december-2009

038
SW FLORIDA SPECIAL
State Fare
The culinary traditions in Southwest
Florida are inspired by international
flavors and fresh, local seafood.
BY CHIARA ASSI
GO MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2009
Southwest Florida is the home of authentic
Floridian food: light, seafood-centric fare that’s
a unique blend of Southern, South American,
European and Caribbean cuisines.
Peter Tierney, owner of The Bay House in
Naples, is a pioneer of the cuisine. He creates
dishes using hand-picked produce from the
inland town of Immokalee, fresh shrimp from Ft. Myers Beach
and local fish including trigger fish and sheephead. “This area
South of Broad salad made with fried
green tomatoes from The Bay House
(inset) Deep fried scallops from
Randy’s Fishmarket
offers great seafood that goes beyond the
usual tuna or grouper,” he says. “Take
sheephead. They feed on barnacles, so
their flesh is flavorful and
firm, perfect for frying.”
Dust a filet with Everglades
seasoning—a salt
and pepper substitute that
contains papain, a natural
tenderizer that comes
from papayas—and fry
it up with a side of green
tomatoes and you’ve got
a version of traditional
Southern comfort food
with a distinctly tropical bent.
Unique preparations of shellfish are
another hallmark of the region. Richard
Miller, executive chef at Randy’s Fishmarket
in Naples, deep fries scallops and
serves local stone crabs the way Florida
fishermen eat them: cold. “Fishermen
cook them as soon as they catch them,
when they are still on the boat, to preserve
their sweet flavor. We serve them just
as you’d eat them on the dock,” he says.
Tierney is more enamored with Florida
spiny lobster—a crustacean smaller than
the Maine version that’s also sweeter
and more tender. He gives it a distinctly
Southwest Florida flavor by stuffing it
with lump crab and Gulf shrimp and
topping it with a citrusy buerre blanc.
Together, these two chefs—along
with a handful of others along the gulf
coast—are popularizing a cuisine that they
hope will become as big as Southwestern
and Californian. With simple, local and
flavorful being the biggest buzzwords in
food these days, chances are it won’t be
too long.
FARE TRACKER
CHECK OUT REPRESENTATIVE FLORIDIAN DISHES AT THESE QUINTESSENTIAL RESTAURANTS.
THE BAY HOUSE
www.bayhousenaples.com;
239-591-3837
Florida-remixed Southern dishes
like blue crab hush puppies make
up the menu at this riverside
mansion.
RANDY’S FISHMARKET
www.randysfishmarketrestaurant.
com; 239-593-5555
Locally caught stone crabs are just
the beginning: Miller’s menu also
includes favorites like fried gator
bites and conch fritters.
BUFFALO CHIPS
www.buffalochipsrestaurant.tv;
239-947-1000
This Bonita Springs institution is
what Old Florida is all about: fried
green tomatoes, beer in mason jars
and waitresses who call you “hon.”
BAY HOUSE: SHANE LUITJENS