Travel Adventures and Tilapia

Well, we took a long holiday weekend, and went up to Manasota Key with some friends. We stayed at the Pearl Beach Inn, one of the two or three resorts on the island which is not yuppiefied condos or similar upscale digs. We prefer more Olde Florida places.

Pearl Beach Inn is pretty darn nice. Just steps from the water, many of the rooms, such as the ones we got, have fabulous views of the beach and water. The rooms have a full-size fridge and microwave, but no stove top, so the Kilted Cook pretty much had a holiday too -- except for breakfasts, lunches and Tea Boy duties after the afternoon naps.

Sally and I had bagels with peanut butter and apple slices Saturday and Sunday morning, and PB Bagels and slices of perfectly ripe Honeydew Melon this morning. For lunches we had Serrano Ham (unfortunately not the good Spanish product by that name) or Smoked Chicken with Muenster or Provolone Cheese with yellow tomatoes and condiments; with chips on the side. Dinners we went out to restaurants together.

The WiFi was down so we felt somewhat isolated, although those with smartphones were able to do so looking up of things, checking weather, etc. We played in the warm waters of the Gulf, collected a few petrified shark's teeth, read, slept, and Sally did two very nice watercolors. One is the seascape view outside our window; the other a painting of a sea turtle from a photo taken by our friend Melinda.

Saturday, Sally and I went to visit my old friend Raul, who owns the El Chipotle Latin Market and Restaurant in nearby Venice. I've known Raul since probably 2008, when I moved to Venice. Before I retired, he and I almost went into the restaurant business together, but we couldn't find a decent property at a decent price. Since then, he remodeled the back of his market into a small but functional three tables and a counter space, with some of the most authentic Latin food you'll find on the Gulf Coast. We had one of three combo platters, offering two tacos of choice and a Peruvian style Tamale wrapped in banana leaf rather than corn husks as they are in Mexico. We also ordered a side of rice and a side of beans. I had to beef tacos and Sally had one chicken and one pork. For $8.95 it was a real tasty meal deal!

The first night we went to dinner at the Gulf View Grill, near the southern end of the island. It's a great two story place with unparalleled sunset views from the second floor. We ate there last year when we visited Manasota, and returned again this year. Very good seafood with interesting preparations and selections.

The second night we went to another favorite place. This one in downtown historic Englewood; a pizza place called Bobarino's.  It's a really funky but fun place with interesting art on the walls and really good Italian-American food. Excellent thin crust pizza, calzones and stromboli.  One of our party had a serving of the hand-made noodle Lasagna Special -- it was -- no joke - bigger than 6" x 8" and nearly 3" thick!    I had the Bobarino Roll, similar to a stromboli, with ham, mushrooms, black olives and cheeses.  Yuuummm!

Sunday we went to a place called the Beach Road Wine Bar & Bistro. Interesting place... in the Chinese sense of the word. The ambiance was nice -- covered outdoor seating by the water. But the food was 'different'. Two friends had shrimp and grits, which were smothered under a bunch of salad-like toppings?????? Another had a quinoa salad which was declared 'fabulous'. Sally had swordfish with a cream sauce that was a bit too spicy. And I got the Hot & Spicy dish of the year! Granted it was marked HOT! But this was ridiculous!! 

 It was supposed to be shrimp mac & cheese with andouille sausage and an asiago cheese and wine sauce 'with jalapenos'. What I got was a watery thin 'cheese soup', with a handful of macaroni, a lot of andouille (which I love), and well over a cup full of sliced jalapenos!!! Now I don't mind some heat, but this was ridiculous. Bordering on gratuitously hot, I had trouble distinguishing any of the other flavors that were there -- and that was after I picked out every scrap of jalapeno! We agreed the atmosphere was nice but the food was a bit much. The associated Boutique got top marks from the ladies, though.

Tilapia

Tilapia is one of the aquaculture success stories of the last decade. Earlier attempts yielded somewhat soft, mushy fillets and bland, tasteless meat. But those days are gone. Properly farmed tilapia are firm and tasty, whether raised in in-ground ponds, or in raised steel/aluminum tanks. The techniques for feeding and otherwise raising first class meat fish are well known, and repeatable from farm to farm.

 

Harvest-size Blue Tilapia

We have two tilapia farms here in Fort Myers, and I had the pleasure of touring both of them last year. The one I'll tell you about today is Southern Fresh Farms, a "Fish & Farmer's Market" and Agricultural Park. They're at 8500 Penzance Blvd. www.Southern FreshFarms.com   Call them for a tour.

This is a "showcase" farm, with both in-ground and hydroponic cultivation. The water for the hydroponic plants comes from 'used', nutrient-rich tilapia growing tanks, which are refreshed constantly while the used water is piped directly to the plants. They have seasonally themed activities for kids and grown-ups alike. They offer for sale whole or filleted fish, fresh veggies (in particular hydroponic greens), local honey, a playground, a fish pond with pier, a petting farm, and an informal restaurant serving fish sandwiches and tacos and more. If you're in town, stop by and try some of their fabulous goodies.

Tilapia are commonly grown in 3000-5000 gallon tanks; usually round or oval rather than square. Tilapia are nest breeders and if you give them corners they'll build nests and make baby fish. And they'll keep making baby fish until the tank is massively overpopulated and the size of the fish drops. With round tanks you keep the fish swimming around, which makes them nice and firm, and you control the breeding by placing or removing 'nesting cormers' so that the usual fish is 1.5-1.75 pounds which yields two nice half-pound fillets.

 

A properly densely populated tank of Red Tilapia

Next week I'll be back with more interesting recipes and foods for you to try.