Clark Kent Effect, who are we?

we live in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors but we dust our furniture with real lemons. This seems to me to be a bit of a identity crisis. I see this a lot, not only as a nation but defiantly in the area i call home "I don't think America will have really made it until we have our own salad dressing. Until then we are stuck behind the French,Italians, Russians and Caesarians." ~Pat McNelis

This quote rings true in the panhandle of Florida. When i actually sit down and try to define OUR cuisine we don't have one. we are hiding behind the black rimmed glasses of NOLA, with a hint of BBQ, and then a hodge podge of at least 7 military bases with in 65 miles of me. Who are we, What is our cuisine.

Great food is like great sex, the more you have it the more you want it. I have had some great food in New Orleans, but we are not NOLA here, we are Destin, Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville and in between. People of Nola think that just cause it is great that it will work here, but it hasn't, time and time again.

NOLA powerhouses have come over, and failed and fallen like Goliath. When i want Commanders Palace, I want it in NOLA in the garden district. Not some imitation or diet version of it in Destin. People do not come to this area thinking this is going to be New Orleans but with the best beaches in the world. It is not, it cant be, for one we in Florida don't allow our kids to drink in restaurants with parents consent. we don't have this overwhelming sense to show what our mamma gave us for a pair of plastic needs. Gumbo is great, but fuck me running i don't want it every meal, or on every menu as the only soup choice.

There really is a lack of identity here, but how do we find it? we are a revolving door of people here. Remember plant a radish, get a radish, never any doubt. I love vegetables for this reason,there is never any doubt, you know what you are getting. What are we getting?

We need to come into our own be comfortable in our own skin, it is time for a coming of age and have our own idenity and maybe stop following around the IT crowd from high school.