It may sound corny but it tastes good

Ordinarily this is a fine time of the year to live in Florida.

By CHRIS SHERMAN, Times Restaurant Critic

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 25, 2000

Could be a good time to eat here too, if -- a very big IF -- cooks at home and in restaurants remembered that we do grow a lot of food in between the beaches and interstates on the two coasts, and that our year is not a 12-month summer.

We do have seasons. Not the same as up North, yet farmers who follow them think some of our seasons are very good, even great in their own right. Just now we're winding up our biggest growing season, including our best tomatoes and the peak of my favorite Florida crop, sweet corn. So we don't grow morels, blood oranges or baby lettuces; we get good corn and we get it early.

I'm not the only corn lover. Americans have relished this original since before Columbus. It was also first on the plates of New American revolutionaries, who made fresh crab and corn chowder a summer staple in the 1980s. Corn on the cob is a genuine backyard favorite of anyone with teeth (or a good denture adhesive).

It's likely to be on every picnic table on Memorial Day: a perfect example of what gourmets call market cooking, using what's fresh and local.

Just don't hold your breath to see corn on most restaurant menus. That "seasonal medley" is the same it was in January and last August: broccoli, carrots and squash or maybe cauliflower.

Where's the corn?

I don't mean corn on the cob -- the Nibbler and most of you are happy to eat that in the back yard -- but with a little labor, fresh corn can be put to use plenty of ways off the cob. Shuck the ears, slice kernels off with a sharp knife, turn the knife over and run the dull side down the ear to get the rest of the corn and its "milk."

Here's free Nibbler advice -- and if your favorite restaurant doesn't try one of these, do it yourself with fresh corn off the cob:

Try it raw in a salad with basil and tomato.

Cooked corn, black beans, bell pepper and cilantro makes a fine salad or salsa.

Adding corn to crab, clam or almost any chowder is a fine idea; so is any kind of chowder, Brunswick stew or vegetable soup.

Saute corn and mushrooms, especially wilder ones, with rosemary for a woodsy flavor.

Serve corn straight with butter, cream, pepper and thyme.

Have a hot time in the backwoods with a stew of corn, tomatoes, okra and hot pepper.

Treat yourself to fresh succotash. It's nothing like canned: Combine corn with any kind of beans and tomatoes if you wish; add squash or pumpkin for the full trinity of Indian vegetables.

Toss corn in pancakes, muffins or corn bread, or make some corn pudding or spoon bread.

Good chefs already do this and much more. If you see fresh corn on the menu, order it and thank them for putting a little Florida on the plate.

Loafing along on 19

The tempting recipe of warm breadstuffs, hot coffee, cool graphics and cozy armchairs is becoming a welcome link in the chain food of our lives. Newest arrival is the Atlanta Bread Company Bakery Cafe, (30200 U.S. 19 N, Clearwater; 727-786-9447), and you can look for a second to open in Citrus Park later this year. ABC specializes in a daily rotation of freshly baked beads and soups; Friday sounds best to me: tomato Florentine, clam chowder and chicken tortilla. Plus sandwiches, salads, muffins, bagels, cookies, Danish, cheesecake and more, with prices for lunch items $2.99 to $5.59.

Meanwhile, Panera, the Nibbler-pleasing cafe in Brandon (Brandon Town Center; 813-653-3837) is ready to expand its local outlets. The first Pinellas location will open in Bardmoor this year; other locations in the works are Feather Sound, Palm Harbor, the USF/New Tampa area and near West Shore.

Luck and Providence

When Food & Wine magazine announced its list of best new chefs for 2000, there was no joy in Tampa Bay. Skunked again.

Almost none. There was one loud cheer in Palm Harbor over the names of Loren Falsone, husband Eric Moshier and their restaurant Empire (she does entrees; he does desserts)

Sorry, the year-old restaurant, renowned for hearty regional Italian food and classic desserts baked to order, is nowhere near here. It's in Providence, R.I., but Loren Falsone's dad, Richard, and a gang of relatives live in Palm Harbor and Tarpon Springs.

The chef herself grew up on Long Island, N.Y., and moved to Providence to attend the culinary program at Johnson & Wales University and work at Al Forno, although she has happy memories of vacation trips to Disney, Busch Gardens and the sponge docks before her father moved here.

Maybe some year, so many bright young chefs will choose to open sharp new restaurants around Tampa Bay that one will merit recognition and we won't have to admire from afar. In the meantime, if you're in Providence check out Empire (123 Empire St., Providence; 401-621-7911) to see what we're missing.

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