The Wandering Disciple

Sarasota, Florida: A visit to the Pinecraft community in Sarasota takes you into the heart of the winter residence of the Amish community. For years, Amish from northern states spend winter months in the sun and warmth of the Suncoast. As more and more Amish took residence in Pinecraft, Amish businesses began to pop up and a staple of them has been Yoder's Restaurant.  Yoder's Restaurant is the creation of Levi and Amanda Yoder who settled in Sarasota after selling their farm in Indiana. They opened a restaurant on Main Street in downtown Sarasota in 1975. In 1986, they moved to their current location on Bahia Vista Street in the heart of Pinecraft.  Today the popular restaurant is know for their hearty comfort meals and they delicious and massive pies and cakes. In fact on holiday, patrons line the parking lot to get pies for their holiday meals. Having grown up in central Pennsylvania's Amish country, it is a taste of home having Yoder's just a quick trip from ...

Lakeland, Florida: You don’t have to travel to Louisiana to experience some delicious New Orleans cuisine. In fact, if you are in north and central Florida, you are never just a short drive away from authentic NOLA food. The owners of Harry’s Seafood bar and Grille have been bringing the tastes of the Big Easy to the Sunshine State since 1987.  From a twenty stool bar in Jacksonville to six locations throughout the state, you are never far away from quality Cajun food. We found Harry’s on a trip to Gainesville last year and have been fans ever since! We make it a point to work a meal at Harry’s into the itinerary every chance we can. We did just that on our recent trip to Lakeland. We were headed up to shoot the Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo and made sure to stop at the downtown Lakeland location for lunch before the show.  Lakeland’s location is in the heart of downtown adjacent to Munn Park and feature a full lunch and dinner menu as well as an early bird menu. My favori...