I love Apalachicola. It is a long drive, but compared to more developed and new places like Destin and Gulf Shores, it is pretty fantastic. Apalachicola is an old town-rare in Florida. The downtown almost reminds me of Oxford-lots of press tin ceilings. We stayed on St. George Island and ventured into Apalachicola for meals. St. George Island is very beautiful and almost empty. It has shells on the beach, no high rise condos, and at this point no oil.
I researched the "list" before we left and found 2 places to try. The first was the Wheelhouse for the smoked mullet dish. I made my mother drive to the address, and the Wheelhouse is now Up the Creek Raw Bar with no mullet dip. The other place on the list in Apalachicola is the Gibson Inn. It is a lovely Victoria hotel. I have eaten there several times. The first time (probably in the late 1990s) was a classic fried seafood place. A very good fried seafood place... The next time it was Avenue C, a white tablecloth place. Now it is Cafe Momi. We ate wonderful oysters with homemade crackers and I had an excellent scallop and mango dish. It was very good, but not the fish and chips that John T. had suggested.
We did go to Papa Joe's for oysters- raw and fried. It has a great location next to a marina. I love watching the boats go by while I am eating. One of my new favorites is the Seafood Grill that is just down the street from the Gibson Inn. It has incredibly fried oysters and a very democratic clientele. I love a place that has both locals, the Coast Guard, and tourists. It also has the decor of the "list". Some common characteristics of the places I have eaten thus far, they all have wood panelling, mismatched chairs, and oil cloth tablecloths.
Apalachicola has really good food (if you like oysters and shrimp). The oil spill has not affected the bay and seafood at this point. I love the "list" however you would have to work hard to have a bad meal here.
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