Discovering Emeril’s Florida
Cassis American
Brasserie,
St. Petersburg
Bouillabaisse
Dish at Cassis
American
Brasserie.
Santa Rosa Beach there’s a place called
Stinky’s, which thankfully, doesn’t live
up to its name. The seafood there is
fresh from the coast and prepared
with some classic southern sides. It’s
really popular among the locals. Also,
in the Keys, we had the biggest conch
fritters I’ve ever seen at Alabama
Jack’s. It’s a recipe that’s been in the
chef’s family for 50 years.
Did Emeril have any non-food
activities that stood out as his
favorite?
Emeril loves to fish, so any chance
we had to get out on the boat for a
fresh catch was fun. Besides fishing,
we went to a place in Orlando called
Ice Bar, which as its name suggests, is
entirely made of ice. You have to wear
a special coat and everything. It was
wild.
Also, he travels to Clearwater frequently for his work on HSN, but had
never had the opportunity until now
to explore the beach and spend some
time relaxing at the Sandpearl Resort.
It was nice to have the opportunity to
experience a different side of places
we’d already visited.
Was there any place that
Emeril visited that was new to
him? If so, what were his first
impressions?
I think the history impressed him, especially in Pensacola. We learned that
Jackson’s Steak House is in a building
from the 1860s and was the location
where Florida was first recognized as
12 FOOD TRAVELER | SUMMER 2013
CASSIS OUTSIDE SHOT: MARK WEMPLE
Emeril was really
amazed at the
variety available
and the quality of
the chefs we have
here in Florida.