The Latest Stories from SoWal.com

South Walton's coastal dunle lakes are amazing places to canoe for an up close look at the dune ecosystem's amazing plants and animals. Learn More: Coastal Dune Lakes of South Walton County Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

Restaurant Fire at Gulf Place is pretty large and rather clubby. There’s a bar/lounge just as you enter, with tables for dining and several large screen TVs. A turn to the left will take you into the main dining area, with a high ceiling, polished wood tables, and walls decorated with framed paintings. The color scheme tends toward the flame palette—browns, reds, burnished copper, set off by earth tones and comfortably dim lighting that highlights the glassware. There are also outdoor tables. Jazz and world-beat music plays at a modest level, and everything feels relaxed and welcoming. I, my wife and the Tiny Diner had dinner at Fire on a recent weeknight. The TD is in the beginning steps of BA (Binkies Anonymous), and we actually forgot to pack a backup emergency pacifier in her travel bag. That, and hunger, were making her more querulous than normal. We hoped she would behave herself for the meal.The hostess made all of us comfortable in a corner table, with a high chair for TD, whose crossness gave way to the interest she always shows in new surroundings. Our server Ryan took a friendly shine to my daughter. TD in turn gave him a smile. I think she thought he was cute. We took a look at the menu. Ryan advised us that several items were not available that evening (fortunately nothing we missed). Fire offers appetizers, small plates, salads, a soup of the day, and main course choices of beef, pork, fish, duck and shellfish. It’s not a lengthy list, but each item is imaginatively prepared, with some intriguing garnishes, sauces and sides.We started with a dip trio. Fire offers a choice of six dips—apricot habanero, olive tapenade, spicy boiled peanut hummus, caramelized onion cheddar, blue cheese cranberry pistachio, and pimento cheese. We chose the first three. I had the apricot habanero to myself (too much pepper for my wife), and wasn’t sure about the hummus—I have yet to acquire a taste for boiled peanuts—but I needn’t have worried. If you think you don’t like boiled peanuts, this may be for you. All three dips were distinctively flavorful, and there was plenty for sharing. Baby lettuce, baby carrots, grilled pita and flour tortilla chips are there to scoop with. The TD didn’t eat much dip, but she gnawed on the pita.Other starters are soup, roast beet, mixed greens and oyster and spinach salads, Gulf seafood three ways (smoked snapper dip, fried grouper cheeks and shrimp remoulade), and mussels with a fennel garlic and white wine sauce. Small plates include an heirloom tomato stack, grilled flatiron steak, and butternut squash and blue crab agnolotti (a kind of ravioli). My wife called the crispy skin cured duck breast, which left me to choose from a braised short rib “pot roast,” grilled black grouper with chickpeas, pan seared skin-on red snapper, a sweet tea brined “airline chicken” with cornbread dressing, New York strip steak with sweet potato “risotto,” shrimp puttanesca with a mascarpone polenta cake, and a doublecut pork chop with fried pork belly mac and cheese. I thought hard about the pot roast, and someday I must try mac and cheese with pork belly, but red snapper won out. The duck was served sliced into bites, with a mound of sweet and tangy red cabbage and a white bean, truffle and duck confit casserole. There was duck crackling scattered over it all, and the skin had a sweet/hot crunch from the Tabasco-honey glaze. It was everything a duck should be. My snapper was by no means a secondbest. The fish (also with crispy skin) sat on a bed of sliced fingerling potatoes with leeks, and was topped with a relish of crabmeat and bits of mirliton. There was a flavorful snapper broth that soaked right into the squares of cornbread that came with the meal. We got TD to try some cornbread, but she concentrated on tortilla chips, and chewing the occasional non-toxic crayon. Desserts that night were apple cobbler, chocolate ganache blackout cake, a white chocolate mascarpone cannoli and the house specialty, sticky toffee cake. We got the latter. Be advised, it’s easily enough to share. The brick of cake is served very warm, with creme caramel and toasted pecans. It doesn’t need anything else, not even whipped cream. It made me think of the stuff people eat in the novels of Charles Dickens—the ones with happy endings.There’s a lot of great stuff going on at Fire. It’s friendly, elegantly cozy, efficiently run and the food is worth repeat visits. Courtesy, The Beachcomber Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

The temperatures are dropping. The sun is setting over the Gulf. And best of all, most of the tourists have migrated north for the winter. It’s time to celebrate our own favorite SoWal Season. Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa, Festivus or even Christmas… nothing says “The Holidays” like a SoWal giveaway. Whether it’s a three-night stay in a luxurious beach condo or an autographed copy of 30A Style, the definitive coffee-table book on the gracious homes of South Walton, everybody loves a winner. Click here to enter! We'll choose a random winner on Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. The 192-page book is filled with engaging words and colorful images highlighting classic Florida cottages and contemporary homes in the historic communities and New Urbanist towns of Scenic Highway 30A. The winner will receive an autographed copy of the popular book, now in its third printing. ____________ Order your copy today! Lynn Nesmith, author of 30A Style, is a Carolina native who now calls SoWal home. Lynn's career includes stints with Architecture Magazine and Southern Living. She's been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Better Homes & Gardens, Traditional Home, House Beautiful, Architectural Record and Coastal Living. Lynn currently lives in Seagrove and writes from an office perched in a third-story tower with a glimpse of the Gulf of Mexico.

Savannah Bartleson is a Varsity Cheerleader from South Walton High School in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

“Say the Word” Poetry Group is celebrating this Winter Solstice in a very unique way at the Hidden Lantern in Rosemary Beach. Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

Sandestin, a top rated destination on Florida’s Gulf Coast, has always been known as a special destination for the holidays with its many events, activities for all ages and proximity to Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

Nick’s on the Bay is famous for having the freshest seafood around. They get all of their mullet, crab, shrimp, and flounder right out of the Choctawhatchee Bay. Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

Don't miss Canadian musicians and co-founders of animal rescue group, Ladybird Animal Sanctuary, as they head south this Friday night, December 7th at 7:30pm, to share their music for the good Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

Free Golf with Donation, Efforts Benefit Children and Families in Need Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

This Thanksgiving Harbor Docks, with the help of community support, their amazingly hard-working staff, over 200 volunteers, and dedication of Charles Morgan, was able to feed 1,674 people a free T Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

We chose for our first "SoWal Photo of the Day" an image shot on Grayton Beach in 2004 on a late afternoon in mid-May. Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

Linda Miller is all about fun. It's something she's always seeking and always seems to be in the middle of. Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

Who doesn't need a South Walton beach break? We're coming through for you! Enter to win a two-night stay in a two-bedroom gulf front condominium in the heart of beautiful Seagrove Beach from SoWal.com and Garrett Realty Services. We'll pick a random winner on December 21, 2012 - enter every day and please share! Happy Holidays from all of us in the SoWal community! Along with your stay, you'll receive these great items: 723 Whiskey Bravo - $50 Gift Card A List Salon - $50 Gift Card 30A Bike Rentals - 2-day bike rental for up to 4 people, $120 value Bruno’s Pizza - $50 Gift Card A signed copy of the popular book - 30A Style Click here to enter and please share! Garrett Realty Services 30A Bike Rentals A List Salon 30A Style Bruno's Pizza 723 Whiskey Bravo Accommodations at Beachcrest Condominiums only and may not be redeemed for cash (travel costs are the responsibility of the winner). Certain restrictions apply. Stay must be used before March 5, 2013. Winner must agree to all regulations as outlined in Garrett Realty Services, Inc. rental policy.

WIN this Tahitian and Golden South Sea Pearl Leather Bracelet from Fine Pearls & Leather by Wendy Mignot® - a $750 value from SoWal.com and our partner McCaskill and Company Fine Jewelry. We'll choose a random Winner on Friday, November 30, 2012. Click here to enter and good luck to all! http://www.sowal.com/story/sowal-giveaway-stunning-pearls-leather-bracelet

Alpharetta Dance Theatre and the Dance Academy of Seaside Neighborhood School Partner to Bring Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker to Seaside, Florida. Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

Sinfonia Gulf Coast presents D'Vine at Emerald Grande's Harborwalk Village Ballroom, December 2 at 11:30am. Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

12 months of paradise on your wall y'all! Available in two sizes. Order 11" x 8-1/2" Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

Randy Wise Homes, Inc. and First Florida Bank will hold a fundraiser to benefit Building Homes for Heroes. Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

We get quite a few snowbirds in South Walton, but a pair of eagles swimming and frolicking on the beach recently take the cake. Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

From Carolyn Mora & republished with permission from the DeFuniak Herald Beach Breeze Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

The Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) strives to protect our coastal marine resources and to promote the rights and be Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

Arbor Homes of Seagrove is raising the bar for local home construction standards by being the first project in the western panhandle area to simultaneously achieve a gold-level Florida Water Star S Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

Join Café Thirty-A in Spreading a Little Christmas Cheer this Holiday Season! On Saturday, Dec. Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

Creativity runs through Risa Priestley’s veins and she loves to share it with others. She's originally from Cedartown, GA, but has lived in the SoWal area for eight years. Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.

Shelter House, the domestic violence center serving Okaloosa and Walton counties, is hosting a unique twilight run that will shine the light on domestic violence in our community. Read more... We'd love to hear what you think...you can comment here or on the story page. Feel free to share on your site, blog, facebook, or any other site.