I recently returned from another trip to Panama City and Panama City Beach. I ate at a number of restaurants there, and here are some of my thoughts on them.
- Bishop’s Family Buffet – We ate at Bishop’s toward the end of our trip. The buffet is very well stocked with a good variety, including steak, spaghetti, fish, crab legs, shrimp, and chicken. I really enjoyed the food, but be prepared to pay dearly for it. The evening buffet is upwards of $23 a person. Part of this is the all-you-can-eat crab legs; since I don’t like crab legs, this is not a selling point for me. Overall a good experience, but the price keeps it from being on my “must return” list.
- IHOP – We don’t have an IHOP around here, so we try to eat at them when we find them. There is a new one at the end of 23rd street at the junction with U.S. 231, on the left past Panama City Mall. It is your typical IHOP, but I include it here because most people wouldn’t go this far out and stumble upon it.
- McDonald’s – We went once to the McDonald’s at 16990 Front Beach Road. They don’t have the Dollar Menu, so don’t ever bother going there.
- Pizza Hut – We called the Pizza Hut at 16726 Front Beach Road at around 7:00 p.m. on a Sunday or Monday evening. They had a two-hour wait. We ordered Domino’s and got it in 30 minutes (just like the commercial).
- Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-BQ – I ate at the Sonny’s on the corner of Back Beach Road and Beckrich Road. This is becoming one of my favorite restaurants in the area. The food is excellent and prices very reasonable. I was disappointed to find they changed the menu this year and no longer offer the build-your-own combinations that allow you to try several different things at once. However, we ended up eating here twice, and I had the pulled pork one night and pulled chicken another. Both were excellent. If you get cornbread, you get less than if you get garlic bread. The baked beans are very good as well. Overall, I was very pleased with Sonny’s and will certainly eat there again in the future.
- Treasure Ship – My wife and I love to go to the Treasure Ship on Thomas Drive. The food is really good, and the atmosphere very pleasant. It is not an inexpensive meal, but I’ve always found it worth it. Get the Treasure Ship Trio appetizer; it is cheese sticks, chicken fingers, and fried shrimp. Delicious! This year, for the main meal I got mahi-mahi and really liked it. Their salads, sadly, have a lot to be desired though. Me, my wife, and my two-year-old ate for around $70.
- Whataburger – We don’t have a Whataburger locally, and I really like the food. We stopped at the one on highway 331 in Defuniak Springs, FL. The food is good, but it is way overpriced. It was $17 for the three of us to eat, and we got nothin’ fancy. I like a good burger, but for this much, you can keep it. I have an idea to save some costs and lower those prices; I don’t need a flat screen TV over the urinal.
