My Rant for Today Elizabeth Dougherty I’m tired and I can’t take it anymore. I’m tired of food critics bashing Florida food, instead of finding the best examples of it. I’m tired of Florida being compared to California and New York. Our food is different here. It is based upon over a century of immigration. From the Spaniards, to the Minorcans, to the Cubans and the Italians, everyone brought something to the culinary table. We also have influences from the French and South America. The Caribbean is another hybrid of all of those influences. And in case you haven’t heard, we don’t care how you do it up North, or anywhere else. This is Florida regional food. Recently, Laura Reiley, the St. Petersburg Times food critic who previously worked at the San Francisco Chronicle, unabashedly bashed our local heritage and cuisine. She may not have realized it, so let me explain further. Deviled crabs have been a part of the Tampa Bay region’s dining options for more than a century. They are served on many a menu here. Some are good and some are bad. The fact remains that this little dish is important to folks here, just like Eggs Sardou are in Louisiana and shrimp on grits are in South Carolina. All of these dishes are fattening and we really don’t need to hear a lecture on that either. That’s not your job. When you take a step from being a critic of the restaurant to a critic of the dish, there is a problem. Add to that the assertion that apparently we are given a break because we are not one of those “great” food cities like New York, and maybe you get a sense of the inflated sense of importance restaurant reviewers are giving themselves these days. Here’s an idea. Why don’t we raise the litmus test of who can be a critic? What is their training in food? In most cases, the answer is none. They have never prepared food in a commercial kitchen, nor do they understand what it takes to serve a packed dining room each day and evening. Yet, they are permitted to walk into an establishment and decide ultimately whether it lives or dies. Quite frankly, I think the bar should be raised for them. Yes, I am criticizing the critic and I would give very few of them more than 1 star. Do us a favor and educate yourself about the food and history here before you write about it. Understand where we came from and why we cook the things we do. Please don’t move here from some other city and try to compare us to how wonderful things were (in your mind) where you came from. And if you don’t like it here, please leave. Elizabeth Dougherty is a resident of St. Petersburg and has been a freelance writer and culinarian for more than 10 years.

My friend Jose and I were talking the other day about the need for more locally available seafood. Realizing our future depends on the use of the products at hand, we tried to figure out why we don't have more local fish mongers and fishermen bringing in fresh seafood on a daily basis. We have a bay and ocean teaming with wonderful seafood, many docks and ports, so whats the hold up? Well, there's not a community awarness that supports the fishermen being able to create this market. We chefs, owners, cooks, foodies, and consumors must band together and make this happen. I can speak for many chefs who would love to wake up before dawn, go to the docks and pick out fresh seafood for the evenings menu. 'Local and sustainable' is not a trend or a catch phrase, it's common sense. We must do our best to support our local ecosystem by purchasing local vegetation, meats and seafood. So let's put our heads together and figure this out. Other cities are doing it every day, and some of them aren't even on an ocean. I'ts up to this community to find a way to make this happen. I would like to propose a fund raising effort to support the local fishermen and help them to open up this market, find a place where they can bring their daily catch, help them create new jobs and sustain production and business. I can't do this alone and I will need your help, if you have any ideas, comments, for or against this topic, please share. Simply raising awarness at this time is a good start. There is no need to over fish any one species when nature provides us with what we need in our won back yard. I've talked the talk for years and now I would like to live it. Thanks for your time-and always support local businesses,tk.

First blog on 'Fork and Tongue'. Thanks for the great feedback. We will be updating the site according to your additions. Please help us bring Bay area information and experiences to others. We want to showcase the Bay area restaurant scene. This is YOUR site so use it for promoting yourself, your business, your skills, or whatever you wish. We can post profiles and resume's. There will be also information and sharing about food scenes outside the bay as well. Use for fun, networking, or bringing your own ideas into the community. Anyone of any background can be involved. We look foward to your input and comments. Thanks again,TK.