Florida offers great seafood dining

The seafood is always fresh in Florida.

I'm heading off to Florida tomorrow on assignment in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale and just as I was wondering where I would be eating, my good friend and Florida's excellent Canadian representative Henny Groenendijk sent out a press release that highlights all the great seafood places to eat in the Sunshine State.

You can eat your way through the state from north to south starting in Pensacola - one of my favourite places in Florida - at the Fish House, a place that reels in tourists with Chef Jim Shirley’s Grits a Ya Ya. Locally-ground grits, smoked gouda from Baldwin County’s Sweet Home Farms, Ocheesee dairy cream, house-smoked bacon and Gulf shrimp are served up here. NOTE: The Pensacola Seafood Festival is held from Sept. 23 – Sept. 25 this year and showcases seafood dishes from local chefs.

Other places in the state where foodies like me can pig out on the best seafood in the world:


 - In Rosemary Beach in Northwest Florida, Restaurant Paradis menu focuses on coastal cuisine that matches the season, like snapper in the summer. Chefs Mark Eichin and Shaun O’Brien use locally-grown ingredients to create the Paradis Crab Cake, a pan-seared jumbo lump crab cake over creamed Silver Queen corn. Nov. 4 – 6, Visit South Walton hosts Taste of the Beach.

- The Jacksonville dining scene blends elegance and Southern comfort. Chef Ted Peters combines European, Caribbean and Latin American flavors for Azurea, the AAA Four-Diamond Award winner at One Ocean Resort Hotel & Spa. Jacksonville’s Eat Up Downtown is Aug. 15 – Aug. 28, 2011 and participating restaurants feature three-course meals for $25 U.S.

- Orlando, famous for theme parks, is also a destination with a noteworthy culinary community, pastries in particular. Orlando boasts two award-winning pastry chefs. Laurent Branlard of the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort is the only person to win the World Pastry Team Championship twice. Rosen Shingle Creek’s David Ramirez, well-known for his dark chocolate truffles, will be among the celebrity chefs in attendance at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival from Sept. 30 – Nov. 13, 2011.

- Chef Erin Van Zandt Guggino combines Latin and Asian flavors to create the menu Kon Tiki at the Tahitian in Tampa. In Clearwater Beach, Rusty’s Bistro’s Chef John Harris specializes in creating “Floribbean” cuisine, a combination of Floridian and Caribbean flavours. Aug. 19 – Sept. 2 is Dine Tampa Bay Restaurant Week. Participating restaurants feature three-course meals for $25, $35 or $45.

- Anna Maria Island has beautiful beaches, and according to Zagat, one of the “Top Restaurants in America.” One of the most popular dishes at Chef Sean Murphy’s Beach Bistro is the “Two Rim” Grilled Jumbo Shrimp.

- At Longboat Key’s Euphemia Haye Restaurant, Chef Raymond Arpke’s Roasted Duckling is filled with bread stuffing and served with a seasonal fruit sauce.

- Sea Salt, Chef Fabrizio Aielli’s restaurant in the Third Street South Old Naples historic district, uses seasonal ingredients, organic and local produce, wild caught seafood and naturally-raised poultry and meat.

- In Palm Beach, The Omphoy Ocean Resort’s Chef Michelle Bernstein focuses on fresh seafood, with most dishes reflecting a clean Mediterranean flavour. Her signature cuisine integrates the finest seafood available and quality cuts of meat, paired with crisp greens. At Flavor Palm Beach, which runs the month of September, participating restaurants offer three-course lunches for $20 and three-course dinners for $30.

- Greater Fort Lauderdale is home to the 2010 King of American Seafood, Chef Dean Max. His menu at 3030 Ocean features stone crab ravioli and Mediterranean-style fish soup. Dine Out Lauderdale, Oct. 1 – Nov. 10, 2011 features 35 of the area’s top restaurants offering a three-course menu for US$35.

- Chef E. Michael Reidt uses fresh seafood from the coast and seasonal ingredients to create a tropical fusion menu at Area 31. Miami Spice takes place now until Sept. 30, 2011 where participating restaurants feature three-course lunch menus for $22 and three-course dinner menus for $35.

One seafood restaurant in Miami I always enjoy in Oceanaire in the Brickell area of town.

The Sunshine State’s website www.VISIT FLORIDA.com is a rich resource for information about Florida’s fine dining and award-winning chefs. Further, from now until Sept. 2, Florida chefs are sharing recipes on VISIT FLORIDA’s official Facebook page.

Florida cities offer lowest tourist taxes

Travel can be taxing on tourists at the best of time so they don't need the added burden of high taxes at the destination.

So it was with interest that I read this morning a study, which I wanted to share with you, by a group called Global Business Travel Association Foundation which identifies the Top 5 U.S. cities with the lowest and highest tourism taxes.

Listed as the five lowest tax burdened cities out of 50 destinations studied, three Florida cities topped the list  - Fort Lauderdale was first, Fort Myers second and West Palm Beach in third. Following in fourth was Detroit and Portland was fifth.


According to the study, those five cities are lowest in both general sales tax and travel-related services such as car rental, hotel and meals.

On the flip side of the study, the five highest-tax imposing cities on travelers were in order: 1-Chicago, 2-New York City, 3-Seattle, 4-Boston, 5-Kansas City.

The study showed some drastic tourism tax differences between cities, in some cases 80 per cent more in comparison.

The study identified the Top 5 cities with the lowest discriminatory travel tax rates or travel-related services -- not including general sales tax - as being the California cities of Orange County in first, San Diego in second, San Jose third, Burbank fourth and Ontario fifth. The five highest discriminatory travel taxing cities are 1-Portland, 2-Boston, 3-Minneapolis, 4-New York City, 5-Chicago.

Sarasota beach tops Dr. Beach's '11 list

My friends in Sarasota - one of my favourite spots in Florida - are celebrating the news that "Dr. Beach" (better known as Dr. Stephen Leatherman), has named the city's Siesta Key Beach as the Best Beach in America for 2011.

The good doctor, who has been called a "son of a beach" by many communities not happy that he doesn't include their stretch of sand in his annual list, is a beach specialist who rates coastlines all across the United States.

However, it's always Florida's beaches which seem to top his list, and for good reason - they are the best in North America, hands down!

In Dr. Beach's previous surveys, St. Petersburg's Fort De Soto Park beach has been the top contender but this year Siesta Key edged it out. Not to worry - Parents magazine recently picked Fort De Soto as the best "family" beach in America in its annual  survey.

When I visited Fort De Soto Park a few years ago, I also discovered it features a "dog beach" and that had some people howling. However, the dog beach - it was a secluded stretch not often used - has become as popular as the human beaches in that wonderful park.

The beaches in Florida's Panhandle and on Sanibel Island are also among my favourite beaches in Florida.

I've complied my own list of Top Beaches so go to http://www.travelife.ca/ and have a look under "On The Marc" to see how my list compares with Dr. Beach's.

TPC courses offer great thrills

Over 30,000 crowd around the 16th at TPC Scottsdale
to challenge PGA stars to hit the green.

I've been horizontal most of the weekend watching from the comfort of my couch the Players' Championship being played at TPC Sawgrass in Florida - the most exciting golf course in the world thanks to its 17th Island Hole - and it brought back memories of the day a few years ago when I stepped into the tee box at the par-3, 17th.

I actually bogeyed the hole which many of the PGA stars in this year's Players' Championship are scoring double and triples bogeys on.

There's three TPC courses that I've played - the TPC Las Vegas, TPC Sawgrass and TPC (Stadium Course) Scottsdale, which I played on my recent trip to Arizona.

Each of the TPC courses has a "gimmick" hole like the 17th Island Hole and Scottsdale's signature hole is the par-3 16th, often called the loudest hole in golf because usually staid golf fans turn into college football rowdies at the 16th and howl and shout at the professionals should they fail to hit the green off the tee during the annual Phoenix Open.

When I arrived at “the loudest hole in golf "the day I played, I was greeted by silence.

Just a few days before I played, 30,000 boisterous fans had filled every seat in the grandstand they erect around the 16th hole for the Phoenix Open. But the day I played, only a few workers were quietly dismantling the stands. They appeared too busy to notice me.

As I settled into the tee box, I tried to imagine what it’s like to have 30,000 people just hoping you hit an errant shot so they can hurl insults at you.

Even without the crowd, my heart rate quickened and my grip tightened as I approached the ball. The menacing bunkers that guard this precious piece of Arizona golf real estate suddenly appeared bigger than the green itself.

As the ball left my club, I had a good feeling about the shot. I tracked its progress as its sailed majestically over the left edge bunker and admired it landing gently on the green. A smile crept across my face as the ball rolled to about 10 feet from the flag.

Phew, I thought.

Then suddenly, the silence was broken by the sound of applause, which was quickly followed by someone shouting “you da man.”

The crew apparently stopped working while I was in my back swing and was now saluting my effort.

“That felt good, didn’t it?” shouts one of the workers.

The applause sure felt better.

If you're ever in a town that has a TPC course, try and secure a tee time - you'll have a great time.