Cedar Key- A Cool Place to Be!
| January 20, 2011 | Posted by admin under Agriculture, Cooking, News, Recipes, Seafood |
Cedar Key lies at the end of a long road tethering it to a mainland shore popularly known as the Nature Coast, one of Florida’s most pristine stretches, protected by refuges and jotted with small fishing villages. Sounds like a cool place if you ask me!
Well the tiny town of Cedar Key is in the running for the title of America’s Coolest Small Towns Contest sponsored by Budget Travel. This year’s contest received 80 nominations and selected 20 American towns that “stand out from the crowd.”
We all know Cedar Key for its delicious clams, and the important aquaculture
industry which provides hundreds of jobs for residents of coastal communities. The old-fashioned fishing village is now a tourist center with several regionally famous seafood restaurants and has become a haven for artists and writers who find the unspoiled environment inspirational to their work. Retirees and artists from throughout the United States have settled in Cedar Key. Many people visit each year to walk the historic streets browse the shops and galleries, explore the back bayous and enjoy the world-famous restaurants featuring seafood fresh from local waters.
Budget Travel is using this description of Cedar Key on the contest website:
“While much of Florida has become overrun with theme parks, strip malls, and luxury condos, the fishing village of Cedar Key—with its abundance of 
pelicans, palmettos, and Spanish moss—is a vivid reminder of the state as it once was. Two long-forgotten forms of architecture dominate the cay: 19th-century wood-frame cottages with wraparound porches, and tabby houses, made with a combination of sand, water, and crushed shells. Cedar Key also holds the distinction of being the nation’s number one producer of farm-raised clams. Locals swear by the award-winning chowder at Tony’s Seafood Restaurant, and there are dozens more dockside eateries where you can sample fresh Gulf shrimp, oysters, and grouper. Outside of town, 13 islands make up the Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge, where kayakers can spot frigate birds, ibis, and bald eagles.”
Cast your vote today and help put Cedar Key on the map! Click here to vote. The contest runs thru February 11. Along with casting a vote, you have the opportunity to upload photos and videos of the restaurants, galleries, shops, and natural settings that make Cedar Key the coolest in the country.
For tasty clam recipes, visit our website by clicking here.
This a great post!
I’ve always thought of Cedar Key as the poor man’s Key West. That being said, I’ll take CK of KW any day of the week.