Since I’m living in Hammock Beach during the week this year while I’m teaching theater at Matanzas High School, I decided to review some of the restaurants along Highway A1A here in Flagler County.

It’s been a stressful few days, as Flagler Beach prepares for the arrival of Hurricane Ian at an unknown velocity, my Jeep is in the shop, and I’ve got about 350 emails to answer, but High Tides sets a perfectly relaxing vibe from the moment you step in from the sandy parking lot. It’s one of the few Flagler Beach restaurants built on the edge of the Ocean as opposed to the other side of the street, and I couldn’t help but wonder what it might be like to ride out a storm by the screened back windows of High Tides.
The beachside tables give a spectacular view of the ocean and a long stretch of beach in both directions. While the menu and the service are cheerfully up to date, the overall world created inside the restaurant feels lost in an idealized surf culture of some hazy past decade. It was a perfect way to forget the storms of the day.
I ordered fish dip, onion rings, and a crab cake sandwich. None of this is adventurous, of course, but I wanted comfort food and that’s exactly what they served up. I used the remoulade sauce that came with my crab cake sandwich as a dipping sauce for the onion rings, which I recommend as a lifestyle for everyone, and proceeded to also dip my hush puppies in it, and still had some left over for the sandwich. The sandwich was delicious. I mean it was basically a hamburger made with crab, and it made me feel happy and temporarily not concerned about finding a place to gas up my rental car in this pre-hurricane economy before I return it to CarMax tomorrow.
The fish dip was good, but it was served with little packs of crackers—I think I expected something more elaborate like fancy pieces of toasted French bread or something. I asked the server if there was something else I could dip in it. She was admirably restrained in replying “how about some tortilla chips?”
I was pleased with my meal, in love with the ocean view as the sun went down behind the restaurant, and glad to have found an oasis during this challenging time. The tide is high, but we’re holding on.

Jamie Brendlinger is the theater instructor at Matanzas High School and owns Duckie’s Vintage in Oviedo, Florida. He is currently refurbishing a 1973 Eldorado convertible that he drives up and down A1A looking for the best mac and cheese and the best deals on used records.