SirSparkles 1 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 I'm about a month away from my first FW adventure. Yay.I think I'll be having someone stop at a grocery store for me, to help with food supplies to be ready at the beginning of our stay.I'll also be renting a car a few days, and will probably go to a grocery store on my own, also. This led me to wonder, since I always like discover and hunt for regional food (healthy, not-healthy, junk food).I haven't been to Florida as an adult, and am coming from New England (where some regional foods might be things like Lobster, Whoopie Pies, Moxie, etc) Does anyone have any suggestion on something I might try, that you know might be scarce in my neck of the woods? I saw Conch Fritters listed somewhere online, but wondered are these readily available near the Deli and/or Seafood sections of most major SuperMarket chains?Cuban influenced stuff? Caribbean influenced stuff? For example, can I find Jerk Chicken at all supermarkets? Thanks for any suggestions.I'm hoping this will be a fun thread for everyone to suggest.Most I will try to find. :) BradyBzLyn...Mo 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigTom 76 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Cuban sandwich if you can find a real one on fresh Cuban bread and it should be cold, not heated and pressed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PureTcrazy...rita 380 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 In the Kissimmee area there is a large Puerto Rican influence. There is a local store called Kissimmee produce that has all kinds of cool things. I still don't know what most of them are! Lol Their deli is filled with deliciousness. I am on my phone now but will try to post more when it is easier. BradyBzLyn...Mo 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Cuban sandwich if you can find a real one on fresh Cuban bread and it should be cold, not heated and pressed. A cold Cuban sandwich? Blasphemy! They need to be freshly made and pressed! OP- getting back to you question- the area around WDW is a hodgepodge of everything. I really can't think of any kind of regional food unique to that area. Conch Fritters are more of a Florida Keys thing. That's a good 300 miles to the south. Kind of like a walking in to a restaurant in Maine and asking for a Philly Cheesesteak. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
h2odivers...Ray 952 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 A cold Cuban sandwich?Blasphemy!They need to be freshly made and pressed!OP- getting back to you question- the area around WDW is a hodgepodge of everything. I really can't think of any kind of regional food unique to that area. Conch Fritters are more of a Florida Keys thing. That's a good 300 miles to the south. Kind of like a walking in to a restaurant in Maine and asking for a Philly Cheesesteak. TCDAgree. Cuban sandwich should be hot. Disagree about conch fritters. Conch. Fritters may have originated in the Keys but you can find them all over Florida. Some of the best I've had where at John's pass. A better comparison would be for asking for crab cakes in New England. they have great ones there but I prefer the ones made in Baltimore. OP. What we always in enjoy when we go to Florida is the fresh seafood. It's kind of hard to find it in Oklahoma.Also try some gator. Yes alligator. Lots of places have deep fried gator tail. Key lime pie. Again. Probably originated in the Keys but you can find great key lime pie all over. Spiny lobster. It's not the same as the Maine lobsters your probably use to. But really delicious. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 OP. What we always in enjoy when we go to Florida is the fresh seafood. It's kind of hard to find it in Oklahoma. It's also hard to find near WDW, which is about a 90 mile drive from the Gulf, and about 65 miles from the Atlantic. I'm not saying it can't be found-there are excellent restaurants in and around WDW, but I can't think of one that serves "regional food." You can find restaurants that serve reasonably fresh seafood all up and down the East Coast of the US. The conch in those conch fritters you enjoyed at John's Pass probably came out of a can or was frozen. In fact, that's probably the case even in Key West. I don't think they actually have conchs there anymore- they are probably from the Bahamas. You can probably get just as fresh conch fritters at your local Red Lobster. If we want to talk about true regional food- there are some places on the Gulf beaches that serve great fresh seafood, and there are some excellent Cuban restaurants in Tampa. But none of that is particularly close to WDW. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Love this idea! As TCD mentioned, if you head towards the gulf, there's lots of great seafood to be had. And I'd second the recommendation of the Tampa area for Cuban food, although I had a pretty darned awesome Cuban sandwich in Plant City last year. I was surprised how hard it was to find a good selection of seafood in the WDW/Orlando area. I know it's not super close to the coast, I'm a good hour+ from the coast here and our supermarkets generally have a decent selection of New England seafood. I'd say "NH seafood" but we have a whopping 9 miles of coastline. The super markets in the area seem to have mostly the standard seafood selection and not much in the way of what I'd consider Florida fish. I've tried a few times to find a fish market in the area, but haven't had any luck. If anyone knows of one within reasonable driving distance, please chime in. I have seen an ok selection of latin foods at the Winn Dixie near DTD. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oft013 23 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 The first question to ask about seafood in Florida is if it is from Florida. Sounds silly but a lot of Florida seafood gets shipped out of state where they can charge more money, and much of the seafood served in Florida is imported. I would avoid buying any seafood at the grocery stores. Recently I went to buy shrimp at a Winn Dixie in Indian Shores and when I asked if it was fresh from Florida, the kid behind the counter took me to a freezer box and showed me the bags of shrimp they use for their "fresh" shrimp. So be careful. For seafood we usually try to find Florida Grouper and Fresh Gulf Shrimp. There is an excellent Cuban/ Spanish restaurant in Celebration called Columbia that has an excellent Cuban Sandwich. Good luck and happy eats. BradyBzLyn...Mo 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
h2odivers...Ray 952 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Is gator tail not a "regional food"? I can only find it in the southeast coastal region of the USA. Key lime pie. Kind of a Florida thing. Isn't it?Spiny lobster. I've only seen it in Florida and the Caribbean A really good seafood restaurant close to, no at WDW is that flying fish cafe at the disneys Boardwalk resort area. Florida keys pink shrimp, Mahi Mahi, red snapper. All delicious. Does it all come from Florida? Idk. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Alligator meat is a gimmick food. It's the kind of thing people want to eat just to say that they did. But, it's not something that I would choose to eat over some nice Gulf shrimp or a Grouper sandwich. And, it's served everywhere- even in Canada : http://www.thegatorstail.com/#!food/c1jo3 TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
h2odivers...Ray 952 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 OP. It really depends on what your definition of "regional" is. I personally consider Florida as part of the south when it comes to food. So you'll find a few different things you might not regularly see in the New England region restaurants. Biscuits with sausage gravy. Red eye gravyGrits. Blackened fish or chicken. Southern fried chicken. Collard greensJust to name a few. When I travel someplace new I always ask my waiter or waitress what do the locals order the most? I've never been disappointed yet. Humphrey Bear…Rob 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
h2odivers...Ray 952 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Alligator meat is a gimmick food. It's the kind of thing people want to eat just to say that they did.But, it's not something that I would choose to eat over some nice Gulf shrimp or a Grouper sandwich.And, it's served everywhere- even in Canada : http://www.thegatorstail.com/#!food/c1jo3TCDI can buy gulf shrimp and grouper here in Oklahoma And just about everywhere I travel. But that doesn't make it less of a regional food.Cajun food is the regional food of that bayous of Louisiana. And it's served everywhere. So I guess that's not a regional food either. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 When I'm in FL I look for 4 things... grouper, snapper, gulf shrimp, stone crab (if in season). If anyone knows of a good place to get any of those in the area, I'm all ears! :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
h2odivers...Ray 952 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 When I'm in FL I look for 4 things... grouper, snapper, gulf shrimp, stone crab (if in season).If anyone knows of a good place to get any of those in the area, I'm all ears! :)Have you tried the flying fish cafe?They don't have everything on your list but Here's there menu. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/boardwalk/flying-fish-cafe/menus/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 I can buy gulf shrimp and grouper here in Oklahoma And just about everywhere I travel. But that doesn't make it less of a regional food.Cajun food is the regional food of that bayous of Louisiana. And it's served everywhere. So I guess that's not a regional food either. If the OP is interested in food that he can't find in New England or other places in the US, I really don't think there is much, if any of that in the immediate area of WDW. I know you've visited the Gulf coast in central Florida. The seafood you enjoy there is much better and fresher than what you can buy in Oklahoma or at WDW. But you need to drive a good hour and a half to two hours from WDW to get there. When I'm in FL I look for 4 things... grouper, snapper, gulf shrimp, stone crab (if in season). If anyone knows of a good place to get any of those in the area, I'm all ears! :) I know you venture out to Plant City from time to time. If you're willing to drive about another hour west, you'll get to Clearwater, where you will find Frenchy's. Try their Grouper sandwich: https://frenchysonline.com/ They have their own boats, and pride themselves on serving fresh seafood. You can tell the difference. TCD BradyBzLyn...Mo 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Have you tried the flying fish cafe?They don't have everything on your list but Here's there menu.https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/boardwalk/flying-fish-cafe/menus/ Yep - delicious! Fulton's is also very good (tip: cheaper for lunch). In November we also found this place right at the Crossroads outside DTD. http://www.johnnieshideaway.com/ Where most of the places in Crossroads are chain-type restaurants, this is actually more of an upscale, traditional steak house place that has a killer seafood menu, and tons of stone crab in season. This was my bucket-o-stone crab from last year... We've already got this on the list for their Monday night "all you can eat stone crab." I just wish there was a good fish market-type place nearby so I could stock the fridge. I would probably live 3 weeks on grouper, snapper and stone crab if I could. :) II know you venture out to Plant City from time to time. If you're willing to drive about another hour west, you'll get to Clearwater, where you will find Frenchy's. Try their Grouper sandwich: https://frenchysonline.com/ They have their own boats, and pride themselves on serving fresh seafood. You can tell the difference. TCD Good to know! We usually spend a day with my Plant City relatives when we're down - we may need to head that way next time. We've also gone over to Tarpon Springs a bunch. So many delicious places to get great seafood there, plus a killer bakery. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
h2odivers...Ray 952 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 If the OP is interested in food that he can't find in New England or other places in the US, I really don't think there is much, if any of that in the immediate area of WDW.I know you've visited the Gulf coast in central Florida. The seafood you enjoy there is much better and fresher than what you can buy in Oklahoma or at WDW. But you need to drive a good hour and a half to two hours from WDW to get there.TCDI agree. I would much rather be sitting at on Clearwater beach enjoying a nice piece of fish than here in Oklahoma. There's nothing much better than enjoying a nice piece of fish caught that morning. If fish on the gulf was a 10 I would call fish in Orlando a 7 and fish in Oklahoma a 4 or 5. Growing up in Southern California never living more than a mile or two from the ocean I guess I just got spoiled on fresh seafood. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigTom 76 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Don't forget grunts and grits, a real Florida meal. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
h2odivers...Ray 952 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 We've also gone over to Tarpon Springs a bunch. So many delicious places to get great seafood there, plus a killer bakery.Loved! Loved tarpon springs. Many years ago DW and I stated with some friends there. He was Greek and knew everybody. Best Greek food ever! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Don't forget grunts and grits, a real Florida meal. Ok I have no idea what this is, but it includes "grits" so it's probably something I should try. What is it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
h2odivers...Ray 952 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Ok I have no idea what this is, but it includes "grits" so it's probably something I should try. What is it?A grunt is a fish. Never tried it. I heard they were not very tasty. In California I believe we called them grunions. But I'm not if they are the same species of fish. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 A grunt is a fish. Never tried it. I heard they were not very tasty. In California I believe we called them grunions. But I'm not if they are the same species of fish. The grunts we have here in Florida are quite good. If you take a fishing charter out of Clearwater, you'll come home with a lot of them. Here's an article from my local paper on the topic: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/outdoors/grunts-as-good-to-eat-as-they-are-easy-to-catch/1221380 I don't think it's a fish you'll see for sale in a fish market. It's more of something for fishermen. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Ok the more I read this thread, the more I think I need to throw a cooler in the truck and take a side trip to the coast. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oft013 23 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 If the OP is interested in food that he can't find in New England or other places in the US, I really don't think there is much, if any of that in the immediate area of WDW. I know you've visited the Gulf coast in central Florida. The seafood you enjoy there is much better and fresher than what you can buy in Oklahoma or at WDW. But you need to drive a good hour and a half to two hours from WDW to get there. I know you venture out to Plant City from time to time. If you're willing to drive about another hour west, you'll get to Clearwater, where you will find Frenchy's. Try their Grouper sandwich: https://frenchysonline.com/ They have their own boats, and pride themselves on serving fresh seafood. You can tell the difference. TCD And you can see a great sunset at Frenchy's Rockaway which is right N. Clearwater Beach. You can wash that grouper sandwich down with a Rumrunner or 2. Rumrunners may not be regional but there is nothing like sitting at Frenchy's Rockaway watching a sunset and a couple of rumrunners BradyBzLyn...Mo 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 And you can see a great sunset at Frenchy's Rockaway which is right N. Clearwater Beach. You can wash that grouper sandwich down with a Rumrunner or 2. Rumrunners may not be regional but there is nothing like sitting at Frenchy's Rockaway watching a sunset and a couple of rumrunners Amen. I'll let you in on a little secret. Frenchy's opened up a location on the Dunedin Causeway, which is like 3.5 miles from my house. Plenty of free parking, and none of the Clearwater Beach traffic. It's not right on the beach, though. But, the food is just as good. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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