11225 U.S. 98 East
Miramar Beach
(850) 424-5980

Hours: Open daily for breakfast, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; lunch, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; dinner at 5 p.m.
Reservations: Not necessary
Children’s menu: Yes
Dress: Casual

Food:
Service
Atmosphere
Overall:

Bluz Grill & Bar opens early and closes late (2 a.m.). As the name—if pronounced correctly—indicates, there’s music to be heard. That starts later in the evening, and there’s a good-sized stage in the bar area (full bar) with a serious-looking bandstand. Diners can sit either in the bar area or in another room parallel to the bar, known as Sunside CafÈ, where breakfast and lunch are served. They seem pretty accommodating, so I expect you could have your breakfast in the bar if you wanted.

Music is very much the theme at Bluz, borne out by the dÈcor of assorted jazz and blues festival posters, images of rock and blues icons, and instruments hung up over the bandstand like household gods. A table at the entrance offers brochures and program lists of area and regional bands, and someone is always scheduled to play, including such notables as Dread Clampitt, Donnie Sundal and Dikki Du and the Zydeco Krewe. We had dinner on an early weekend evening, so the music review will have to wait. (Editor’s note: See Amy Hart’s piece on Bluz Wednesday Night Jams in the Beat.)

We were invited to sit anywhere, so we chose the Sunside CafÈ side of the restaurant, which got us a little more of the sunlight. We ordered drinks and looked over the menu. It is also online, but is subject to change.

The food is Italian-American, with Med-style starters, customized pasta and pizza variations, house specials, and sandwiches. “The portions are big here,” said our server, Ryan. He gave us his take on a few items we asked about, adding that many were suitable for sharing if we were looking for a lighter meal. That’s a desirable quality in a server, taking the trouble to see what the diner wants, not just what he can be persuaded to buy. Good for you, Ryan.

Fortunately for Ryan, we were not in a mood to eat light. We chose a combination appetizer platter of toasted ravioli, fried calamari, tomato bruschetta, spinach and crab florentine dip, and garlic chicken tenders. This incorporates several of the appetizers, and can be ordered for two, four, and so on. It comes with alfredo and marinara dipping sauces, and it ranks as a meal, unless you’re reviewing. I especially enjoyed the calamari, though the crunchy cheese ravioli was a close second.

Other starters include oysters casino, steamed clams, shrimp scampi bruschetta, wings, mussels marinara and fried “Bangup” shrimp, with a house sauce.

A friend had recommended the stromboli to me, and my dining companion was interested in trying grouper piccatta with pasta (it’s also available with chicken or veal), so that’s what we got. Other pasta choices include a mix-and-match offering with your choice of a selection of pastas and meat, seafood or vegetables and marinara, alfredo, roast garlic cream, garlic and oil, tomato basil cream, or fradiavolo sauce.

There’s a long list of pizzas and regular and specialty toppings, and pesto, parmigiana, or house special (“ala Bluz”) dishes with eggplant, grouper, veal, chicken, shrimp or scallops. And calzone.

The stromboli—Ryan warned me of this—was enormous and farsightedly cut in half (the rest was the next night’s dinner). It’s essentially what a pizza would be if it decided to roll over—chewy dough filled with ham, sausage, pepperoni, onions, sweet peppers and molten cheese. There’s plenty of tasty bits and pieces, and it should not be eaten with the bare hands because the cheese is really hot. You may know that there’s an island named Stromboli, with an active volcano. That cannot be a coincidence.

The grouper piccatta was likewise generously portioned, and its richness was nicely cut by the capers and spinach. Like the stromboli, half of it went home for later.

This left dessert, which we decided to split. That night they had cheesecake, chocolate cake, key lime pie and tiramisu. The choice may vary, so ask the server. We got the tiramisu. Like everything else, it was large enough for two—actually for me, mostly, since my friend had pretty much bailed on further eating. It was creamy, not overly sweet, with a nice touch of coffee and cocoa.

Bluz Grill & Bar has plenty of room, plenty of food and liquor, and a bandstand that is definitely not an afterthought. Now that summer is drawing to a close, and the visiting crowds have thinned, this would be just the spot to have a drink, a bite, and count your hard-earned summer money.

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