Located on the Gulf Coast, with good harbors, Pensacola has access to a wide variety of fresh seafood, and many restaurants in the area proudly use fresh-caught fish and shellfish in their meals. Red snapper is bountiful in the waters here, but good luck finding it; most of it is shipped to New York City, where it can fetch a higher price. Locals in the know often hit the docks when the fishing ships come in, when a small bribe can net you a beautiful snapper at bargain prices. Gulf shrimp are cheap and plentiful here, and most dining establishments have it on the menu in some form or another. Mullet fish are an oily, strong-flavored species of fish, popular only because of its dirt-cheap price. It can be bought for a dollar a pound, and is always served deep-fried, like catfish; locals often eat the tails like they eat potato chips. And although Pensacola is a little late to the raw fish party, incredible sushi can be found here, made with fish caught from the docks.
Being in the southern United States, Pensacola also features many restaurants that specialize in traditional southern cooking; having grits, a ground corn porridge, for breakfast is a source of pride for many Southerners. Pecans and peanuts are grown by many farmers in the Florida panhandle, and Pensacolians put them to good use in pecan pie, pecan ice cream, roasted peanuts, and especially cajun-spiced boiled peanuts. And all this southern food is washed down with sweet iced tea; the best places boil sugar and water into a syrup, and add this to their brewed iced tea, along with oranges or lemons to make a true Southern-style sweet tea.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Pensacola
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Pensacola - updated Apr 2024
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Pensacola Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
