Take a culinary trip to Cuba without leaving the United States

You’ve come to Miami for the nightlife and those stunning beaches, but you’re also here for the food. Step outside your vacation rental home and walk, bike, or take an electric golf cart tour through Little Havana and sample until you’re sated.

Here are just a sampling of guided food tours that will get you started on your road to finding Cuban delicacies like medianoche sandwiches and croquetas in Miami, Florida.

Miami Culinary Tours

This company was featured in Bon Appetit magazine’s travel specialists. It has been rated as the number 1 food tour in Miami for seven consecutive years. The Little Havana food tour is one of several they offer. It includes 5 restaurant stops and a guided cultural tour. The tour is guided by a local and includes a blending of historical, architectural, and cultural experiences with a behind-the-scenes culinary introduction into the best cuisine the area has to offer. It takes you through 8 short city blocks and lasts approximately 2.5 hours. The tour is $59 per adult and $49 for children 8 to 13 years. Tastings equal a full meal. Tours depart daily at 12:30 p.m. from 1652 SW 8th Street in Miami.

Gray Line Miami Food Tours

A local guide takes you to 6 food stops with tastings at each location. The tour can be customized for vegetarians, just let them know upon booking. Bookings must be 24 hours in advance. This is a kid-friendly tour, but if you’re children won’t be eating, let them know upon booking. The tour is $59 per person and operates Saturdays at 12:30. Tours meet in front of the Agustina Gainza Arts Gallery on 1652 SW 8th Street in Miami.

Miami Food Tours

There are 2 tour options from this company, which received the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence in 2016. A SoBe Tour des Forks walking tour or a Swooped with Forks tour on an electric golf cart. Each of these guided tasting tours take you on a culinary adventure through Miami’s famous neighborhoods. You’ll get delicious food, drinks tastings, plus historical and architectural sights.

The walking tour takes 3 hours and runs every day from 11am to 4:30pm. It costs $58 per person. The electric golf cart tour takes 3.5 hours and runs Mondays through Fridays at 10:30am. It costs $129 per person.

Little Havana Bike and Food Tour

Dynamic Cuban cuisine is paired with a fascinating history in this guided biking food tour. It’s an easy 8-mile bike ride tour that takes approximately 3.5 hours and begins and ends on Miami Beach. Your guide will take you past several family-owned and operated Cuban restaurants to sample local cuisine and learn about the history and Cuban heritage of Miami. Tours cost $69 per person.

Taste of Little Havana Bike Tour

Sample homemade dishes from appetizers to desserts in this biking food tour. The food is prepared by family-run Cuban restaurants and the guide is local. This biking food tour lasts about 4 hours. It takes you on an easy 11-mile bike ride through Little Havana. Tours start at 10:30am and leave from 401 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami. Though an easy ride, this tour isn’t recommended for children.

Get Adventurous by Gobbling Gator in Orlando

Sprinkled amidst the urban jungle of Orlando are numerous restaurants to please those seeking to dine outside the box. If you are amongst this adventurous underground dining crowd, consider visiting one or more of the restaurants offering alligator as a star menu item.

Alligator has a flavor similar to, you guessed it, chicken and the consistency of pork. This exotic protein can be interpreted in various ways to please and delight even the pickiest of eaters. Take a stroll from your vacation villa and explore the flavors of the south with some authentic and unique cuisine.

Rides with a Side of Gator at Gatorland Theme Park

Inside Gatorland theme park the smell of fried food beckons guests through the doors of Pearl’s Smokehouse. This vintage treasure has been around since 1991 and has established itself as a staple for American foods. After working up an appetite on the zip line and other attractions, Pearl’s is the place for classic comfort food like burgers, hotdogs, pulled pork, enormous turkey legs, and most notably, delicious gator. Named after the founder’s wife, Pearl Godwin, hungry eaters travel for miles to grab a taste of their signature gator nuggets, which are served hot and crispy to hungry visitors.

Flavors from the Gods

Just minutes away from the Orlando metro, Café Tu Tu Tango offers a variety of gluten-free and vegetarian options along with their classic menu. For the adventurous eater, two offerings of alligator are on the menu to tantalize your taste buds. Their Florida Gator Dip appetizer includes gator that has been braised with house pimiento and fresh key lime, or their Spiced Alligator Bites entrée comes with local Florida gator and a zesty key lime mustard for dipping. If gator isn’t your game on this trip, feel free to sample from their cornucopia of fusion dishes that are sure to please even the pickiest eater.

When in Doubt, Barbecue!

Including virtually every type of meat on its barbecue-themed menu, Bubbalou’s Bodacious BBQ on Kirkman Road requires a large appetite and a zest for the unique. Start with Mac and Cheese Bites, Fried Okra, and their Gator Bites for an authentic southern meal that is both filling and delicious. Be sure to save room for a sweet treat, because their delicious homemade brownies and assorted cupcakes are worth every delicious calorie.

Classic Cuisine

If a more sophisticated ambiance is what you seek, A Land Remembered Restaurant features a classic menu using prime cuts from both land and sea. With photo-worthy presentation and a penchant for fine ingredients, this elegant eatery adds flair to classic dishes such as oysters, scallops, and lobster bisque. If gator is your mission, look no further than their delicious and hearty Gator Creek Stew with white beans and greens. With diced bits to utilize the gator’s texture to the fullest, this chowder-like stew is a popular favorite.

Whether you are traveling with family or your most fashionable friends, venture into the unknown by dining on the unusual and exotic protein that is alligator. Even those who just want a sample can split a side of one of many delectable dishes that is sure to please. For the freshest ingredients and unique interpretations, Orlando is sure to please by just taking a few steps outside of your vacation villa.

James Beard Foundation 2017 Restaurant and Chef Semi-Finalists

It’s been called the Oscars of the North American food world. In February, the prestigious James Beard Foundation released their list of semi-finalists for the 2017 Restaurant and Chef Awards.

Get to Know the James Beard Foundation

The explosion of food knowledge over the past decade means that James Beard is a household name. The late James Beard was a cookbook author and teacher with an expansive knowledge of food. Today, his not-for-profit foundation offers diverse programs including educational initiatives and training as well as the yearly food industry awards.

How Are Semifinialists Chosen

Each October the James Beard Foundation has an open, online call where anyone can submit up to two entries per category. The foundation’s restaurant and chef awards committee includes critics, writers, and editors who produce the list of semifinalists. The list is voted on by former Beard Award winners, Restaurant and Chef Award Committee members, and other regional panelists. Judges cast their votes and the five semifinalists with the highest number of votes in each category advance to become the nominees.

The James Beard finalists will be announced on March 15 and the winners will be honored at the James Beard Awards Gala on May 1.

Ten 2017 semi-finalists call Florida home, which means no matter where your vacation rental home is located, you’re never far from a memorable dining experience. Here’s the official list of Florida’s 2017 James Beard Award semi-finalists by city.

Miami

Getting a nod for Best Chef in the South category is Deme Lomas from NIU Kitchen. He is the executive Chef and Managing Partner of this eclectic Catalan style kitchen that plays with regional ingredients to make them extraordinary.

Brad Kilgore with Alter got his second nomination for Rising Star of the Year. Alter’s cuisine is focused on locally-sourced, seasonal Florida ingredients. Chef Brad Kilgore offers a tasting menu that changes daily.

KYU was nominated for Best New Restaurant. Chef Michael Lewis and General Manager Steven Haigh offer a diverse wood-fired and Asian-inspired menu.

Zak Stern of Zak the Baker  was nominated for Outstanding Baker. His traditional artisan baked goods can also be found in various Whole Foods and farmer’s markets around Florida.

Tampa

Ferrel Alvarez of the Rooster & the Till was nominated for Outstanding Baker. Not just a baker, Chef Ferrell is the creative force behind the restaurant’s locally-focused modern American cuisine.

Richard Gonzmart of Columbia Restaurant Group was nominated for Best Restaurateur. His restaurants include Spanish-style The Columbia, Floridian Native American-inspired Ulele, and the revamped vintage burger joint Goody Goody.

Clearwater

Best Chef, South nominated Christopher Ponte  is the classically-trained French chef behind Café Ponte’s modern American café.

Orlando

Kathleen Blake of The Rusty Spoon was nominated for Best Chef, South. At the Rusty Spoon Chef Kathleen creates locally-sourced American food with European roots.

Palm Beach

Clay Conley was nominated for Best Chef, South. His Florida hot spots include Buccan, which offers small plates that include locally-sourced ingredients with big flavors and Imoto that shares the small plate focus only with an Asian flair.

Winter Park

Best Chef, South Brandon McGlamery of Luma on Park offers an upscale, casual American menu inspired by local ingredients.