It’s the birthplace of New World Cuisine and Floribbean cuisine, the breeding ground of fresh fish and shellfish, the hometown of Southern-fried specialties and the gateway to flavors from around the world. With the Caribbean and Latin America at its feet, the Deep South at its door and a constant influx of visitors and residents from the U.S., Europe and Asia, the Sunshine State is a place where everyone brings something to the table, literally, as the flavors of countless cultures are showcased in eateries from Pensacola down to Key West.
A New World of Dining
Once you push back from the conference table and pull up to a restaurant table, Florida becomes a culinary crossroads where different cooking styles and seasonings all converge on local menus.
In Northwest Florida, known as the state’s panhandle—an apt description considering all the great eats you’ll find—your grilled steak might be seasoned with something called “Butt Rub” (don’t worry, it’s delicious), while in the Gulfside town of Tarpon Springs, hand-ground gyro meat is heavy on the cumin and topped with flavorful tzatziki sauce. Heading down to Miami, no self-respecting Cuban restaurant would serve chicken that hadn’t been marinated in adobo, a tangy blend of garlic, salt, cumin, oregano and sour orange juice, while all things conch are a staple of Bahamian cooking in the Florida Keys.
But even though you’ll find scores of ethnic enclaves around the state, each offering their own delectable cuisine, Florida’s dining scene is definitely mix-and-match. You’re just as likely to find a great barbecue joint in South Florida—Shorty’s Bar-B-Q in Dadeland, for one—as you are to find incredible Cuban food in Orlando, where pre-Castro Havana strikes a sultry chord at Samba Room. Heck, there’s even Amish food, homemade and plenty of it, at Miller’s Dutch Kitch’n in Bradenton, where booths are made out of Amish buggies and an on-site bakery offers 20 types of homemade fruit and cream pies along with cakes and breads.
Also being served in Florida: Floribbean cuisine, a tasty blend of Florida and the Caribbean that includes indigenous ingredients from both areas, and its big sister, New World cuisine, a fusion of native produce with influences from the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and Asia, which put the state, especially South Florida, in the nation’s culinary spotlight while making stars of the “Mango Gang”—Norman Van Aken, Allen Susser and Mark Militello, among others.
Florida Gets Fresh
After making a splash in Florida’s dining pool, New World and Floribbean cuisines are almost a given on menus around the state, along with another Sunshine State staple—fresh seafood. From Apalachicola oysters to hogfish snapper, if it comes out of the ocean, it’s on a bed of rice or hush puppies somewhere in Florida.
But whether you’ll be wearing a tie or a bib while savoring Florida’s gifts from the sea depends entirely on the mood of the group. At the Flora-Bama Lounge and Oyster Bar & Grill in Pensacola, fresh, raw and grilled seafood are enjoyed in a toasted atmosphere within view of the Gulf of Mexico. Similarly, at Le Tub on the Intracoastal in Hollywood, it’s dress down and drink up while feasting on fresh dolphin sandwiches. Heading into the Everglades, you’ll discover a new food category—swamp cuisine—at Joanie’s Blue Crab Cafe in Ochopee, where gator nuggets, gator fritters and frog legs with Indian fry bread offer a true taste of outback Florida.
At the other end of the seafood spectrum is Finz, Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort’s new beachside restaurant, featuring creations from Chef Robert Theriot like sea bass with pear brulee.
A number of repeat visitors, on the other hand, won’t even set foot in a Florida seafood restaurant unless it’s stone crab season. These tasty morsels, available from October to May, are served hot or cold with butter and lemon—and a mallet.
Dining and Entertainment
Hate to eat and run? It’s easy to make a night of your dining adventure in the Sunshine State.
And if you immediately thought of Central Florida, you’re on the right track. Here, themed dinner attractions like Pirate’s Dinner Adventure, Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede, Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament, and Capone’s Dinner and Show are just the beginning of an entire universe of dining and entertainment combos that also includes venues at Downtown Disney and Universal CityWalk.
In Southeast Florida, the Mai Kai—consummate pros when it comes to groups—is set up like a Polynesian village with waterfalls, gardens and tiki torches, along with a South Seas menu and exotic, fruit-bearing drinks to be savored while watching an Islanders Revue that features dancers, jugglers and fire-swallowers.
On Florida’s southwest coast, actually closer to the Everglades, is the Ngala Private Reserve, which looks and feels like an African camp in the middle of the Serengeti. Three huge, peaked tents host fabulous safari- or Everglades-themed group dining events for 20 to 500 people, while staff members present giraffes, leopards, chimpanzees and other animals for interactive enjoyment.
In addition to themed dining, Florida is filled with entertainment districts that include restaurants, clubs, shopping, live performances and more. Favorites include Miami’s South Beach, Fort Lauderdale’s Las Olas Boulevard; Palm Beach’s CityPlace; Naples’ Fifth Avenue South; Tampa’s Ybor City; Daytona’s Ocean Walk Village; Jacksonville Landing; and Northwest Florida’s Destin Commons.
Eat and Meet
A wealth of Florida restaurants also welcome groups with private rooms or separate areas, special menu options and other services.
Among the countless choices are Citrus, a new Orlando restaurant hosting up to 50 seated and 100 for receptions; Orlando’s Ming Court, hosting up to 400 people seated and up to 1,000 for receptions; Columbia Restaurant, specializing in private group functions with locations in Ybor City, Sarasota, St. Augustine, St. Petersburg, Clearwater Beach, Celebration and West Palm Beach; Nick’s Fishmarket of Hawaii in Boca Raton, offering private indoor rooms and an outdoor deck; and Riley McDermott’s in Fort Lauderdale, featuring a wine room hosting up to 20 guests.
