm’s reach of the outdoor patio tables.
About an hour away in Pensacola, Florida, cooks at Pearl & Horn broil oysters with blasts of umami-boosting black garlic and miso borrowed from Japanese cuisine. Fried snapper is served with a classic French beurre blanc blended with a chile sauce from the chef’s Eastern European homeland.
And over in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, the restaurant/butcher shop Butcher Baker has artisanal bread and charcuterie next to outright exotica. Cue the raw, marinated soft-shell crab. It’s an exceedingly rare dish at restaurants anywhere. This one can be found in a strip mall in small-town coastal Mississippi.
Louisianans head to the Gulf Coast for sun, sand, boating and maybe some bushwackers. Adventurous food and refined dining aren’t typically among their expectations.
But that’s changing. Parts of the Gulf Coast are among the fastest-growing areas of the United States. More people from Louisiana and around the South are choosing the region to live and work, not just for vacations. The economic boom that’s transforming the cities and towns stretching from Pass Christian to the far reaches of 30A is also transforming its restaurant and hospitality industry.
Road trip time
A road trip to explore what’s new along the Gulf Coast before the prime travel season plotted out visits in three states over three days…