Chelle Koster Walton 2016-12-16 07:22:14
SOCIAL BUZZ Emeril Lagasse on dining in Florida: Florida celebrates some of the best restaurants and dining experiences you can imagine. I’m proud to be a part of that experience. Emeril Lagasse is a celebrity chef with two Florida restaurants. @Emeril facebook.com/Emeril @emeril @emeril Global Foodie Adventures Search {Dining} at VISITFLORIDA.com For a taste-bud spin around the world, sample the cuisine brought to Florida’s melting pot by its various transplanted cultures. Forget the passport, just grab a fork. Cuban Fiesta in Tampa Cuban food takes center stage in Tampa’s Ybor City. Sample the culture’s favorite cuisine just as it was enjoyed many years ago by immigrating cigar makers. Eat this: Café con leche, guava turnover, pressed Cuban sandwich, Spanish bean soup and mojo pork. Dine here: Don’t miss Florida’s original Columbia Restaurant. Also, buy Cuban bread and pastries from La Segunda Central Bakery. Greek in Tarpon Springs Settled by Greek sponge divers, this waterfront town just north of the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area is the place to find Mediterranean delights that will transport you to the Greek Isles. Eat this: Gyros, spanakopita (spinach pie), pastitsio (pasta baked with ground beef and béchamel sauce), moussaka (a classic eggplant or potato-based dish), dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), octopus and baklava. Dine here: Dimitri’s on the Water and Hellas Bakery serve delectable Greek specialties. Dimitri’s has the waterfront view; Hellas, more sweets. Caribbean-Breezed Miami Considered the mainland hub for Caribbean cultures, Miami and its restaurants borrow cuisine from Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and beyond. Eat this: Jamaican patty (a flaky pastry with savory fillings and spices), Trinidadian roti (flatbread), Bahamian cracked conch (fried conch), Haitian griot (fried pork), goat stew, jerk chicken, mofongo (starring fried plantains) and Creole-style seafood. Dine here: Tap Tap Restaurant serves up true Haitian fare made from quality ingredients, and at Ortanique on the Mile, island style goes gourmet. Native American Classics in the Everglades The Miccosukee Nation, a federally recognized Native American tribe, makes its home in Everglades territory centered around the Miccosukee Indian Village. Eat this: Sofkee (similar to grits), fry bread, alligator nuggets, frog legs and catfi sh. Dine here: Almost every restaurant in the area serves Everglades-style food, but Miccosukee Restaurant in the village serves up some of the most authentic dishes. Mangia Italiana in Naples With a name like “Naples,” the city is naturally saturated with authentic regional restaurants and transplanted Italian chefs. Eat this: Calamari, burrata, Caprese salad, homemade pasta, fennel sausage, branzino (also known as European seabass) and gelato; adventurous eaters can try the fried pig ears. Dine here: Osteria Tulia touts yearround “rustic Italian cuisine,” while Campiello Ristorante showcases food from a different region of Italy each month. Perusing Peruvian in Miami & Sarasota Influences from South America also make their mark on Florida cuisine. In Miami and Sarasota, Peruvian food is one of the hottest culinary trends. Eat this: Ceviche, lomo saltado (sirloin stirfry), tacu tacu (a tasty dish with a rice-and-beans base), corn and sweet potatoes; drink a Pisco sour. Dine here: Find authentic Peruvian folk cuisine at Miami’s Sabor a Peru, or for modern fusion interpretations, relish Selva Sarasota. Southern Cooking with Soul in Orlando Orlando’s deep African-American heritage is ever-present in the city’s home-cooking restaurants, which recreate some of the best flavors of the South. Eat this: Chicken and waffles, fried chicken, barbecue ribs, oxtail, chitterlings, collard greens and sweet potato pie. Dine here: Soul Food Kitchen is the real deal for comfort food favorites. Trendier and celebfavored Chef Eddie’s specializes in waffle dishes. Brazilian Cuisine in Miami & Pompano Your taste buds will dance the samba in these cities that welcome Brazilian populations and culture. Eat this: Steak churrasco, quinoa, feijoada (black bean stew), moqueca (fish stew with a coconut milk base), pastéis (egg tart pastry); drink anything with cachaça, which is similar to white rum. Dine here: In Miami, Little Brazil tops the robust selection of Brazilian restaurants; in Pompano, it’s Feijao Com Arroz Restaurante. Asian Invasion in Delray Beach & Orlando From Chinese to Vietnamese, Asian cuisine is a perennial favorite—and gourmet versions of these are trending. Delray Beach’s Japanese population spices up its restaurants with Asian influences. In Orlando, Pacific Rim-inspired food is a big hit in areas like the Mills 50 District. Eat this: Sushi and sashimi, Pad Thai, pho, shrimp tempura, chicken satay, kimchi and curry. Dine here: Modern Asian restaurants fuse food traditions from across the continent. Try Lemongrass Asian Bistro in Delray Beach or celebrity chef-operated Morimoto Asia in Orlando. Morimoto Asia, Orlando Pulled Pork at Five Sisters Blues Café, Pensacola Flavors of the South in North Florida North Florida chefs embrace the wide culinary breadth of the South, including soul food, Lowcountry cuisine and Louisiana cooking. Eat this: Shrimp and grits, jambalaya, shrimp boil, pulled pork, corn muffins and sweet tea. Dine here: Jacksonville’s Southern Charm has Cracker cookery down to an art. In Tallahassee, Olean’s Cafe glorifies comfort food. Five Sisters Blues Café in Pensacola leans Louisiana-ways. Florida's Rum Trail By Chelle Koster Walton Search {Distillery} at VISITFLORIDA.com With pirate lore and sugarcane in its DNA, Florida welcomes a new wave of rum distillers. These Florida-based distilleries offer tastings and tours. St. Augustine Distillery This popular attraction distills vodka, gin, whiskey and bourbon plus its pot-stilled golden rum, which ages in bourbon barrels. Free daily tours of the historic ice plant include cocktails made with the distillery’s small-batch liquors, including a rum-pineapple concoction. Drum Circle Distilling, Sarasota Belly up to the cypress bar in the tiki tasting room inside this distillery for a sampling of award-winning Siesta Key Rum. Informative 60-minute tours, including tastings of silver, gold, spiced and toasted-coconut rum, are free. Wicked Dolphin Rum Distillery, Cape Coral Crafted from pure Florida sugar, rather than the molasses by-product some use, Wicked Dolphin earns its “Fresh from Florida” certification by using stategrown citrus and other Florida ingredients when possible. Free 45-minute tours include a rum punch kick-off and a three-rum sampling touchdown. Key West First Legal Rum Distiller Given Key West’s rum smuggling past, the name fits. And, of course, there’s key lime rum in its 12-rum repertoire. Do a guided or self-guided audio/video tour of the old 1903 Coca Cola plant, followed by a tasting of shots or slushy fruit cocktails. Black Coral Rum, Riviera Beach This family-owned distillery started in 2012 with an empty warehouse. Today its white and spiced rums are distributed nationwide and the distillery is receiving recognition across the country, winning the 2016 Seattle International Spirits Awards as well as an international spirits competition. Tours and tastings don’t run on a regular schedule, but you can call to make a reservation. St. Augustine Distillery Alligator Bay Distillers, Punta Gorda Opened to visitors in 2016, this distillery adds a pinch of honey to its handcrafted gold rum; sugar and vanilla to its white rum; and pineapple to its latest creation. Tastings are free to all visitors, and tours run Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. St. Petersburg Distillery Its line of Oak & Palm craft spirits include spiced and coconut rums for mixing; its Old St. Pete Righteous Rum & Spice is a pot-distilled sipping drink. Public tours and tastings are in near-future plans.
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