Sunshine State Food Roadside Attractions
If your travel itineraries focus on a destination’s food scene, be sure to scout out culinary roadside attractions. While they may seem quaint or from another era, often they help us learn about local agriculture or other aspects of a region’s foodways. Florida has its share of food-based attractions which can feed your curiosity, and often your stomach.
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FLORIDA CITRUS TOWER 141 N. Hwy. 27, Clermont
Once one of the most famous landmarks of the Orlando area, this 226-foot-tall structure was built in 1956 as a tribute to Central Florida’s citrus industry and its lush subtropical groves. Ride to the top of the Tower for views of the rolling hills of Florida’s ridge section and hundreds of spring-fed lakes in the surrounding 8-county area.
ROBERT IS HERE FRUIT STAND 19200 Sw 344th St., Homestead
A family-owned and operated fruit stand specializing in rare and exotic fruits and vegetables mostly grown right there on their farms. The attraction includes an animal farm, play area and picnic tables.
FLORIDA AGRICULTURAL MUSEUM 7900 Old Kings Road N., Palm Coast
Established in 1983 to preserve Florida’s agricultural past, the museum is also active in the conservation of heritage livestock including rare Florida Cracker cattle, horses and sheep. Historic buildings on the property include the Old Post Office, Hewitt Sawmill, a 1920s dairy barn and a Cracker-style homestead.
FRUIT & SPICE PARK 24801 Sw 187th Ave., Homestead
A tropical botanical garden with more than 500 varieties of exotic fruits, herbs, spices and nuts from around the world, including 180 varieties of mangos, 70 varieties of bamboo, 40 varieties of bananas, 15 varieties of jackfruit trees and numerous other exotic edibles. The only public garden of its kind in the United States, the park is operated by the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department. Visitors can sample fallen fruit and arrangements can be made for collecting seeds and cuttings suitable for planting.
BIG BETSY, THE GIANT LOBSTER 86700 Overseas Hwy., Islamorada
Big Betsy just might be the world’s largest lobster. At 40 feet long and 30 feet tall, the big crustacean was intricately modeled after a spiny lobster in the 1980s by sculptor Richard Blaze to celebrate the species, which is native to the Florida Keys. Betsy is located at the Rain Barrel Artists’ Village in Islamorada and is a beloved creature of the Florida Keys.
BIG ORANGE 2265 N. Harbor City Blvd., Melbourne
The 15-foot wide concrete citrus fruit was originally used as an orange juice stand and now is a quirky landmark in front of the local Disabled American Veterans organization.
OLD SPANISH SUGAR MILL De Leon Springs State Park 601 Ponce De Leon Blvd., De Leon Springs
Built as a mill to crush sugar cane using water from the spring beside it, the property was given a second life as a restaurant when faced with possible demolition in 1961. Visitors sit at tables with griddles in the middle and make their own pancakes.
THE POSSUM MONUMENT State Highway 77, Wausau
According to the inscription on the monument, it was “erected in grateful recognition of the role the North American possum, a magnificent survivor of the marsupial family pre-dating the ages of the mastodon and the dinosaur has played in furnishing both food and fur for the early settlers and their successors. Their presence here has provided a source of nutritious and flavorful food in normal times and has been an important aid to human survival in times of distress and critical need.”
