Story by Lyda Kay Ferree, The Southern Lifestyles Lady. Photography courtesy of LuLu’s Restaurants, Mike Buck & Cortland Richards.

Several years ago I was a guest at LuLu’s, which was then located at Weeks Bay a short distance from the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club & Spa in Point Clear, Alabama where I was a guest. LuLu’s was a tiny dilapidated dive with lots of boats nearby and a bait shop. When you opened the door to the restaurant, you could smell the hamburgers. From the deck you could see beautiful Weeks Bay, and the sunsets were spectacular, much like in Key West, where LuLu and her husband have a home. “It was such a special place,” says Lucy Buffett of her first restaurant.

That evening I was the dinner guest of Lucy, the owner and sister of Jimmy Buffett. She was a delightful and energetic lady who lives life to the fullest. I ordered the L.A. Caviar appetizer, a hugely popular black eyed pea dip (See recipe.) and a delicious grilled grouper sandwich. I wish I had indulged myself in splitting an order of the sinfully rich Krispy Kreme bread pudding with LuLu. She was an easy conversationalist, and we talked and laughed and I stayed to watch the sunset, a memorable experience.

Shortly after my visit, the government informed Lucy in no uncertain terms that her restaurant had to move. Kicking and screaming, she moved from her Weeks Bay location.

Fast forward a few years when my cousin and her husband from Jackson, TN and a close friend and I visited the “new” LuLu’s at Homeport Marina and had a really pleasant time. Dinner was very good, and then we purchased some merchandise from the gift shop, which had a large variety of food products like LuLu’s famous WOW Sauce (delicious on fried green tomatoes), Bloody Mary Mix, and books including a new children’s book.

In typical LuLu style she added something new and exciting to the complex every year, and the restaurant served 4,000 people a day!

But it’s the food LuLu’s is famous for. “It’s really quite simple,” she says. “I decided to serve the food I knew how to cook best—Gulf Coast foods that are my grandmother’s recipes—fried green tomatoes, crab claws, and L.A. Caviar. Everything is about quality for us. That makes a restaurant a success.”

There was music every night and it was always free. The last time Jimmy Buffett, her brother, appeared at this LuLu’s he did a concert for “One Love, One Ocean.” He loves his sister’s gumbo and would like to visit her more often, but he stays busy with his own Margaritaville restaurants.

“I am going to reveal a little-known family secret here that maybe even LuLu isn’t aware of: we have gumbo in our genes. We are closely related to the Gumbo family who lived on Gumbo Island up the river from Pascagoula, Mississippi. My grandmother almost married a Gumbo offspring but, at the last minute, opted for a sea captain. (Though she did procure the secret family recipe before she bumped Mr. Gumbo!)”

— Jimmy Buffett, brother of LuLu and owner of Margaritaville restaurants

LuLu’s latest cookbook—“Gumbo Love”— is “a delicious love letter to the Gulf Coast’s vibrant food culture.” Since she was a young girl, Lucy Buffett has believed in the power of gumbo—the stirring, the transformation of the roux, the simple ingredients cooking up into something much better than just the sum of its parts. It’s only fitting that she signs her name “Gumbo Love” and that she makes a living feeding people the most delicious, soul-satisfying food.

“Gumbo Love” is a labor of love and includes recipes from all over the Gulf Coast. The dishes incorporate Caribbean, Cajun, Cuban, Mexican, Old Florida, and Creole influences. Lucy proves through her collection of recipes that the Gulf Coast has its own distinct flavors and traditions that make it a coastal destination year after year. And with some of the best seafood and produce the country has to offer, the Gulf Coast—beyond New Orleans—has a vibrant cuisine and culture, making it a treasured culinary destination in its own right.

Lucy combines over one hundred new recipes with old favorites. She lives by her mother’s philosophy: “Life is short—eat dessert first,” so the first chapter of her “Gumbo Love” book is filled with delectable sweets like Classic Southern Pound Cake with Strawberries, Buttermilk Orange Chess Pie, and Salted Butterscotch Blondies.

Since you can’t live on dessert alone, you’ll find Gulf Coast favorites from Tailgate Shrimp and Crab Dip to Lucy’s signature Summer Seafood Gumbo, and Crab and Corn Fritters, along with dozens of other seafood appetizers and main dishes. And if you tire of seafood, Lucy shares her family favorites like Daddy’s Fried Chicken, Beer-Braised Beef Brisket, Southern Fried Creamed Corn, and Greens and Grits.

Incorporating stories from Lucy’s childhood growing up in Mobile, Alabama, adventure traveling the seas as a cook, time spent working as a chef in New Orleans, and her philosophy of relaxation, gratitude, and seizing the day, this cookbook entertains and inspires as it serves up recipe after recipe, each tastier than the last.

Lucy “LuLu” Buffett cooked her way from coast to coast before returning home to Alabama to open a little bayside gumbo and burger joint that doubled as a bait shop. Now she is a successful restaurateur, owner of three LuLu’s locations—one in Gulf Shores, Alabama, a second one in Destin, Florida, and a third one in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Her adventures—culinary and otherwise—inspired her to write “LuLu’s Kitchen” (formerly self-published as “Crazy Sista Cooking”) and most recently “Gumbo Love: Recipes for Gulf Coast Cooking, Entertaining, and Savoring the Good Life.”

At the back of the “Gumbo Love” book Chapter 11 features menus and recipes: Coasting the Gulf Party Menus. Themes include a Key West Dinner Party, Old West Coast Florida Party Menu, Sweet Home Alabama: My Buffett Family Buffet, and No Place Like NOLA (New Orleans).

“Wow, this is the first and only book I have seen that truly captures the soul and love of Gulf Coast cooking. I was immediately brought back to my childhood days of my Alabama grandfather’s cooking. I’ve spent a lifetime eating and cooking on the Gulf Coast and I can assure you, Lucy is the real deal.”

— Chef Donald Link, James Beard Award-winning Chef and Author

LuLu’s Destin: A Family Beach Tradition and Coastal Cuisine Flavored with Fun!

Lucy Buffett’s LuLu’s is all about crazy fun. There are so many different elements that go into the experience—the fabulous food (favorites include fried shrimp, Po-boys, gumbo and cheeseburgers), great service, family-friendly environment, fun shopping, a beach for the kids, live music nightly and waterfront ambiance—all in a facility designed to give a taste of the authentic Destin LuLu’s Lifestyle. “Our job is to make it look really easy and to give our customers permission to take a break from life for a while,” said LuLu. “The bottom line—it’s all about food, fun and family!”

LuLu is “so proud” of what her destination restaurants have become and what they as a team have accomplished. “The bottom, bottom, bottom line is all about love,” she says. “There’s love in the food, love in the people, the love for our environment, and the love in the communities in which our restaurants are located. It really is all about love!”