CROW or Clinic For The Rehabilitation Of Wildlife is one of the businesses that has reopened on Sanibel Island following Hurricane Ian. However, the facility is not 100% operational. There are a couple of annual events that raise money for the organization. Here is a delicious Sneak Peak At CROW’S Taste Of The Islands. Over the last few years the popular food festival has had to pivot due to COVID and Hurricane Ian but the show still goes on.

The event highlights some of the best food and drink from Sanibel and Captiva restaurants. However, many are still closed following  Ian. To help compensate, several off island establishments are participating. If you dine at one of them and order their featured item, they will donate a portion of sales to CROW. Besides a fund raiser, this event is also a competition. Each menu item gets judged in advance. In addition, everyone who attends votes for the People’s Choice Award.

Official judging took place over the weekend but the actual event is on Saturday November 18th. I was fortunate enough to be on the panel. As food judges, we were not privy to which restaurants prepared the drinks and the dishes we tasted. In addition, several were not available for judging for various reasons. After all ballots were taken up and put away for counting, we found out who created what. You’ll see them below. Here is a video as well.

Taste Of The Islands

Taste Of The Islands looks a little different once again this year. Rather than having all restaurants set up in one spot there will be a crawl. Shuttles will transport residents to and from participating businesses. If you think about it, the quality of the food and drinks will be even better since they are coming right from the kitchen and bar. It also gives you a chance to step through the doors of places you might not have been or at least haven’t been in awhile.

CROW still needs to raise money to rebuild several of animal enclosures as well as a new sea turtle area. The animal hospital is back up and running but most of the animal ambassadors have not returned yet. The gift shop is open and so is the education center. Admission is free while CROW continues to get back up to speed. This is going to be a fun and delicious event if you can attend on Saturday. And it’s for a good cause.

• CROW’s Education Center

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  CROW has a great gift shop as well as a thoughtful educational center. Right now admission is free as many of the animal ambassadors have not returned following Hurricane Ian.

• Secret Ballots

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  Each judge had a packet of ballots for voting along with instructions. Those attending the taste also get to vote for People's Choice

• Alison Hussey And Gina Birch

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  Allison Hussey is the executive director at CROW. She has had to be created over the last few years when putting on events. First COVID, then the hurricane has shifted things dramatically.
• Breakfast

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  There are numerous categories of food. Breakfast is a new one this year. This entry is Artichoke Chorizo Benedict from the Shipyard

• Alaskan Sablefish

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  This is an Alaskan Sablefish over couscous and a type of baba ganoush or eggplant puree. We were not told the ingredients. This is from Cielo.

• Shrimp Cargot

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  Shrimp Cargot is inspired by escargot. It had garlic, butter and cheese. Of course shrimp and then toasted bread. This dish came from Mudbugs.
• Educational display

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  The educational center has all kinds of info and displays. Right now admission is free as many of the animal ambassadors have not returned following Hurricane Ian.

• Vegan Ramen

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  This ramen came from one of the off island restaurants supporting CROW. If you go into LYNQ in Fort Myers and order this dish this week, they will make a donation to CROW

• Fish Stew

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  Sweet Melissa's Cafe is a well known Sanibel establishment that is still closed from Ian. But the chef is working out of a popup kitchen at the neighboring pizza place on weekends
• Peter Busch and Gina Birch

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  NBC-2 news anchor Peter Busch has been a food judge with Gina Birch for a number of years. They may or may not have a tradition to share a bottle of wine during the event.

• Education Center

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  A display in the education center. Right now admission is free as many of the animal ambassadors typically found there have not returned following Hurricane Ian.

• Blackened Grouper

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  Grouper is a Southwest Florida staple. This fish is on a sandwich and comes from Mudbugs. They sent the full sized version in for judging.
• Seared Scallop

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  This is a gorgeous stack featuring a Seared U-8 Scallop. It came from Cielo which is known for elegant presentation, outstanding seafood and service.

• Mayor Holly Smith and Gina Birch

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  Sanibel Mayor Holly Smith is another long time supporter of Taste Of The Islands. She is also a judge and filled the panel in on the progress of Hurricane Ian recovery on the barrier island.

• Caramel Apple Ice Cream

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  This caramel apple ice cream was shaped into a heart. The center is filled with salted caramel. It is from Love Boat Ice Cream
• Peanut Butter Pie

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  There are several categories of food in the competition. In the dessert category, this Peanut Butter and Chocolate Pie was one of the sweet submissions.

• Tiramisu

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  Tiramisu is a classic Italian dessert. You could tell this was house made. It came from Tutti Pazzi which is close to the causeway on Periwinkle Drive

• Gina Birch and Chef Jarred Harris

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  Chef Jarred Harris has worked at various resturants on the island for numerous years. He has also been a judge for Taste of the Islands for many years and is a big supporter of CROW.
• Serpent Bender

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  The Serpent Bender cocktail is on the regular cocktail menu at Cielo. It is made with Poblano Infused Tequila, Suze Aperitif, Pear Liqueur, Lime Juice, Citrus Syrup, Celery Bitters

• Southern Spritzer

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  This is an off island restaurant submission. Order one at the Southern Grill at the Shell Factory in North Fort Myers and support the event.

• Margarita

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  There were a couple of tequila cocktails in the competition. I believe this was the spicy margarita from the Shipyard. We also had a spicy Bloody Mary from Green Flash.
• CROW

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  CROW is on Sanibel Island near the Sanibel School. It stands for Clinic For The Rehabilitation Of Wildlife and is still recovering from Hurriane Ian.

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