Whether it’s brewing homegrown craft beer or putting an invasive species on the menu, a new generation of locavores in the Florida Keys is helping redefi ne the region’s food and drink scene.
I‘M UP TO MY EYEBALLS in seafood appetizers, so it takes me a moment to register the change in the music.
Until now, the acoustic guitarist seated beneath a wooden arbour on the beachfront patio at Marker 88 restaurant in Islamorada on Plantation Key has been playing classic rock tunes, but with the shadows lengthening across my table of delicacies, he’s switched to a gentle lullaby. It’s sunset time.
A small crowd has gathered along the narrow pier that juts from the patio into Cotton Key Basin, which is ruffled with wavelets on this soft spring evening. Couples kiss and pose for selfies while children sit quietly, their legs dangling over the water, and watch as the horizon shades from pale yellow to vivid tangerine to dusky lavender. The song ends as the sun finally disappears, and the diners break into applause, though it’s not clear whether it’s for the guitarist or the sky.
Sunset is a big deal in the Florida Keys, explains Andy McGrotha, Marker 88’s general manager. It’s when his restaurant is busiest, regardless of the time of year. “Our business is built around the sunset — as is all life in the Keys, really. Sun and sand and water.”
And food.
Marker 88’s specialty is “Floribbean” cuisine: seafood, fresh-caught in Key Largo, prepared with the flavours and spices of the islands. I try the coconut-battered Keys shrimp and wash it down with a key lime martini — citron vodka, KeKe Beach key lime cream liqueur, pine apple juice and fresh lime juice with a graham cracker rim. My entree is pan-fried yellowtail snapper with key lime beurre blanc, and dessert is — what else? — a thick wedge of house-made key lime pie topped with a sky-high tower of an unbelievably airy meringue.
Denne historien er fra Fall/Winter Travel 2018-utgaven av Canadian Geographic.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra Fall/Winter Travel 2018-utgaven av Canadian Geographic.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
ANIMAL XING
THIS PAST SUMMER AN AMBITIOUS WILDLIFE UNDER/OVERPASS SYSTEM BROKE GROUND IN B.C. ON A DEADLY STRETCH OF HIGHWAY JUST WEST OF THE ALBERTA BORDER. HERE’S HOW IT HAPPENED.
Unearthing a giant
Almost 30 years ago, paleontologist Elizabeth “Betsy” Nicholls made a discovery of colossal proportions
WE DID THIS
AS THE IMPACTS OF GLOBAL WARMING BECOME INCREASINGLY EVIDENT, THE CONNECTIONS TO BIODIVERSITY LOSS ARE HARD TO IGNORE. CAN THIS FALL’S TWO KEY INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES POINT US TO A NATURE-POSITIVE FUTURE?
The COOLEST COUNTRY
“The coolest country” celebrates the wonders of winter with an all-Canadian theme. The 20-page travel planner includes a bucket list from travel writer Robin Esrock, steamy spa ideas, ice fishing destinations, festival fun, northern itineraries and more!
KEEPER of the SEA
FROM BEING LABELLED DEVIL’S APRON BY FRUSTRATED FISHERMEN TO BEING LAUDED AS A SUSTAINABLE FOOD SOLUTION: HOW KELP’S POTENTIAL IS BEING REALIZED, JUST AS SCIENTISTS LEARN IT’S DECLINING
WILD THINGS
WILD CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC PRESENTS THE WINNERS OF ITS ANNUAL CANADIAN WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR COMPETITION
AN EMPTY LANDSCAPE
AFTER MORE THAN A MILLION YEARS ON EARTH, CARIBOU ARE UNDER THREAT OF GLOBAL EXTINCTION. THE PRECIPITOUS DECLINE OF THE ONCE MIGHTY HERDS IS A TRAGEDY THAT IS HARD TO WATCH — AND EVEN HARDER TO REVERSE.
NORTHERN EXPOSURE
BON INTO A CARIBOU-HUNTING CREE FAMILY IN NORTHERN MANITOBA, ACCLAIMED PLAYWRIGHT AND NOVELIST. TOMSON HIGHWAYS PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE MAGICAL WORLD OF HIS CHILDHOOD IN PERMANENT ASTONISHMENT
INTO THE ARCTIC
CANADIAN PAINTER AND FILMMAKER CORY TRÉPANIER EXPLORES THE SUBLIME AND RAPIDLY CHANGING CANADIAN ARCTIC
Under the ice
Until the last decade, we knew little about what lay beneath the Arctic ice. Now scientists and explorers are shedding light on this vanishing world.
