Gerry Goldwyre's North American Adventure

 

MasterChef winner, chef and architect, Gerry Goldwyre and his wife Susan are on a year's trip to America discovering all that's best about food and cooking along the way.

TEXAS TO TAMPA

Well this is the start of our long run home. Dallas, the home of the cowboys, is fading in my rear view mirror. The bitter cold overnight has been replaced by rain. Not any old rain, this is west coast rain in November. Yuck. The papers were brimming with the news of the Iraqi election and this is something to tune into on the long drive through Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.

We stopped at a Holiday Inn Express in the Louisiana town called Natchitoches. It looked pretty tired and drab in the rain but I’m sure it is a lovely old historic town. We could not easily find a decent restaurant here so we used our stock of Wholefoods (do check this super supermarket out if you are visiting the US - Ed.) goodies to prepare our lunch. Good bread with organic chicken, fresh mayo and chilli salsa. You can’t beat a good sandwich with no hydrogenated fats in sight. Speaking of the dreaded fats, we read recently that all of the restaurants in Tiburon, San Francisco, have got together and agreed to a total ban all hydrogenated fats. I hope the UK will do the same.

Next stop was Baton Rouge near New Orleans. The rain is so heavy that several Mardi Gras events were cancelled. Then it was full steam ahead to Destin, in north Florida. Here the quality of food takes a quantum leap when we are advised to go to The Old Bay Steamer and ask for CJ. The seafood was outstanding and no deep fat fryer in sight. CJ the owner was a very interesting person with a wealth of art work on display in her funky restaurant. We have a saying in UK for someone like CJ. She is Reading, two stops down the line from Barking. I’m sure she would have an equivalent description of me.

Next we moved on to Carrabelle. Miles of white sandy beaches and I make some fresh hummus for our picnic lunch. The rain has moved away and it is now sunny and 70 deg F. Good to have a kitchen in our accommodation. The cooking equipment and food stocks have been increasing all year making it easy for me to produce fresh food at times of need. Whilst in Carrabelle we find a local bar to watch the Superbowl. The locals arrange a “bring your own food” and we take some home made burgers. Great way to meet people and enjoy the game.

Gerry Dressed for Florida

Longboat Key was our next destination to meet up with Steve and Lynn Blackledge. Longboat Key is just south of Tampa and it is a pretty island close to the town of Sarasota. Steve and Lynn both love good food and are well travelled and educated. They are great fun and fitness fanatics. Well what else do you expect from the readers of Discover The Taste newsletter? We eventually prise ourselves away from Longboat Key and head for The Everglades and The Keys, including Key West, the southernmost point in the USA. But not before I prepare dinner for Lynn and Steve and a group of their friends. See the recipes accompanying this article. I think they are some of the best.

Whilst in Key West we spend the time looking at the myriad of shops and restaurants. Imagine New Orleans and Las Vegas with a positive ttitude to life and mix in some funky characters and life style and you have Key West. Maybe add a dash of Cuba to make it complete. Oh and bake in the sun until done.

One really good restaurant that I can recommend in Key West was the Italian called Opera. Not too expensive and really good Italian food. Pasta cooked perfectly and cream sauces that were light and bursting with flavour. Mains cost about £12 - £15 and a bottle of really good Rioja reserva was £23 and worth every penny. Of course our pounds are going a long way these days, so get across here and enjoy the exchange rate.

After our last dalliance with the beaches and laid back life style, we head back up to Longboat Key. On our first day back with Steve and Lynn (I think they were pleased to see us again) we are whisked off to Pattigeorge’s restaurant. I had miso glazed Chilean Sea Bass and this was stunning. One to nick for our restaurant. I always have Sea Bass according to Sue but then she always has Green lipped mussels and guess what was on PG’s menu that night - Thai style. I tasted the dish and I was torn between my own Sea Bass and this heavenly combination of Thai spices with mussels.

Back in Longboat Key, I had been asked to speak at a dinner event for the Caledonian Foundation and the heads of a collection of Scottish Societies. By all accounts this went well and we enjoyed meeting these "Scotphiles".

On our last day in Longboat we are taken to The Colony restaurant overlooking the white sandy beaches . The sun was setting when we arrived and a wedding on the beach completed the romantic picture from our table (the best in the house). The food was extremely good.

Roasted red pepper remoulade appeared with crab cakes and a coriander coulis. Had to have that. Specials for the entrée included fillet of snapper with puy lentils in a red wine sauce with bacon and a frisee salad. Presentation was outstanding so we photographed all the dishes, apart from the desserts. They must have been camera shy and we scoffed them without thinking. The night finished at the piano bar with the player/singer taking requests. Our request? “King of the Road” Well what did you expect? A great night with great friends, sadly all good things come to an end.

The Piano Bar

 

I am excited to get back and start cooking in earnest again, especially all these new food combos. Did I tell you about the gazpacho with a hint of rum? That’s another "must do" in the Water Tower restaurant.

I am glad I made the commitment to the travel dairy books. I have 13 of these now and they are coming back in my hand luggage such is the wealth of info inside them. Trust that some of you readers will be guinea pigs for all the new food ideas? Book for our evening at the Water Tower >>

If anyone is keen to read more on our trip, our daily diary is posted on our website