I love Gulfport, but I also love living near downtown St. Pete. I wouldn't want to live near downtown at all, but I do love that I can be there in less than 10 minutes (finding parking may take slightly longer.) The waterfront – which is public access, every bit – is, as the mayor said recently, a jewel. When I was in college, St. Petersburg's downtown was a place one did not go alone, or, really, at all. Things have changed, and I am thrilled. One of the things I do – and I really enjoy – is speak to people about my work re-tracing the tours from the WPA's Guide to the Southernmost State. I've lectured and taught at OLLI at Eckerd College for just over a year now, and I love it. There's something incredibly rewarding about having a group of students who attend your lecture...
READ MORE...Category Archives: Florida Food
Drink Local: Palm Ridge Reserve Whiskey
I first tasted Palm Ridge Reserve whiskey on the Vinoy Verandah in St. Petersburg. Only the reputation of the Vinoy persuaded me that Florida whiskey might be worth sipping straight; I’ve tasted Florida wines that could have powered farm equipment and feared the same stinging effect from our state’s whiskey.
The Vinoy, I assumed, would never embarrass itself with a low-end whiskey designed for college sophomores looking for a cheap buzz, so I opted to give the butterscotch-colored liquor a sip.
I was right, and my love affair with Palm Ridge Reserve whiskey began. This is not a shooting whiskey or a mixed drink whiskey; it is a choice whiskey for the connoisseur who drinks for taste, not effect. If you’re drinking to get drunk, stick with the mass-produced cheap... READ MORE... 
Sour Mix, the Not-So-Hard Way
I've done just about everything legal for money that doesn't involve pasties or board certification. One of those things included bartending. Behind the bar, I learned the proper way to make a martini (easiest thing ever, more so if you Hitchcock it), the secret to giving beer a good head of foam (hint: it involves straws), and that sour mix is simultaneously the ubiquitous mixer and the most vile thing you will ever drink.
Do you have a bottle of sour mix in your house? No? Good for you. You'll never need one again after this post. If you do, though, go get it. Go ahead. I'll wait.
<time passes>
Got it? Good. Look at the ingredients.
High fructose corn syrup (sugar),...