Come join me on a trip to Seaside, Florida. Board a plane at Norfolk landing in Atlanta and transfer to another plane landing in Panama City. From there drive to this master-planned community located in the Florida panhandle on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. The living is easy and gourmet food is in abundance.

Seaside is designed on the principles of New Urbanism with an attractive post office in the middle of town that has no zip code. However, the post office operator explains, "We’d probably get a letter if you just send it to Seaside, Florida, but this is how we stamp the mail that leaves this post office: Santa Rosa Beach, Fl 32459 Seaside CPO."

Robert S. Davis, Seaside founder, inherited these 80 acres from his grandfather who had purchased them in 1946. In 1981 Seaside was born. And in 1986 two young surfers decided to become a part of this magic town—at a time when there were only 12 homes along the shoreline—and started a restaurant named Bud & Alley’s.

It’s amazing that a restaurant founded by a couple of 24-year-old men, and named for a cat and dog, has been listed among Florida’s top 20 restaurants; yet rightfully so.

The restaurant features a second floor, where viewing the sun dipping below the horizon surrounded by the turquoise waters and white sandy beaches is magnificent.

Operating on the same principles with which this restaurant began from day one, "Good food, Good people, Good times," David Bishop, for the past four years, has served as executive chef. He leads the food effort not only at Bud & Alley’s but also at the Taco Bar added in 2007 and the Pizza Bar added in 2009.

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