Food & Drink - Florida - page 1095

FLORIDA SPECIALTIES
From north to south, here's a list of dishes strange and sublime, but 100% Florida; try not
to leave without trying them at least once.
Boiled peanuts In rural north Florida, they take green or immature peanuts and boil
them until they're nice and mushy, sometimes spicing them up with Cajun or other
seasonings. Sure, they feel weird in the mouth, but they're surprisingly addictive.
Tarpon Springs Greek salad We don't know why, but in Tarpon Springs, Greek restaur-
ants started hiding a dollop of potato salad inside a regulation Greek salad - now you can
find this odd combination throughout central Florida.
Alligator Alligator tastes like a cross between fish and pork. The meat comes from the
tail, and is usually served as deep-fried nuggets, which overwhelms the delicate flavor
and can make it chewy. Try it grilled. Most alligator is legally harvested on farms and is of-
ten sold in grocery stores. It's also healthier than chicken, with as much protein but half
the fat, fewer calories and less cholesterol.
Frogs legs Those who know say the 'best' legs come from the Everglades; definitely ask,
since you want to avoid imported ones from India, which are smaller and disparaged as
'flavorless.'
Peel-and-eat shrimp A decidedly old-school, Old Florida treat, peel-and-eat shrimp are
served boiled and pink in their shells. There's an art to ripping off the legs and stripping
down the shells to get to the sweet meat underneath, which is inevitably overwhelmed by
a nice dunk in cocktail sauce.
Stone crabs The first recycled crustacean: only one claw is taken from a stone crab - the
rest is tossed back in the sea (the claw regrows in 12 to 18 months, and crabs plucked
again are called 'retreads'). The claws are so perishable that they're always cooked before
selling. October through April is less a 'season' than a stone-crab frenzy. Joe Weiss of
Miami Beach is credited with starting it all.
Key lime pie Key limes are yellow, and that's the color of an authentic Key lime pie, which
is a custard of Key lime juice, sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks in a cracker crust,
then topped with meringue. Avoid any slice that's green or stands ramrod straight.
Cuban & Latin American Cuisine
Cuban food, once considered 'exotic,' is itself a mix of Caribbean, African and Latin
American influences, and in Tampa and Miami, it's a staple of everyday life. Sidle up to a
Cuban loncheria (snack bar) and order a pan cubano: a buttered, grilled baguette stuffed
with ham, roast pork, cheese, mustard and pickles.
Integral to many Cuban dishes are mojo (a garlicky vinaigrette, sprinkled on sand-
wiches), adobo (a meat marinade of garlic, salt, cumin, oregano and sour orange juice) and