Carrabelle Junction

Carrabelle Junction, in the cute little fishing/resort village of Carrabelle, doesn’t fit any one category of restaurant. It’s a coffee house, serving fine espresso and deluxe caffeinated beverages. It’s a sandwich shop, too, offering a diverse repertoire of hot and cold ones that range from grilled cheese to a pressed Cubano. It is a place where locals linger for hours and where travelers stop for a quick snack. Its jumble-shop personality is a curious mix of cracker/redneck and noncomformist counter culture, a paradoxical personality perfectly captured the first time I stopped in: Leisurely sipping coffee, I heard an announcer on the public radio station that provided background music in the cafe expressing gratitude for support the station receives from a local shooting range.

Step up to the counter and place your order. Breakfast opportunities are limited to bagels, sandwiches, and a few pastries. A special I’ve enjoyed, billed as the Spicy Croissant, includes both bacon and ham, a sliced boiled egg, cheese, and jalapeno chips. With eats comes excellent coffee (at 50 cents per cup!), inky espresso, or a variety of lattes and cappuccinos. Orange juice is freshly squeezed.

If you arrive for lunch having recently eaten pounds of BBQ and/or dozens of local oysters, you might choose the Veggie Supreme sandwich, which is an artfully constructed array of tomato, avocado, red onion, sprouts, Swiss cheese, cheddar cheese, roasted garlic, and basil mayonnaise. Those hankering for meat can go for a hot roast beef sandwich, a Reuben, or a “Housewich” of ham, roast beef, and two cheeses; or, from the cool sandwich side of the menu, an Italian hoagie with the works, or a heap of roast beef dressed with horseradish mayo.

Carrabelle Junction is a soda fountain, too, so it is possible to accompany one’s meal by a milk shake or a malt (mixologists here know the difference!), or conclude it with a sundae or banana split. Among the ice cream treats I intend to have next time I visit is an espresso milk shake.