Find Hunt & Gather Raw Bar & Pub, then search no more
Jan Waddy
PANAMA CITY BEACH — Chef Derek Langford seeks out gems from the Gulf and bounty from the region and beyond, then showcases them in his polished recipes — creating a wild food frenzy for customers at Hunt & Gather Raw Bar & Pub.
"It's been overwhelming; it's been so busy," said Langford, who opened his new restaurant Oct. 5.
Langford already had a fan following from his time as executive chef of Firefly. He debuted The Nomad food truck in November 2019, while continuing to operate Hunt & Gather Catering Florida.
"Since we had the food truck, we were looking for a catering kitchen, because we were getting busy with it. We found this place, and we decided to open up a raw bar and serve game meat and then COVID stuff happened," said Langford, who added his wife, Tiffany urged him to "keep going." "The first day we opened, all the seats were filled."
Once customers find Hunt & Gather, tucked away in the Beach Shopping Plaza at 7942 Front Beach Road, it becomes a well-worn path for palates to converge.
"It's a tapas restaurant at the end of the day. Everybody's sharing food, getting entrees and passing and sharing along the table," Langford said.
The restaurant seats almost 50 at full capacity, with eight booths inside, plus 13 bar stools — a lucky number for anyone who has a cushioned seat. Edison bulbs hang over the bar, featuring custom black-and-white tile work by Langford's brother-in-law Matt Murray.
"We could have opened up a couple of months ago, but we wanted to refine it. Those were the most comfortable chairs, the same with the stools. I wanted you to be able to come and sit. They were the most expensive but felt good, the most luxurious," said Langford, who added, "The booths have memory foam."
Charcoal-colored walls are the backdrop for canvases of custom art by local artist and teacher Kevin Collier.
"We told him what we wanted — animals that we cook here, but on the body of humans," said Langford, who added customers' personalities and styles tend to be reflected in their preference for a particular painting — from the all-business goat to the pig in a red bow tie and suspenders to the laid-back bison, "Fonzie," with long hair swept the side, or put together elk.
Menu
The menu at Hunt & Gather Raw Bar & Pub is inspired by the wild game menu at The Nomad, which is being used as his catering kitchen. Aug. 15 was the last night The Nomad ventured out with his food truck fare, as Langford redirected focus to the restaurant. He's currently reevaluating the food truck's future as he finds balance.
"I wanted to be my own boss to have family time," said Langford, who is closing the restaurant on Saturday for Halloween. "The restaurant business is hard. The food truck lifestyle is tougher. Everything's here. But when I take the food truck out, I have to think where can I sell it. Here, people come to it. Sunday is my closed day and I'm not serving lunch on Saturday — my day alone in the restaurant to make all my sauces. Everything takes a long time. I don't want to buy cocktail sauce or demi-glace from anyone. And it's working, I think people can tell the difference. They know it's fresh; being able to do that makes me happy."
Hunt & Gather Raw Bar & Pub further expands on relationships Langford has cultivated with local and regional farmers, but the Georgia native doesn't stop at Southeastern borders when searching for the best products and flavors for culinary creations. For pairing, the pub also features small family vineyards and craft beer, including area selections from Oyster City in Apalachicola, Idyll Hounds and Grayton Beer Co. in Santa Rosa.
"People want to try different things. A lot of people travel to dine now. People are ordering Steak Tartare and different bites and sharing. You can come have an Elk burger and spend $15 to $20 for lunch, or if you want to come and have dinner and spend $100, you can do that, too. I wanted to create a place I want to eat," said Langford, who enjoyed his Steak Tartare for dinner the night before. "This is all the food I eat on my days off because it's delicious. A lot of restaurant industry coming here. It's surreal feeling seeing chefs I know come in before their dinner chef and restaurant owners."
Langford calls the menu "chef's day off food."
Food truck fans can still find favorites such as the Elk Burger — 6 ounces of hand ground elk topped with melted havarti, aioli, arugula and tomato on a roll with loaded hand-cut fries boasting house-cured pancetta, creamy havarti, scallions and aioli. Small plates also include another food truck favorite, Flash Fried Brussels Sprouts with toasted pecans, house-cured pancetta, herbs, a honey vinaigrette and pecorino.
While some favorites are staples, entrees rotate and small plates change.
"You might see something you like and something new replace it but it's not gone forever, just for the time being," said Langford, who explained, "We might be tired of it or it might not be available."
On Oct. 22, the small plates also included Quail Quesadilla, Duck Confit Loaded Fries, Deviled Eggs, Charcuterie & Cheese Board, Hummus & Whipped Feta, and Fried Soft Shell Crab (also available as a sandwich). Entrees featured Wild Boar Bolognese, Bison Ribeye, and Lamb Lollipops.
The Steak Tartare small plate features grass-fed tenderloin not used for his Filet Mignon, mixed with capers, house made hot sauce, farm egg, black pepper and house made toasted bread — good enough just by itself.
"Some pieces are too thin, so I chop them up for the Steak Tartare," Langford said.
The first day he opened, Langford had two cases of bone marrow and thought that would be enough for week or two, and he quickly went through it. The Bone Marrow Canoe is now the No. 1 seller.
"We went through eight cases this week," said Langford, who added 15 pounds are in a case.
Scrape out the rich "meat butter," accented with herb salad and lemon, then spread it on the house made toasted bread, topped with pickled red onions.
"Pickled onions go with the fattiness of the marrow," Langford said. "The bread is topped with olive oil and salt, seared on flat top; that's it."
Since my last bite of Tuna Crudo with black garlic shoyu, preserved lemon made in-house, jalapeno ginger, togarashi, and seaweed vinaigrette, I've been craving more.
"Tuna is from Greg Abrams and the whole fish, the Whole Roasted B-Liner Snapper is from there as well," Langford said. "Togarashi is a spice blend with different Japanese peppers."
The spice was subtle at first, then began building, cooled with the yuzu, a Japanese citrus. The white soy sauce enhanced the flavors along with the green onions and thinly sliced celery.
"I use celery leaves that everyone typically throws away," Langford said.
The menu also includes the Gatherer Salad featuring fruit, pistachios, goat cheese and citrus dressing, as well as the Little Gem Lettuce Wedge. Add Grilled Skirt Steak, Georgia Quail Breast or Gulf Tuna.
Oysters
When it comes to oysters, "We decided to get Gulf oysters and regional," Langford said.
Oysters are offered baked with house pimento cheese and pickled green tomato relish and as Oyster Floridafeller stuffed with spinach, onion, bacon, lemon, and Parmesan topped with cornbread.
"I'm working with Pelican Oyster Co. to offer the best oyster," said Langford, who always is focused on the source. "I'm trying to work with local people as much as possible."
The Gulf oyster is currently out of Louisiana, but rather than focus on limits on what is coming out of the once plentiful Apalachicola Bay, Langford is playing up the chance to also showcase oysters from other areas — a tasting from the east to west coast.
"Tasting the different oysters is exciting, particularly fun for those who think they know where they like the oysters best and then surprise themselves," Langford said. "You get two of each for $5, or you can try all of them and get more of what you like best."
Oysters on the half shell are served with house made cocktail sauce and mignonette.
"It's a classic French way of eating oysters," Langford explained. "Cocktail has the acidity that goes with creamy oysters and has the spicy that goes with the creamy. It's the same with the mignonette; it has the crisp acidity and a little sweetness to it and the onion to give it a bite like it would give with horseradish with it. People are starting to say don't worry about the cocktail, especially with the nicer oysters."
While the varieties will change, the restaurant will continue to offer oysters from different regions.
"Taste west coast, east coast and the Gulf coast. The cold water are salty; the water has changed," Langford said. "It's been between St. Anne's and French Kiss for most people. St. Anne's is salty, like when you jump into the water and come up and have salty lips — a good aftertaste."
On Oct. 22, the French Kiss from New Brunswick were salty, while the deeper cups of the Kumamoto, Washington, oysters were more meaty and creamy with a nice, bright cucumber finish, while the Louisiana oysters were more mild and sweet. The St. Anne's Bay oysters from Novia Scotia were lightly briny, a little sweet and creamy — maybe the best of all the varieties with a depth of flavor.
HUNT & GATHER RAW BAR & PUB
What: New restaurant from Chef Derek Langford that specializes in local/regional oysters, plus wild game menu inspired by his food truck, The Nomad
Where: 7942 Front Beach Road, Panama City Beach
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, 4:30-10 p.m. Saturday (closed Halloween)
Details: 850-708-1147, Facebook.com/huntandgatherrawbar or HuntAndGatherFlorida.com