Tasting guide to the sunshine state of Florida

Many visitors flock to Florida for its fabulous palm-fringed beaches, its theme parks and its snappy wildlife, but in recent years, the sunshine state has quickly built a reputation for its cool gastro scene.

Helped by its finger-lickin’ location between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, Florida’s fishing-net-to-fork culinary landscape – with Spanish, Caribbean and Native American influences – brings its own personality to America’s plate. In the south of the state, Floribbean cuisine (a delicious portmanteau of Florida and the Caribbean) draws flavours from Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Cuba, with conch fritters, seafood gumbo and arroz con pollo. Latin American flavours reign in the north, too – not least Tampa’s legendary Cuban sandwiches.

All of this is a natural match for Florida’s booming craft beer scene, which in recent years has fizzed across the state like a spun barrel. More than 200 breweries give Florida a craft beer scene to rival any in the USA.

Tampa Bay

Tampa is making waves on Florida’s gastro scene with a host of hip new restaurants. Soul Food Sundays at Ella’s Americana Folk Art Café in Seminole Heights offer American comfort food at its best. Ella’s serves up southern-fried catfish, beef brisket and fried green tomatoes, paired with barrel-aged cocktails and live music.

Edison: food+drink lab, a gastropub on West Kennedy Boulevard, serves harissa-spiced foie gras and Florida black grouper. Another hotspot is Heights Public Market at Armature Works, an old maintenance facility for Tampa’s TECO electric streetcars. Now an indoor market with an industrial vibe, it offers cooking classes, wine tastings and a slew of pop-up restaurants. Try the Astro Craft Ice Cream Company’s “out of this world” range, which includes Cinnamon Snickerdoodle Marshmallow flavour.

Tampa’s historic neighbourhood, Ybor City, is all colourful Cuban diners, lively bars and cool vintage shops. It is home to Columbia, Florida’s oldest restaurant, which has served Spanish-Cuban dishes since 1905. Tampa’s flourishing craft beer scene has become of the finest in the USA. It also has a historic beer heritage: the Florida Brewing Company in Ybor City has been around since 1896, while the new taprooms of the breweries Angry Chair, Brew Bus and Florida Avenue are handily lined up along North Florida Avenue.

Lee County

Southwest Florida has a booming slow-food scene with farm-to-table dining proving mighty popular in Lee County. Twisted Vine in Downtown Fort Myers is setting the standard with its sustainable, hyper-local menu, homegrown herbs and spices and a boutique wine list. In autumn, the county’s gastronomes descend on Fort Myers’ Centennial Park for WINK Taste of Lee (2 November), a family food festival at which restaurants offer signature tastes for $1 to $5, while Taco Fest in Bonita Springs (13 October) is another colourful fiesta in which tonnes of tacos, local craft beers and many Mariachi bands hit Riverside Park.

Bringing Munich to the Gulf of Mexico is the inaugural Fort Myers Oktoberfest Festival in the River District. From 25-27 October expect steins of German pilsner, smoked sausage and oompah bands. For an alternative, head to Cape Coral, Lee County’s craft beer capital, to check out the likes of Big Blue Brewing, Scotty’s Bierwerks and the No 3 Craft Brews & Beer Bar, which serves a selection of beers from around the world.

For a quieter time, head to Sanibel and collect seashells on Bowman’s Beach or visit the JN “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge and say “G’day” to the manatees.

Orlando

Orlando’s food scene has moved on from the traditional theme-park fodder of corn dogs, fairy floss and smoked turkey legs. Now legions of cool new chefs run places such as the plant-based Proper & Wild in Winter Park, and Sette, a hip and buzzy Italian in Ivanhoe Village; while oenophiles flock to Luma on Park, a fine-dining spot run by award-winning chef Brandon McGlamery, for a peek into his two-storey wine cellar (or “Jewel Box”) that holds some 7,000 bottles.

One of many farm-to-table joints, the Rusty Spoon is where innovative chef and three-times James Beard Foundation Award nominee Kathleen Blake updates American classics with her hand-cut fat noodles, Rusty O-Rings and butter-poached clams.

Food-truck frenzy has taken over the USA and naturally Orlando is at the heart. In fact, it boasts more food trucks per capita than any other city in the US. See them at the Central Florida Soul Food Festival (28-29 September) and wolf Hawaiian-style hot dogs from Kona Dog Truck or the freshest Maine lobster rolls from Monstah Lobstah. Beer lovers should hop on to the Central Florida Ale Trail, a map-based bar crawl around Orlando’s best craft breweries. Those who complete it can take home a commemorative growler.

Kissimmee

Perched on the northern shores of Lake Tohopekaliga, Kissimmee is a world away from the busy theme parks for which Central Florida is renowned. The city is fringed by the Everglades – the swampy wetlands that wind through the state – and there are plenty of opportunities to take an airboat ride to meet the scaly natives, some of the 1.3 million ’gators that call Florida home.

From biscuits and gravy at retro mom-and-pop diner Woodsby’s Café (where the breakfasts are also well worth a visit) to barbecue from Rosie’s Smokin’ Hot Bar-B-Que, the dining scene in Kissimmee can have an old-school vibe. But since the food trucks have rolled into town, you can eat your way around the world without leaving the car park.

World Food Trucks at Visitors Flea Market on Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway is Central Florida’s first permanent food truck market. Try Bien Taypa for Peruvian ceviche or Dominican papas locas con peperoni (crazy fries with cheese and pepperoni topping) at Dame un Ñaqui. For a beer chaser, swing by the 3 Sisters Speakeasy, a vibey Prohibition-era bar with live music.

Celebrating one of the state’s finest inventions, sandwich fans will wait in hungry anticipation for the announcement of the winner of the World’s Best Cuban Sandwich at the Kissimmee Cuban Sandwich Festival (7 March).

Fort Lauderdale

With its sparkling white-sand beaches, chic waterfront homes and a laid-back vibe, Fort Lauderdale is stepping up to the plate on the Florida food and drinks scene. A host of new restaurants have opened in the past year, including Indian taco shop AIK Taco Masala in Lauderhill, which is great for carb-loading on lamb rogan josh tacos. For something a little special, book a table at DUNE, a new oceanfront restaurant at the Auberge Beach Residences & Spa with a splendid Napa-focused wine list.

In April, the South Florida Taco Battle & Craft Beer Fest has taco-eating contests, taco and beer awards, and a classic car show. Meanwhile FATVillage, the arts quarter packed with art studios and galleries, hosts dozens of pop-up bars and food trucks on the last Saturday of every month.

As for ice cream, hit up the historic Jaxson’s, an old-fashioned ice cream parlour that serves the legendary Kitchen Sink Sundae, a huge sharing bowl served in an actual sink. Of course, as one of the original spring-break towns, Fort Lauderdale is not shy of bars. Many line the banks of its labyrinth of waterways, so hop in a water taxi for some bar-hopping with a difference.

Miami

Mention Miami and what springs to mind first? Pastel-hued art deco architecture? Rollerblading along boardwalks? Pristine white-sand beaches? Well, it’s the food scene that has really got Florida sizzling.

Known as the Magic City, Miami boasts a cuisine that definitely has an alchemy about it, largely thanks to Latin American and Caribbean influences. You can sample it all at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, a popular five-day event (19-23 February) where celebrity chefs are present and wine-fuelled suppers and craft cocktail-making masterclasses can be enjoyed.

For a throwback to Miami’s glamorous heyday, head to the Biltmore Hotel for its champagne Sunday brunch. Or try the new Time Out Market Miami on Drexel Avenue, South Beach’s latest dining hotspot, to cool down with homemade Cuban ice cream from Azucar or a Keys Bound, a daiquiri inspired by former Key West resident Ernest Hemingway.

Talking of sharpeners, you can’t come to Miami and not get involved in its cocktail scene. Check out the new Bob’s Your Uncle on 71st Street, a hip neighbourhood bar in Miami Beach (the original is in New York City) that knocks out cracking cocktails such as a Mez It Up and a Bob’s Old Fashioned. Barter Wynwood, meanwhile, features a huge garden filled with curios and bric-a-brac where visitors can buy, sell or barter for drinks.

Puerto Rico

OK, so Puerto Rico may lie 1,000 miles south-east of Miami, but it still gets a mention in this Florida food cruise. A territory of the USA since 1898, this small Caribbean island has culinary gravitas thanks to its Spanish, Mexican and Cuban influences.

Arroz con gandules (rice with peas and pork) is the national dish, while alcapurrias, yucca and plantain fritters stuffed with minced beef and achiote are the very best beach snacks and can be found on every street corner.

Saborea is Puerto Rico’s biggest food festival (2-5 April) and there is a centuries-old rum distilling heritage, but forget Bacardi and try Ron del Barrilito, the cognac of the Caribbean. Find it at the Nuyorican Café in Old San Juan, which serves up legendary rum cocktails, many rare rums and plenty of Latin salsa dancing.

In recent years, the island has also benefited from the craft-beer boom, with venues opening such as Ocean Lab Brewing Co in Isla Verde, and Pura Vida Brewery in Cabo Rojo, which is famous for its heavenly Hyggelig amber ale.

Caffeine lovers are also well looked after. The Fiesta del Acabe del Café (14-16 February) is when the town of Maricao celebrates the end of the coffee-bean harvest with a street party and parade, a barista competition and enough coffee to keep you up all night.

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