Posted by Adam Kuban, April 1, 2008 at 11:45 AM
As we mentioned last week, Wolfie's Rascal House in Miami was set for demolition this past Sunday. Today, the New York Times visits the classic old-school Jewish deli on its final night and as the take-apart begins, with patrons buying mementos off the walls and tables. Even if you don't live in Miami or have fond memories of Rascal's—having never been, I certainly don't—you can't help but think of your own favorite holdover from another era and imagine your reaction would be much the same on seeing it fade from the scene. I know I'd be in line in an instant to grab a stool from The Cozy Inn in Salina, Kansas. (But I hope it never comes to that while I'm still walkin' this earth.)
Posted by Raphael, February 18, 2008 at 12:00 PM

Stephen Colbert, in the segment "People Destroying America," interviews Susan Pagan, a mother who tries to "obliterate America's happiness" by denying her daughter a Happy Meal earned from a good report card in Seminole County, Florida.
Video after the jump.
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McDonald’s stops sponsoring Happy Meals as rewards for students with good grades and attendance records in elementary schools in Seminole County, Fla.
Posted by Melissa Hall, December 14, 2007 at 4:00 PM
Southern Foodways appears on Fridays as part of our collaboration with the Southern Foodways Alliance, an organization based in Oxford, Mississippi, that "documents and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the American South." Dig in!
In 2006, the Southern Foodways Alliance headed to Apalachicola, Florida, for a field trip. We were there for four daystonging for oysters, gathering Tupelo honey, casting shrimp nets, worm grunting, and, of course, eating well.
As always, we did more than a bit of talking with the folks who have built their lives and livelihoods in the Apalachicola Bay.
These people tell stories of the days when schools of mullet were thick in the water and when Tupelo honey was a local find, not a Hollywood star. More than fish tales and folklore, these are the stories of the men and women who have depended on the Apalachicola Bay for generations. They are stories from Florida’s Forgotten Coast.
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Posted by Melissa Hall, September 21, 2007 at 4:40 PM
Southern Foodways appears on Fridays as part of our collaboration with the Southern Foodways Alliance, an organization based in Oxford, Mississippi, that "documents and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the American South." Dig in!

From left: Florida fishermen Tommy Ward and A. L. Quick
After the long, hot bi-valveless summer, it is time to anticipate and then savor platters filled with glistening briny fresh oysters. Can’t get a table at your favorite seafood place tonight? Then, celebrate the start of oyster season with a virtual trip to Apalachicola, Florida. Meet the men and women who have long worked the water, tonging for oysters, casting nets for shrimp and fish, and cultivating soft-shell crabs on Florida’s Forgotten Coast.
People have drawn their livelihoods from the Apalachicola Bay and surrounding waters for generations, but their way of life is changing. These people tell stories of the days when schools of mullet were thick in the water and when tupelo honey was a local find, not a Hollywood star.
Visit with Tommy Ward of the 13 Mile Oyster Company and oysterman, A.L. Quick and his wife, Gloria to learn the love and art of oystering.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, April 19, 2007 at 3:45 PM
It's a flight of fancy, to be sure: In Florida, a group of pilots gets together a couple times a week for meals at fly-in restaurants. "Pilots joke with the term '$100 hamburger,' considering the cost of aviation gas, flight insurance and hangar space."
Oh, sometimes they fly to Georgia for barbecue for a change. Let's see—how many years till my retirement?
Posted by Alaina Browne, February 16, 2007 at 6:00 AM

Photograph by Adam Kuban, Serious Eats
Chinese New Year and the year of the pig according to the Chinese zodiac, begins this Sunday, February 18. Because Chinese New Year is tied to the lunar calendar, it falls on a different date every year, usually between January 19 and February 23. It begins on the second new moon after the winter solstice and ends 15 days later with the Lantern Festival. According to tradition, the celebration gets under way on New Year's Eve with a family dinner hosted at the eldest family member's home; it is considered the most important annual family tradition. Family members travel from near and far to attend. A family's given menu will vary by region, but here are some of the more popular dishes and their symbolism:
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Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 13, 2007 at 7:02 PM
On Fla. Menus, a Favorite Fish Experiences Identity Theft: "The alleged grouper at 17 of 24 area restaurants sampled by the investigators was actually another, less desirable species, according to a DNA analysis conducted for the state attorney general's office and released earlier this month. Asian catfish. Emperor. Painted sweetlips. And twice, types of fish that could not be identified." The Washington Post's Peter Whoriskey on how and why cheaper, less popular fishes are widely and routinely substituted for desirable, expensive ones like grouper and red snapper, and how it's hard to be sure what arrives at your table is what you actually ordered.
Posted by Nathalie Jordi, January 24, 2007 at 11:53 AM
It's always perplexed me to watch Florida, that perma-tropic state, import its strawberries from Mexico, lemons from Seville, and oranges--I kid you not--from California, when all of these grow prolifically in our own back yards (or at least they did, before cutting crews cut down all the citrus trees during the canker scare of '02--I swear, if it's not one thing it's another).
But this article in the Palm Beach Post claims to have seen people joining forces to buy organic food. Have I judged my people too harshly?