For many sports fans, the best part of college bowl season isn't just seeing your favorite team in one final big game but the respite that comes from December or January vacation in the warmer climes of Florida.
Here are just many of the things to do and places to eat while down in the Sunshine State.
Rising Star Karaoke in Orlando, Florida
Rising Star Karaoke is to your local watering hole what Universal Orlando Resort is to your local county fair rides. Sure, you've got something similar where you're from, but I promise you: You haven't seen anything like this.
At Rising Star, wannabe superstars get to live out their Guitar Hero fantasies with a limited playlist of big-time hits accompanied by a full band, backup singers and a raucous crowd. This isn't just a microphone and a monitor. This is your wildest daydreams come true.
Hit the Beach in Miami, Florida
Save Orlando, most of the places on this list are going to have top-notch beaches nearby. So, if heading to places near Clearwater Beach, St. Pete Beach, Atlantic Beach or just about any other coastal city in Florida, one should take a few moments to go see the ocean and stick some tootsies in some salt water.
That said, Miami is going to get the beach nod here because South Beach is an experience for so many other reasons than just nice sand.
Engine No. 9 in St. Petersburg, Florida
I kid you not, one of the best burgers of my life happened on accident (while watching the then-BCS Championship Bowl) at this little hole-in-the-wall in St. Petersburg, Florida. The burger in question that I chose was "The Van Helsing" which has roasted jalapenos, roasted garlic bulbs, pepper jack cheese and bacon. However, it's really impossible to go wrong with anything on their amazing selection.
Oh, and not for nothing…the beer selection is tops as well.
The Ravenous Pig and Cask and Larder in Orlando, Florida
My favorite restaurant on the list also takes top honors as my second-favorite place in the world right after my Lazy Boy after a hard day's work. The Orlando neighborhood of Winter Park is a little hipster and foodie paradise that seems oh-so-far away from mouse ears when one is nestled behind a plate of charcuterie with a Bacon-infused Old Fashioned or a craft beer brewed on site.
I've written about chef-owners James and Julie Petrakis before, but they're stepping up the game even more as of late, turning their restaurant empire into a bit of an enclave in Winter Park with multiple eateries and a provisions shop at which you can grab some goodies to take home with you.
Metro Diner in Jacksonville, Florida
Atlanta may be the city that people associate with Chicken and Waffles, but the best iteration of the dish this foodie has ever had belongs to a since-franchised joint that got its start in Jacksonville. At its best, the dish is something that not only contains the best of each single ingredient but also somehow melds into a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
To its credit, Metro Diner has phenomenal fried chicken (seriously, bib up for the juices), a great waffle, and ties it all together with sweet and savory Strawberry Butter and a spicy syrup. In short: Each piece wows you, and the entire dish will blow you away.
If somehow, that doesn't sound appetizing, the rest of the menu is chock full of traditional (yet, elevated) diner fare similarly expertly executed.
Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida
This list has cuisine and culture, but let's give it some class and a decent amount of kookiness with an art museum that is able to match its subject in both Avant-garde and interest-grabbing amusement. The Dali Museum is not just a building that houses his work, but a temple to his outlandish personality.
The most wonderful part of the Dali experience is that it caters both to those who love art and those who find simply staring at walls kind of boring.
Get The Cuban Sandwich in Tampa, Florida
Chances are, you know what a Cuban sandwich is: ham, roast pork, pickles, Swiss Cheese and mustard. It's that simple, right? Wrong.
A real Cuban sandwich has to have the right bread, and when I say "right," I don't just mean something arbitrarily labeled "Cuban" on your local grocer's shelves. The Cuban was made famous in the Tampa neighborhood of Ybor City, and to this day, the bread there is still what makes the sandwich anything more than a pretender to the throne.
Maple Street Biscuit Company in Jacksonville, Florida
Another Jacksonville restaurant that has made good and expanded to multiple locations in recent years, the Maple Street Biscuit Company simply does things the correct way. That means making the biscuits like grandma used to make (if your grandma happens to be awesome)-from scratch and where you can seem them. They source their ingredients from only the best farms and dairies and then put them together in ridiculously interesting combinations.
Pro Tip: You'll want to order "The Squawking Goat," which is fried chicken on a biscuit with a fried goat cheese medallion and altogether too much amazing pepper jelly that they make themselves. It's spicy, savory, buttery, crunchy, ooey, gooey, sweet, salty and everything else you can ask for-except for extra napkins, which you'll also need to subsequently ask for.
Hang out in Little Havana in Miami, Florida
La Pequeña Habana is something wholly different from the "Little [Insert Country Here]" areas you've been in before. They hold on to their culture not only out of remembrance but with a mandate to showcase a country and culture they would not have otherwise chosen to leave.
The food and drink? Amazing. The nightlife? Even better. The history is rich and drips from every porch and awning. The culture is amazing and will transport you 200 miles away though you are only moments from your hotel.
Grab a few drinks. Dance to your heart's content. Finish the night with a Medianoche. Thank me later.
Honestly, with a list like this, one should find a way to get back to Florida before the next big game.
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