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Florida: Fun, Voodoo, Food and Sex
By Andrew Zimmern on October 20, 2009 12:00 PM | Permalink | 10 Comments
My favorite shows for Bizarre World and Bizarre Foods are always the domestic shows. There is something thrilling about uncovering a piece of the world for the rest of us to see and experience, and when that corner of our planet is right next door, and the people profiled are our friends, neighbors and family ... it's even more exciting.
Going drag for a Sunday Gospel Brunch at Lips in Fort Lauderdale, getting wet with the mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs, diving for sponge off the coast of Tarpon Springs, drag racing against the cops at the Countyline Dragway near Medley, experiencing the seeming fakery of a voodoo possession performance inside a popular botanica in Little Haiti, dining on superb food at Chez le Bebe and prowling the Everglades for frogs, pythons and gators were just some of the hot highlights of a killer show ... but as always, Florida after-dark and behind the scenes provides even more local color than I ever imagined, Florida may be the Bizarre capital of the world.
Any one been to Miami recently? It's part Fawlty Towers, part Sodom & Gomorrah. Very little works here as it does in the rest of our country. The city is truly on Island Time (especially in the service industries), and everything from the reservationists in restaurants to the front desk staff at the hotels, from the cabbies to the baristas, everyone seems to be here for a reason other than the job at which point you intersect with them. Many want to be in the nightclub, music or overwhelmingly overt sex industry. I know of no other American city with so many publicly touted sex clubs, and on the streets of South Beach you can see dozens of would be internet skin flick producers trying to rustle up content and sign up talent. Lincoln Road has become to the XXX industry what The Valley in LA was a decade ago. Miami has some of the craziest people watching in the universe, even outpacing Vegas in some categories.
For me, I still love the food scene in Miami and my list of fave eateries includes:
Joe's Stone Crab -- a classic, not to be missed.
La Carreta and Versailles -- two awesome old school Flo-Cubano eateries. Don't miss the roasted pig at Versailles.
Michaels Genuine Food and Drink -- in the Design District. I love this joint. Simple and unpretentious, last time I was there I had the black grouper, a killer piece of fish.
Michy's -- Michelle Bernstein's simple food style is nice, no big news flashes in this Biscayne Blvd restaurant, but the food and vibe are welcoming and you always want to go back. The fried chicken is a must.
Nobu -- at the Shore Club in Miami Beach. I can't get enough of Nobu Matsuhisa's food and this location is the one that is the most casual of any of his restaurants. In stone crab season (fall to early winter) the chefs here do a great job turning claws into edible works of art that taste even better than they look if you can believe it.
Azul -- in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. This restaurant is fancy, but the food is accessible Asian-Mediterranean with a Floribbean kick. Sounds like a restaurant I would hate just writing that sentence but the food is superb. The miso-marinated hamachi is awesome.
10 Comments
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- rolex: hi
- nathalie : Your show ROCKS!! i watch reruns over and over and it still amazes me every time :) More power...
- Alma : Andrew I am a huge fan of Bizzare Foods and Bizzare World. I watch your show every chance I...
- Endang: Thanks Andrew for visiting and let people in America especially to see beautifulness of Bali....
- Charlie: Chalk me up as one of those who was instantly made ill by watching this episode. The...
Dear Zim I enjoyed your show util you started acting out all of your closet asperations, save it, for your privite life!!! PS. YOU MIGHT SAVE YOUR VIEWERSHIP THAT IS UNINTERESTED IN YOUR LAYTENT HOMOSEXUALALITY.
I've seen about every episode of both series, and as amazed, intrigued, and on the rare occasion slightly repulsed as I am watching- this show tugged @ my soul. I have not been back to my native home in over 15 years(now living on the north western edge of the continent), and you managed to touch on some of the very important things that make Florida cool. I have gone giggin', and have frequented botanicas- and yep even known a few drag queens! I would look forward to seeing a second show- there's alot more bizarre down there fer sure! Hell, if ya'll go back, please take me with you! Keep it wierd Zim!
Dude! You looked like a tramped up Paula Deen on the Florida episode. Too funny!
I LOVED IT.... YOU WERE AWESOME.... I have never had a Str8 man as a Co-Hostess at Bitchy Bingo Before and not sure I ever will again.. (imagine a football player walk in a dress/choir robe LOL)however you touched my life, and thank you for bringing a Piece of Gospel Brunch and a Piece of Bitchy Bingo into the lives of others... FLORIDA is weird and I am Glad you made us apart of your Trip.
What fun ! Andrew, I commend you on not taking yourself so seriously -- that you can have a little 'dress-up' fun. After all, Halloween approaches ! I thought the drag get-up was a hoot. Seriously, you should check out the last scene in the February 1989 John Candy movie, "Who's Harry Crumb?" Go back and look at that, then look again at yourself in this episode again. An uncanny resemblance. You could've been twins ! Thanks for giving us a glimpse of the fun to be had in parts of Miami.
Kudos to you for doing a show about Florida and it's many bizarre aspects! Coming from a native, you only touched the surface of the crazy & amazing places to check out there. Next time you're down this way, you'll have to reach out to us locals and we'll take you to all the haunts that makes this state such a fun place to visit!
I just watched an episode of Bizarre Foods. and Florida is an awesome place just by touring through Google Street View.
DEAR ANDREW:
Pay no attention to John Petzold (comment #1 above). It's a common tactic among homophobes: If someone displays any empathy or appreciation for Gay people, that person must surely be Gay himself!
As for me, I'm glad you were game enough to "don the dress" yourself and join the perfomers onstage at that Florida drag caberet. No, you are not a "laytent" [sic] homosexual for doing so ... although after being a fan of Bizarre Foods and Bizarre World for so long, I will say that you are one big HAM.
Andrew....I can't believe you were at Lips. You can see the giant lipstick columns from my driveway. I have been there several times and love the food and the show (especially the appletinis made by David). You were a brave man to dress in drag! Thanks for the laughs!!! And by the way....dressing in drag DOES NOT mean you are gay!
Mr. Zimmern, I can do you one better as far as drag racing the "fuz" goes. I did it in real life in '93, '94. I was behind the wheel of my then boyfriend's Corvette in Royal Oak, MI, and was actually challenged by an officer of the law. We were sitting at a light next to him and as the light changed, he said "lets go!" I was hesitant, but my boyfriend told me to floor it and I did. I raced a cop in real life. We raced by ice cream stand at over 90 mph. He was laughing, I was laughing, and Mike (boyfriend) was laughing. It was a blast. We couldn't help but tell friends/family what we just did!