Doc Ford’s featured in New York Times Magazine
Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille of Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach has reached another level of renown in a recent New York Times Magazine food feature by Sam Sifton. The dish that gets the attention is Yucatan Shrimp; fresh, boiled shrimp tossed in garlic butter with Indonesian sambal and jalapeno added. It is cut by lime and made fragrant with cilantro.
Sifton points out that food plays a role in several Randy Wayne White -Doc Ford’s owner and author- mystery novels. Doc Ford and his off-sider, Tomlinson, frequently are found in Doc Ford’s Sanibel stilt-house cooking and talking. “Cooking not only whets the appetite, it sharpens all our senses, which makes it the best possible time for honest talk, factual and fanciful,” according to an email from White that Sifton quotes.
Not surprising then, that diners in Doc Ford’s Rum Bar and Grille are often seen, whether on Sanibel or the establishment on nearby Fort Myers Beach, sharing stories and laughs over tropical cuisine served at White’s island eateries. Add a Doc Ford’s specialty mojito or a glass of cold draft beer, and a meal can stretch out for an afternoon or evening. Co-owner Marty Harrity adds that, “As Sam Sifton has identified and aptly shared with thousands of readers recently, the food at Doc Ford’s is where it starts. You’ve got to have great food, ambiance and service to deliver a memorable dining experience. At Doc Ford’s and the Beached Whale that’s what we’re all about.”
Doc Ford’s Rum Bar and Grille on Sanibel is located at the corner of Sanibel-Captiva Road and Rabbit Road near the J.N Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge entrance. Doc Ford’s Rum Bar and Grille on Fisherman’s Wharf in Fort Myers Beach is on the Fort Myers side of the Matanzas Pass Bridge, directly under the bridge.