NEW ON
THE MENU
SUMMER 2019 29
BY DANIEL ANDERSON
EXECUTIVE CHEF KEN LUMPKIN AT THE FRANKLIN
PAN SEARED SCALLOPS AT THE FRANKLIN
L et’s face it. When it comes to dining out,
we all have our go-to eateries and menu
favorites. There’s much to be said in favor of
the tried and true. While taking comfort in the
familiar, though, we might be missing out!
Expanding your dining options is easy – just
check for new items. And remember, if kitchen
and staff didn’t think it was fantastic, it would
never have made the menu.
Old Florida is home to dozens of excellent
restaurants and a talented cadre of culinary
professionals. The foods prepared in their
kitchens, while staggering in variety, do share
a few things in common – fine ingredients, rich
flavors and careful preparation. Oh, and don’t
forget creativity! It’s a critical component of
every successful kitchen, and the driving force
behind constantly evolving menus. Add in the
seasonal availability of some foods, and new
menu items are introduced all the time.
There’s “all kinds of new” happening at the
iconic Gibson Inn in Apalachicola. New owners
in August of 2018. A new gourmet restaurant,
THE FRANKLIN, in January of 2019. And
Chefs Ken Lumpkin and Breeze Lambert rolled
out a brand new menu
in July of 2019. It’s
an exciting fusion of
Japanese, French and
Southern cuisine that
spotlights locally
harvested seafood
and produce. Fearless
may be the best way
to describe it.
An Old Florida staple,
the fried oyster, is
reinvented with an
asian-style crust,
white barbeque and
black garlic oil. Pan-seared deep sea diver
scallops are served with house-made pasta, blue
crab, thai basil, champagne-uni (sea urchin)