Bay Cafe: France Under the Brooks Bridge
233 Alconese Avenue, Fort Walton Beach, 244-3440
By Bruce Collier December 2, 2004 Issue

We ate at Bay Cafè on a quiet mid-week night. The restaurant is located somewhat out of the way, under Brooks Bridge on the Fort Walton Beach side of the water. The management is aware of this, and the take-out menu bears a map on its backside. The outside of the building is unremarkable, but inside it’s warm and cozy, with booths along both ends of the dining room and plenty of windows looking out onto the dining deck, overlooking the water. The candlelit tables are placed well enough apart to ensure privacy. We heard nothing of the conversation of a nearby couple, but they were obviously there on romantic business. They kissed between every course, yet another tribute to the power of French food.

Bay Cafè’s menu is not long, but it offers variety as well as a few items rarely seen on local menus. Our server recited several specials among the appetizers and entrèes, and what we had may not always be available. Much of what I saw has been on the menu for years, though, so the kitchen seems to know what plays among Bay Cafè’s loyal clientele.

We started with aperitifs, a kir royal (dry champagne with a drop of currant liqueur) and a kir imperial (the same, but with raspberry liqueur). Both were excellent, and a nice change from traditional cocktails.

For appetizers, we ordered onion soup and duck p‚tè. My friend, who loves onion soup, found the Bay Cafe version less satisfying, partly because of the lighter stock. Traditional French onion soup uses a beef stock. Bay Cafè’s appears to be made from veal or chicken. This makes for a lighter bodied soup, and it’s a matter of personal taste. There was plenty of cheese on top, though. That doesn’t change.

My patè came in a large slice, and was meaty and full of green peppercorns. The olives, cornichons and capers made a tangy accompaniment, and it all tasted even better on Bay Cafè’s painfully hot French bread. A baguette came to the table wrapped in cloth, which was a good thing because we could not have touched it barehanded. A second loaf was equally hot, crisp, and delicious. The butter is real, and wasn’t brought to the table in ice-cold blocks, though that might have cooled off the bread. Nobody does bread better than the French, and Bay Cafè knows it.

Other appetizer choices included spicy shrimp, salad, escargot in pastry, goat cheese, and smoked salmon.

For our main course, we each had seafood. I had grouper Wellington, a variation on the classic beef dish. The fish came wrapped in crisp pastry. A creamy, rose-colored lobster sauce with plenty of lobster brought everything together, and was neither too rich nor overwhelming. My friend had shrimp Provenále, with tomatoes and lots of garlic. Both dishes came with herb-seasoned potatoes, which had been mashed and then pan-fried crisp on the outside. They reminded me of my mother’s potato patties, which I miss.

Other main course choices included duck with cherry brandy sauce, sautèed liver and onions, grilled sweetbreads with Madeira mushroom sauce, steak au poivre, beef tournedos, grilled veal chops, scampi marinara, chicken both grilled and florentined, and seasonal fish with white wine and lemon sauce. Among the specials that night were crab cakes and mussels.

There was a slight variance between the desserts listed on the regular menu and those on a separate menu, so you should ask. We ordered a chocolate caramel crisp cake and an apple tart. Other desserts available were a coupe Romanoff (basically an ice cream sundae with strawberries), creme brulèe, tiramisu, chocolate mousse, French silk pie, and cheesecake.

The cake was creamy, and the caramel was indeed crisp, like a praline. It was good enough to finish up after I’d dispatched my apple tart, which was warm and crusty with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was a good-sized meal, but neither of us felt overfull. I attribute this to the beneficial digestive effects of wine. People have been drinking wine with their meals for centuries, and there’s a reason for that.

Yes, I have a prejudice in favor of French cuisine. Only the Chinese are as fussy and poetical about their daily bread, and I love Chinese food, too. Still, I don’t necessarily have a prejudice in favor of French restaurants. I don’t automatically rave about a place just because its name has a few accented letters here and there. Bay Cafè, however, has been cooking French and French-inspired food since before I came to this area. I first ate here in the late ‘90s, and while the menu has changed a little, the atmosphere, food and service have remained consistently first rate. Consider this an earned rave.

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