Counter Culture: Camellia Grill Feeds the Early and the Late 2 Harbor Blvd. Destin (850) 650-2907 Hours: Open Mon.-Thurs., 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 8 a.m. to midnight Reservations: Not necessary Children's menu: No Dress: Casual Food Service Atmosphere Overall

By Bruce Collier
April 14, 2009 Issue

Camellia Grill sits just off U.S. 98 on the Destin side of the Destin Bridge near that imposing resort building that looks kind of like Hogwarts Academy. If you have spent any time in New Orleans, the restaurant will look familiar to you. The interior is diner-bright, done in shiny chrome, pink and green. Inside, the seating is all at the zig-zaggy counter. Outside, there's a balcony overlooking the harbor, something you will not get at the original place in New Orleans.

Camellia Grill is an honored institution in New Orleans, a place that opens early and stays open late, serving breakfast and non-breakfast fare to the workforce and the party-force. The Destin branch offers many—maybe all—of the original favorites, including a variety of omelettes, waffles, hot and cold sandwiches, chili, burgers. salads, ice cream desserts and pies. The menu is simple and straightforward. Prices are well within most budgets, starting at a buck for an order of grits and soaring to $9 for a "chef's special" omelette. We were told the omelettes are made with three eggs. They look like twice that much. No one has any excuse for leaving Camellia Grill hungry.

We ate there on a Saturday, arriving just before noon to head off any possible lunch rush. There was no rush, but business stayed steady. There is more seating space here, so long waiting lines—guaranteed in New Orleans—may be more of a rarity, at least until the height of the summer season.

Our server was doubling as a greeter-at-large for the whole restaurant. He was very cheerful, friendly and eager to make recommendations. The counter staff—grill cooks, prep cooks, and apprentice cooks—shared our server's enthusiasm. My attempt to take a surreptitious photo for this article caught their attention, and they insisted on posing for more shots. I assume they thought I was taking pictures for Facebook. Let them think that.

My dining companion and I were hungry, she for breakfast food and me for something hot and loaded with meat and potatoes. At our server's recommendation, she got the bacon omelette with fries and toast. I ordered a hot deli beef sandwich, on a roll with juicy gravy for dipping, and a load of fries. No toast. I had to think of dessert.

The grill is open and on view, along with the old-timey waffle irons and the row of blenders to whip up the eggs. My friend's omelette—loaded with crisp bacon and so plump it could hardly be folded over—was soft, fluffy and almost impossible to finish, so she said. She managed to get through it, and the fries (with help) but ate next to nothing the rest of the day. Should have skipped the toast…

My sandwich teetered between closed and open-faced, and I ate it with a knife and fork out of respect for the restaurant's supply of napkins. The beef was plentiful, tender, and loaded with sauce. The guy who cooks the fries has it down. You can watch them come out of the fryer in their basket, get a few taps, then dumped in a crackling pile on the plate. That and some ketchup, and you can leave me alone for the duration. I finished all of mine.

Other omelette choices are cheese, ham, potato-and-onion, turkey, sausage, chili, corned beef, Mexican, or combinations. There are plain and pecan waffles with maple or cane syrup, chili by the bowl, burgers and cheeseburgers, onion rings, cheese or chili fries, cold and hot deli meat sandwiches, "whole meal" sandwiches, frankfurters, clubs or BLTs, and some named items like the Mardi Gras, Doc Brinker's, Harry's Yankee, and the Word.

We had to have dessert, but we decided to split something. We chose apple pie, warmed on the griddle with a scoop of ice cream. It was flaky, full of cinnamon, and just right for two absolutely stuffed people to share. Other sweet options are "freezes," described to us as a sort of thick milk shake, pecan pie, chocolate, banana or coconut cream pie, cheesecake and ice cream.

According to our menu, the original Camellia Grill opened in New Orleans in 1946. The Destin version has only been open a short time. The staff seems well trained, focused and ready to please. They also seem to like their work. I know I liked it.

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