Oct. 23-embracing seafood in Florida

I was raised in the midwest where the only seafood I ever ate growing up was a small amount of tuna fish in a sandwich that was more mayonaise than tuna and the occasional fish stick. So once I was grown and on my own I realized that I had never tasted actual seafood so I was convinced that I hated it.

When I moved to Florida 6 months ago, I've been taking a ration of crap from my new Florida friends about why I don't eat seafood. I'm not allergic, so why would I not at least try it? I keep blaming it on the smell that makes me want to hurl just by walking into a seafood restaurant.

So, I decided to challenge myself to a night of dining out at a seafood restaurant. We had reservations for dinner at 8:00 at a local franchise place that seemed safe and probably a good option for me. I checked out their menu online and I figured I would order a white fish that was flaky and light and probaby wouldn't taste much like seafood. The place was packed out as they must have a good happy hour. We arrived at 7:45 but by 8:30 we still didn't have a table. Tom went to check and they had been trying to find us (so they said) but they couldn't. They ended up feeling so bad about the delay that they offered a free appetized on them. Hmmm...that sounded like a great way to test the waters without wasting my meal and our money on something I might get sick on. So we ordered the crab cake appetizer on the house. They came out and were pleasantly surprising...didn't look or smell like fish. The restaurant was dark so I just went for it. I had my first bite. It was a lot of bread crumbs and lemon flavoring with a small amount of crab. It tasted fine so I took another bite. Kind of yummy actually. I kept on taking bites between gulps of red wine....which helped a lot. I finally finished and ended up eating more than one crab cake all by myself...I felt a sense of accomplishment. It wasn't the main course, but it was crab and I did eat a lot of it.

My main meal was a cobb salad with huge chunks of bleu cheese and it took a lot of bites along with another glass of wine to wash down the taste of crab in my mouth. I'm not sure it's something that I will order again or pay for myself, but I did it. Should I find myself out at a restaurant or friend's house and they serve me crab cakes I could probably eat them again...provided they also give me a large glass of wine.