On our last day in Florida, C insisted on taking me to one of Fort Myers' oldest haunts -- The State Farmer's Market. This place is straight out of the 50s, and serves old-fashioned fare to a contingent of workmen and locals.
Our lunch for four included meat loaf for Mom, fried catfish for Dad, country fried steak for C & top round for me. Now, If you hadn't gotten the idea already, nearly every meal we had in Florida came with a ridiculous number of "sides."
State Farmer's takes it to a whole new level--with each entree, you choose three side dishes from the sixteen available. Yup, you read that right. That picture up there is one of them. It's a corn fritter, kind of like a fresher, whole corn hush puppy. And man, was it good. The corn kernels burst with sweet fresh corn flavor, balancing the heavy batter quite a bit.
The Fried Catfish was pretty tasty and very tender, though I have to admit I haven't really developed a taste for this murky fish yet. Plus, I have that crazy phobia about fish bones, so I really only took one bite. That said, I guess I was expecting something battered, but this had only the lightest flour coating. Very nice.
C's Country-fried Steak was really good. Believe it or not, CFS is one of my favorite southern foods, and I actually hadn't ever had it in the SOUTH. It was slathered in brown gravy which was very, very beefy and mushroomy. Yum.
Mom's Meatloaf was really yummy. Meatloaf is one of those foods that I can really appreciate because my mom never made it when I was growing up. So, good meatloaf is really a revelation to my tastebuds. The mashed potates were OK, but the black-eyed peas were really, really good.
And finally, my Top Round. This was a big slab of slow-roasted cow, slathered in that same mushroomy gravy. I was happiest with my choice of sides. the Mac & Cheese was as good as any I've had, the Collard Greens were pungent and full of ham-hock bits and the Okra & Tomatoes... I still think of those. I wish I could recreate them. The okra was crisp, not slimy but "slippery", exactly as it should be. I could have eaten twice my share, but Dad was the only other person who ordered it, and I didn't want to steal his.
State Farmer's Market is a must-try place if you love country and southern cooking. Personally, I'd love to try their breakfasts: their biscuits & gravy seem to be something of a legend.
State Farmer's Market Restaurant
2736 Edison Avenue
Fort Myers, FL 33916
239.334.1687
