photo by Ryan Hines
prosciutto wrapped figs
Our friends from The Savory Spoon in Jefferson, Georgia have collaborated with Aroma’s Craft Works in Athens to create a new menu for this local Five Points hangout. Ryan and I attended the new menu rollout this week and these figs were my favorite of the night. Looking forward to trying more of the new menu!
Tucked away on Reynolds Street in downtown Brunswick, Georgia is an adorable restaurant serving up creative coastal cuisine with a Caribbean flair. The Indigo Coastal Shanty is a must visit in my book if you live or visit the Golden Isles area.
Chef Kate Buchanan has been a fixture in the coastal culinary scene for years. Her fine dining restaurant Cargo, once located in downtown Brunswick was one of my absolute favorites. Buchanan has since shelved her white chef coat and embarked on a new venture- a low key lunch and dinner spot in the heart of downtown serving up Caribbean/Southern style cuisine. The Indigo Coastal Shanty’s motto: “Where vacation is a state of mind” totally rings true when you walk in the door.
photo courtesy Indigo Coastal Shanty
The Shanty features artwork by a former SSI resident Nancy Hardwick. I love this one.
And the food….always hits the spot! This trip I had the blackened fish sandwich with a side of the crunchy isla slaw. You can get the fish grilled, blackened or fried; I prefer blackened because it has that spicy jerk taste and goes perfect with their spiked tartar sauce. I’m a huge fan of their isla slaw because it is a vinegar based slaw making the flavors brighter than a traditional mayo slaw.
blackened fish sandwich with isla slaw
The shanty serves up excellent salads as well. My favs are the Pac Rim Noodle Bowl (pictured below) and the Bombay Chicken Salad (excellent curry chicken salad atop mixed greens). The Pac Rim Bowl is full of mixed greens, noodles, tossed in a thai peanut ginger vinaigrette topped with toasted sesame seeds and fresh cilantro. So yummy and light.
pacific rim noodle bowl
If you need something more substantial, the shanty also serves up some gut-busting sandwiches that are beyond good. Below is the meatloaf sandwich- my brother’s fav. Homemade meatloaf, served on a toasted roll and topped with a garlic aoli and sweet tomato gravy! Be prepared to either take a long nap after this sandwich or wrap half up for later.
the biggest meatloaf sandwich ever
Unfortunately we couldn’t muster up the strength to order dessert this trip but it is soooo worth it. They offer pineapple upside down cake (killer), warm cajeta sundae (chocolate brownie topped with vanilla ice cream, mexican caramel sauce, dried pineapple and coconut), mago sorbet, and a coconut cream tart. If you can handle it after your lunch/dinner…I’d recommend the pineapple upside down cake or cajeta sundae.
Next time you are visiting the Golden Isles or if you’re a local needing to switch up your restaurant routine…check out the Island Coastal Shanty in downtown Brunswick! You won’t be disappointed.
Indigo Coastal Shanty on Facebook too.
Feeling a nostalgic after a visit home to St. Simons Island… One of my inspirations for this blog is my family’s restaurant business…my step-father and mother are the creative/driving forces behind the biz, but all of us kids have worked there at one time or another (some still do). The first restaurant, Gnat’s Landing, opened in 1999. A beachy, bar and grill, with a quirky/laid back attitude, Gnat’s serves up good ole American fare, inspired by family recipes and travels around the country. The decor is a cross between vintage emporium and local dive, complete with monogrammed mosaic bar top, old chandelier in the ladies’ room, mermaid sculpture strung up above the bar stools, and patio full of rainbow colored Adirondack chairs.
The story of Gnat’s has had new meaning for me in recent years studying historic preservation, because of HP’s emphasis on adaptive reuse of existing structures. The building Gnat’s occupies, is by no means historically significant, but it resides in one of the oldest “shopping villages” in St. Simons Island (Redfern Village), and was recycled. The previous tenant was a restaurant, and old bbq joint, with minimal seating, and our parentals transformed it into the bright, open-air (weather-permitting) eatery it is today. Having reused an existing structure, plus the personal touches, allowed for the Gnat’s to have an immediate flavor/ambiance, as opposed to stucco boxes in strip mall type developments.
Our sister restaurant, Bubba Garcias, is also in Redfern Village, and housed in an adapted space. Bubba’s is a tex-mex style cantina, perfect for having a margarita or 3. Taking a nod from the mosaic bar top from Gnat’s, all of the table tops in Bubba’s are mosaics created by family members and employees, comprised of old dishes, bottle caps, and old photographs.
Bubba Garcias
The newest addition to the restaurant family is the Bubba’s Up Bar. Directly above the cantina, in a former office space, is a true throwback to a 1970s basement…think That 70s show. The entire bar is a reclaimed single piece of wood and the decor is made up of personal retro pieces and thrift-store finds over the years.
In such a risky time for creative independent businesses, it is inspiring that we are still thriving. If you are ever in Southeast Georgia…check ’em out!
Em's on the road 