Restaurateurs fire up the grills at HarborWalk Village

There's nothing like a good barbecue competition accompanied by seasonal lagers, blues music and a beautiful day against the backdrop of Destin Harbor to bring out the crowds.

The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association Northwest Florida Chapter hosted a "Brews, Blues and BBQ" tasting event Nov. 16 at HarborWalk Village in Destin, which took advantage of all those attributes.

The beneficiary of the event was the Educational Foundation of Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association.

Commander's Palace, Seagar's, Mitchell's Fish Market, Great Southern Restaurant Group, Water Grill, Bluz and Legendary fired up their grills and showed off their best barbecue dishes for a good cause and a good time.

Some went traditional and some got creative.

Seagar's offered samples of its traditional barbecue shrimp with gambino bread while Commander's got creative with Dirty Duck Sliders with foie gras fondue on carmelized onion rolls.

Legendary showed off its down-home fare with wild hoglings with fresh succotash, rosemary biscuits with savory pork ribs and Thai sweet chile glazed barbecue.

Seasonal beers from around the country complimented the barbecue dishes and the Donnie Sundal Trio sang the blues and entertained with Sundal in his signature bare feet.

Chefs competed during the event and at the end, winning Best Traditional BBQ Award was Commander's Palace. The designation of Best Seafood BBQ went to Seagar's and Most Unique BBQ went to Emerald Coast Coffee and Grille.

Around 500 people came out for this first Brews, Blues and BBQ Fest, said Jamie Marie Hall, regional director of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, raising $9,000 for the beneficiary. She anticipates the event will be repeated annually.