Florida Grouper Sandwich appears as a signature dish in 2 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Florida grouper sandwich · Orlando
Florida grouper sandwich is fresh Gulf or Atlantic grouper, blackened or fried golden, on a buttered brioche bun with lettuce, tomato, tartar sauce and a pickle spear.
Grouper is Florida's signature white fish, pulled from the Gulf and Atlantic by commercial fleets out of Madeira Beach, Tarpon Springs and the Florida Keys since the late 1800s. The grouper sandwich rose to fame in the 1970s as Florida tourism opened coastal seafood shacks; it became the canonical lunch order across the state by the 1990s. Florida-leaning Orlando rooms run the sandwich heavy in the summer and switch to imported grouper offseason: The Boathouse at Disney Springs, Canvas at Lake Nona and many Mills 50 lunch counters carry the canonical version.
Where to eat in Orlando:
- The Boathouse
- Canvas Restaurant and Market
- SoCo Restaurant
Florida grouper sandwich · Tampa
Fresh Gulf grouper, fried or grilled or blackened, on a toasted brioche or Cuban bun with tartar sauce, lettuce, tomato and lemon. The Tampa Bay regional.
The Florida grouper sandwich is the Gulf Coast regional fish sandwich, anchored on the daily catch from Madeira Beach and St Petersburg fish markets. Frenchy's Cafe in Clearwater Beach claims the regional benchmark since 1981, with the Original Grouper Sandwich on a kaiser roll. Tampa restaurants (Ulele, Doc Ford's, Half Moon Seafood at Sparkman Wharf) all carry versions through grouper season.
Where to eat in Tampa:
- Ulele
- Half Moon Seafood Company
- The Rusty Pelican
- Wright's Gourmet House