(Key Largo, Fla.) The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA) is proud to present this week’s episode of Emeril’s Florida airing Sunday, January 24, 2016, at 2:30 p.m. EST on the Cooking Channel. In Sunday’s episode, “Seafood Shacks” celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse visits three of the great seafood shacks around the state, including: Star Fish Company, Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen and Crazy Fish Bar & Grill. Emeril rounds out the episode preparing Crab Jalapeno “Hot Pot,” Garlic and Lemon Toasts.
“Seafood is synonymous with Florida and is absolutely a Sunshine State staple,” said Carol Dover, President and CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. “We are thrilled Emeril is highlighting some of our favorite seafood shacks that viewers are sure to savor as they book their next trip to our great state.”
On this episode, Emeril’s first stop is the Star Fish Company, a waterfront shack in the fishing village of Cortez on the West Gulf Coast that sells fresh fish and serves up some of the best seafood in the area. They also operate a long standing fish house next door that sells seafood around the world. Located on a dock along the Sarasota Bay, Star Fish Company thrives on its laid-back atmosphere. It is cash only and has outdoor picnic table seating where the food is served in white cardboard boxes. Emeril sits down with owner Karen Bell to try some of the catch of the day including Blackened Grouper; Shrimp/Oyster Po’ boy; Soft Shell Crab; Fried Gulf Shrimp; and Mullet Two Ways.
Next Emeril heads to the Florida Keys to Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen. It’s a quirky seafood shack founded in 1976 and located along the famous Overseas Highway in Key Largo. It is a local and visitors favorite and Emeril sits down with owner Angie Wittke and samples some of her signature dishes including Caribbean Lobster; Bahamian Conch Salad; Kickin’ Local Blue Crab Cake BLT; Lionfish Français with Seasonal Vegetables; and Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen “World Famous” Key Lime Pie.
Then Emeril visits Crazy Fish Bar & Grill, a seafood shack located in the middle of the state that’s far from either coast, but still serving up some of the freshest seafood around. It was a dive bar before owners Jim and Jean Christensen took it over and renovated both the building and the menu. They sat down with Emeril to share some of their signature dishes including Florida Gulf Shrimp Basket; Captain Crunch Grouper Sandwich served with Sweet Fries and Key Lime Dipping Sauce; Whole Yellowtail Snapper; Barracuda with Cranberry Chipotle Sauce & Florida Fried Green Tomatoes.
The show reruns on Monday, January 25 at 9:30 a.m. EST and Thursday, January 28 at 10:30 a.m. EST. Please check local listings.
Emeril’s Florida Season Four is a 13-episode series highlighting the Sunshine State through the eyes of Emeril on-location with a focus on food, cooking, events and activities around the state. Throughout the fourth season, Emeril will be visiting Florida’s top restaurants and resorts. He will also prepare some of his favorite recipes which often will feature some of the best seafood Florida has to offer. The FRLA and VISIT FLORIDA sponsor the series. For additional information on the series, including links to previous episodes, please go to the Cooking Channel website here. For a preview of Sunday’s episode, click here.
Editor’s Note: For photo and video requests of Emeril Lagasse with personnel from Star Fish Company, Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen and Crazy Fish Bar & Grill, photos of signature menu items and recipes of featured dishes, please contact Elizabeth Ray at [email protected] or 850.224.2250 x255.
About the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association FRLA is Florida’s premier non-profit hospitality industry trade association. Our mission is to ‘Protect, Educate and Promote’ Florida’s $82 billion hospitality industry which represents 23% of Florida’s economy and more than 1.1 million employees – making it the state’s number one industry. We offer regulatory compliance and food safety training needs (RCS and SafeStaff®); industry developed career-building high school programs (FRLAEF); sponsor the only event in Florida exclusively serving the restaurant and foodservice industry (FR&L Show, September 27-29, 2016 in Orlando); and we safeguard the needs of the hospitality industry by providing legislative advocacy. We represent and serve more than 10,000 independent and household name members, suppliers, and theme parks. For more information, go to www.FRLA.org and find us on Twitter @FRLAnews, Facebook and YouTube.