Tales from the Road: Shopping and a Sushi Boat
(Tales from the Road was delayed due to technical problems.)
Within every great destination, you can usually find a great shopping area. In Destin, it happens to be called Destin Commons. Situated in what I consider to be a
prime location, the corner of Highway 98 and Mid Bay Bridge, you can’t miss it. What I liked most about it is that it’s an open-air center, or in their own words, a lifestyle center. Yes, there’s more than shopping and restaurants here; there’s also office space, but I rather focus on the former.
What exactly can you find here? There’s over 80 retail stores and restaurants. The shops range from the very well-known, such as William-Sonoma to the more regional favorites like Belk. There’s something for everyone’s budget and interest here.
And the same can be said about the restaurant. You’ll find the very family-friendly Johnny Rockets to the lighter fare Zoe’s Kitchen to seafood at Blue Point Fish
Club (PDF file).
Like I mentioned above, it’s more than a place where you can spend money. It’s a good place just to enjoy being outside. The night I happened to be there (10/3) the First Friday Concert Series was going on. There seems to always be something happening, or if not, you can find something to do. For children, there’s a nautical-themed outdoor playground, a mini train that transports them, along with their parents, up and down Main Street ; and during the summer, a “pop-up” fountain set to music. Who can resist dancing in water?
Back to the food, because after walking around (and shopping), you build up an appetite. For someone whose body was still on Eastern time, I was starving, which was a good thing because the meal for the evening was at Sushi Siam.
What makes Sushi Siam interesting, aside from the menu
items, it that there are only 10 in the state of Florida. The one at Destin Commons is the only one in Northwest Florida. All of the other restaurants are in south Florida.
While it may seem unusual to have Japanese and Thai on the beach, trust me, you won’t be disappointed if you have a meal here. The chef (who spent many years in NYC’s Le Cirque) went all out, and I have to say that the most interesting thing was the sushi boat. There was also a 
seafood dish, with shrimp; meat dish with pork, and another seafood dish with salmon to sample. Desserts
(can you really have a bad dessert) features tiramisu, cheesecake and mango sticky rice with coconut milk.
photo credits: personal photos
1 Comment
[...] Park is similar to Destin Commons, yet different as well. By that, I mean it has its own style and flare. Pier Park is divided into [...]