Ah, Florida! The Sunshine State. Home of pelicans, dolphins, and manatee. Where the lizards are everywhere and alligators roam free in the ditches. Mosquitos, born in the swamps, feast after dark on suppers of forearms and feet.
Everglades City, Florida, is smaller than the hat on your head and just as tight-knit.
As the wind blows water over this town’s millions of crab traps, a handful of restaurants cook food for the people.
The Diving Pelican offers the best food I’ve had here so far (but I am just starting out). Their coconut shrimp make the top ten list of tastiest things I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet and that is no lie. Amber, their smiling server, stopped us from walking out after we eyeballed the prices and you know I’m so glad that she did.
The lemon water alone quenched me to the pupils.
We’ve been in Florida a number of weeks now and our introduction to fresh seafood started out rocky. Everglades City is the stone crab capital of the world so thank God we met James DeMarco back in Jacksonville or we both coulda been dead by now.
Back then we were camping by the Atlantic Ocean when we stopped at the sign that said LIVE CRABS FOR SALE figuring we’d send a crab home to Kevin’s momma just to see what would happen from there. With proper air and hydration we assumed he would last the two day shipping. So Kevin bought a blue crab and also got 4 tiny crabs for 8 cents apiece. Next thing I know I’m driving, we’re both screaming and my husband’s got his knees screwed way up to his shoulders.
“The bastard tried to kill me!!!”
Long story short, we learned not to mess around with crabs, especially in the truck, and we carefully and quickly rehomed James back to the ocean the next morning.
Speaking of, the crab cake sandwich at The Diving Pelican was scrumptious! And don’t nobody know how to fry french fries like a seafood restaurant, no secret there.
Let us return our attention back to those coconut shrimps for a second.
Wait, first, have you ever seen a fresh-ass shrimp for real? All antennas and eyeballs and buggy legs, they are no kidding the grasshoppers of the sea. I have no earthly idea what to do with these things but people tell me they’re great bait because everything eats them.
And I hope there are mermaid restaurants in mysterious fathoms below frying up shrimps in some flakey coconut batter for the hard working fish of the world because seriously, no seriously, those coconut shrimps melted in my mouth. Barely chewed em!
Lordy Lordy I love coconuts. They are growing on trees down here. Growing. On. The trees. Mangos too! What dingbat came up with the sugar cane idea with the sweetest yummiest fruits dangling right above his head? Maybe they had no ladders back then, I don’t know.
I cannot recommend the food at The Diving Pelican enough. Our meal was warm and filling yet still cool and light.
Florida is magic. What else can I say? Do you want stories? Pictures of wildlife? A treefrog jumped on my neck the other night at 100 miles an hour. All I saw coming at me was a ninja-legged shadow monkey before I felt the moist and sticky and shook my hair out like my life depended on it. Have mercy, somebody!
And yesterday we met the guy who captured THE original skunk ape footage - before he kicked us out of his campground. His loss, huh?
Dang a giant fish just plopped in beside me! There’s at least one restaurant in town that’ll clean and cook your catch to order - but tonight we have just got to try the meatballs at Hole in the Wall Pizza. The owner made me a slice today and I asked him what they were up to back there. “Come on back and I’ll show you!” There was dough in the mixer and garlic knots rising but I could not stop my cheeks from leaking when I saw the size of the meatballs in the oven.
All for now. Kevin’s spotted another bird or something that he just can’t wait to show me.
Love from Florida! Amanda out!
