158 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018
The Cracker Cattle are
happy to see the Babcock
Ranch Eco Tour buses, as
they know the drivers will
give them a corn treat.
From the gardens, we went to the
nearby Peace River Seafood Restaurant
and Fish Market that is located in a 1927
Florida cracker house. While there, we
got flavorful, locally sourced steamed
blue crabs served on newspaper with
wooden mallets, which reminded us
of Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. Peace
River Seafood is one of the friendliest
places you will ever visit. Despite their
generously sized portions of fresh
seafood, you should save room for their
homemade Key lime pie.
Another discovery for us was the
new environmentally friendly town
of Babcock Ranch, a community being
planned around the land they want to
preserve in its natural state. In addition
to being entirely solar–powered, the
vision for the community is to have
residents get around by walking, riding
bikes, using golf carts and taking a selfdriving
electric shuttle.
TRAVEL
James and Kelly Beall’s Peace River Seafood &
Crab Shack serves delicious treasures like these
steamed blue crabs along with other items such as
Gator Gumbo and Myakka Slew Shrimp Creole.
At the Wyvern Hotel’s 88 Keys Florida, Chef Josh
Booze arranges each serving as a work of art.