Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(fried). Either way it is seriously tasty.
Café Solé
, in Key West, is famous for its conch
carpaccio, oft-imitated but yet to be improved upon.
Arepas
The greatness of a city can be measured by many yardsticks. The arts. Civic involvement.
Infrastructure. What you eat when you're plowed at 3am. In Miami, the answer is often
enough arepas, delicious South American corn cakes that can be stuffed with any manner
of deliciousness; generally, you can't go wrong with cheese.
Edible Communities
(
www.ediblecommunities.com
)
is a regional magazine series (print
and online) that celebrates and supports local, sustainable farming, culinary artisans and
seasonal produce. It publishes editions for Orlando and South Florida.
From Farm (& Grove) to Table
Florida has worked long and hard to become an agricultural powerhouse, and has long
been famous for its citrus. The state is the nation's largest producer of oranges, grapefruits,
tangerines and limes, not to mention mangoes and sugarcane. Scads of bananas, strawber-
ries, coconuts, avocados (once called 'alligator pears'), and the gamut of tropical fruits and
vegetables are also grown in Florida. Homestead is a major agricultural region, with citrus
groves and fields of crops extending all the way to the edge of the Everglades.
However, only relatively recently - with the advent of the USA's locavore, farm-to-table
movement - has Florida started featuring vegetables in its cooking and promoting its
freshness on the plate. Florida's regional highlights - its Southern and Latin American
cuisines - do not usually emphasize greens or vegetarianism. But today, most restaurants
with upscale or gourmet pretensions promote the local sources of their produce and offer
appealing choices for vegetarians.
Inside Miami you'll find a delightful variety of vegetarian options, including a few
vegan-friendly places. Funnily enough, folks here choose vegetarianism for reasons both
ethical and vain; in the latter case, you'll find a lot of SUV-driving fitness nuts who don't
give a fig for being green, but are obsessed with looking good. Outside Miami, dedicated
vegetarian restaurants are few, and in many Keys and Everglades restaurants vegetarians
can be forced to choose between iceberg-lettuce salads and pastas.
