Hidden Treasures: Daffy Doug’s in the Florida Keys

by Gadling Staff on

It may not look like much from the outside: a block building with the typical tropical scene painted on the side. But once you enter Daffy Doug’s you will wonder why you’ve never stopped there before.

At first you think this little building on US 1 at mile marker 50 in the Florida Keys is just a tourist trap like any other. While it does have souvenirs (at a surprisingly un-tourist-trap price), it is also a well-stocked grocery store and a dollar store with all your household essentials.

Just when you think you have seen it all, keep walking. The far side of the building is the fishing section with a larger array of rods, reels and tackle than the local tackle shop has.

The best part of Daffy Doug’s is that you never know what they will have available; their stock is ever changing.
When you go to Daffy Doug’s, buy a few gifts for the family back home, pick up the kitchen utensil you need but refuse to pay a premium price for, get a cold drink, wander the fishing section, but by all means, do not leave without buying a mango. At $1 a piece (like most things in this unusual dollar store) they are the best in the Keys.

Connie McBride is a Seed.com contributor.

EAT, STRAY, LOVE: Italy, Tuscany, and the Maremma

by Gadling Staff on

With the release of another popular film set in Italy, people worldwide know of the country’s most luscious region: Tuscany. But few realize the Mediterranean Sea skims along the classic wine and olive region, and combines sensational flavors with unforgettable views.

Here, find three ways to enhance the Italian culinary adventure and traveler’s delight, in the unforgettable Maremma region, nestled into the southern coastline of renowned Tuscany.

EAT
In Italy, it is impossible to miss the food and drink. Even the least-interested traveler can find a meal to please. But for the food-lover, Tuscany’s southwestern Maremma region borders the Mediterranean Sea and offers wine and olives with an additional alluring treat: fresh seafood.

What to do: Seek out a local olive oil producer (in Canino) and wine producer (Montepulciano and Chianti among others), and venture along the Mediterranean coast, where the blue Sea washes up to greet the Tuscan hills. Stop at one of the coastal restaurants to enjoy the unspoiled coast and its culinary treasures.

What to try: the excellent local Maremma wine, Morellino di Scansano, a local seafood and pasta specialty, spaghetti allo scoglio, accompanied by the local sheep cheese called pecorino.

STRAY
With cities like Siena, and Florence, and Pisa, Tuscany has its legs rooted in the artistic Renaissance. But venture off the worn path a bit, and you’ll discover the colors of the countryside, the irresistible wandering landscape striped with vineyards, checkered with olive groves, and punctuated with ruins dipped in history.

What to do: Visit the ancient Etruscan ruins in Etruria or Pecorino, or stop at one of the many castle ruins or fortress towns located high on the hills.

What to try: If in Sovano, touring Città del Tufo, plan to eat at nearby La Taverna Etrusca, for its romance and excellent food. The smiles and dialogue in Italian as the owner brings out each savory dish is most memorable.

LOVE
In Tuscany, every road leads through vast fields of grazing sheep or cattle, or cultivated with olive groves and vineyards. The colors and lines as they play across the landscape mesmerize with unsurpassed beauty. This richness of experience, the slower pace of life found in enjoying the simple pleasures, like a glass of wine or a good coffee … this is the Italy that does not leave even after the traveling is over. Long after the bottles of wine and olive oil have run dry, the irresistible flavors of Tuscany linger, and lure the traveler back again.

What to do: Stay in an Agriturismo villa, for an authentic stay in Tuscany.

This traveler will be returning to Tuscany’s Maremma in autumn, for the olive harvest. My family and I can’t wait to venture back into Italy for another refreshing week savoring the flavors and walking the coast and countryside.

Jennifer Lyn King, a native Texan, lives in the Czech Republic, where she writes from her home near Prague. She is the author of The One Year Mini for Busy Women. Read her blog on Red Room. All the photos above are copyright Jennifer Lyn King.

Sting opens organic farm store in Tuscany

by Laurel Miller on

Is every little thing he does magic (sorry)? Mother Nature Network announced that Sting and wife Trudie Styler just celebrated the opening of their new farm store, on their 16th century Tuscan estate near Florence. The couple have quietly been producing wine, olive oil, acacia and chestnut honey, and salumi on the 900-acre property for a number of years. Until now, however, the products were only available at select outlets in the U.K. and U.S.. The property also hosts yoga retreats.

At Tenuta il Palagio, travelers, food lovers, Police fans, and…tantric yogists…can get a taste of these farmstead products. In 2009, Sting told ecorazzi, “I came here and I decided to stay and be a farmer…also because I wanted to nourish my family with genuine quality products in a healthy environment. Everyone knows about my environmental commitment, especially to the rain forests in South America. With this business in Tuscany I am trying to help myself and those who are close to me to live better in a natural context.”

Move over, Bono.

[Photo credit: Flickr user funadium]

Hidden Treasures: The Tiger Food Mart in Northeast Georgia

by Gadling Staff on

For the best hamburgers anywhere around Rabun County, in Northeast Georgia, you’ll need to go where the locals go! Tiger Food Mart, on old highway 441, is located at the four way stop in the middle of Tiger, across from the Post Office.

Looking at the Tiger Food Mart, you probably wouldn’t expect them to serve food. From the outside, Tiger Food Mart looks like a “run of the mill” combination grocery store/gas station, complete with gas pumps out front. However, inside on the left there is a menu board and window for placing orders. If you walk all the way to the back of the store, you’ll find a room with booths, where people are sitting and eating from early morning breakfast through late lunchtime.

Tiger Food Mart’s hamburgers are homemade, just like Mama used to make. Tiger Food Mart’s sweet tea is delicious, and comes with free refills when you dine in. If you want some of Tiger Food Mart’s famous chocolate poundcake with chocolate icing, you have to get there early, or it will be gone! One of those cakes brought close to $50.00 at a charity auction recently! There are always collection jars for spare change on the counter to help neighbors in need. Everyone is friendly at the Tiger Food Mart, and “regulars” quickly become “locals.” Y’all come!

Jamie White Wyatt is a Seed.com contributor.

Good hotel coffee starts with ice – Hotel tip

by Gadling Staff on

If you like to wake up to a good cup of coffee, you know the appeal of having a coffee maker in your hotel room. But if you love coffee, then you also know hotel coffee can taste pretty mediocre, especially when made with tap water.

To make a better coffee, take advantage of the hotel’s ice machines — they use filtered water. Simply fill your coffee maker with ice the night before, and let it melt. You’ll enjoy the difference the free filtered water makes to your morning cup – and to your tastebuds.

Read more about coffee makers:
* Sterilize baby bottles using the hotel room coffee machine
* Cook with the coffee pot

[Photo: Flickr | stevendepolo]