10 outstanding seafood restaurants at golf clubs in Florida and Hawaii

As a writer who travels the globe covering golf, travel and all things food and drink – and who will collect 110,000 frequent flyer miles by 2025 – GOLF Contributor Shaun Tolson has visited the world's most famous golf clubs, resorts and best-kept secrets. Below, on Clubhouse Eats, he shares his favorite bites and drinks from his recent travels.

When you book a trip to Hawaii, the trip comes with several expectations: a luxurious lifestyle, breathtaking scenery, postcard-like beaches, the occasional luau, and plenty of fresh fish. My recent visit to the island of Kauai reinforced all those thoughts.

Similarly, when you head to the golf course for the Fish to Fork food and wine event, which this year celebrated its 10th anniversary at the Omni Amelia Island, you know where you're getting yourself in – namely a host of meals for all to celebrate. la mer.

What follows is a standout bite on both courses, all of which bring fish to the fore.

First Stop … Craving Drugs?

Shortly after arriving in Kauai, as I was walking up the east coast of the island toward Hanalei Bay, my host made a quick detour, and walked into Longs Drugs. It was then that I learned that he had grown up on the island of Oahu, although he now lives in Scottsdale; and the purpose of the stop, I learned again, was to feed the rest of the journey. “This is a veteran's movement,” he told me.

Predictable snacks included sweet Maui onion potato chips and chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, but my host threw an unexpected curveball by adding various bags of tuna jerky and a bag of shredded ika to our shopping basket, the latter a Japanese-style squid. The slightly chewy, dry cephalopod strips were unusual – in a good way – but hard to describe. Most notably, they taste slightly salty and offer a touch of sweetness, which means most people are likely to find them agreeable.

On the other hand, tuna jerky tastes a lot like the sea, so you'll need a serious appreciation for the taste of fish to get on board with these jerky bags. That said, the original flavor is the way to go, as long as you want to eat something that tastes uniquely Hawaiian. The teriyaki style, in contrast, had such a strong teriyaki flavor that it overpowered the natural flavor of the fish.

Tuna is exploding everywhere!

To the casual observer, the Hawaiian Islands and tuna poke they are as intertwined as Philadelphia and cheesesteak, Maine and lobster rolls, or New Orleans and gumbo. In fact, the traditional dish – green yellowfin or bibeye served in a sweet marinade – is more common in the islands than you might think. After spending the better part of a week there not too long ago, I'm sure you can find it available at gas station stores … and I'd be willing to bet even that low-quality version would be delicious.

While many golf courses on Kauai serve the dish, Poipu Bay takes it to the next level, all the way to Kauai Poke Co. as a live restaurant. The menu includes five interpretations of the dish, and Plantation Poke Bowl for being so unique. That variation includes peanuts, crispy onions, and drizzles of both spicy aioli and kabayaki (better known as “eel sauce” on many sushi menus). After spending a week eating the dish at least once a day, I couldn't resist ordering this house specialty, and it hit all the right notes. Sure, I could order the umami burger, the Korean chicken plate, or any number of delicious-sounding entrees. But when you sit down at a restaurant called Kauai Poke Co., poke seems like an option. And it was. If you're lucky enough to hook it up at Poipu Bay and have time for a post-round meal, don't think too much about it. Order a package.

Flavor-focused cocktail pairings at Walker's Landing

As part of the Fish to Fork festivities over three days at Omni Amelia Island, the second dinner at the Marsh-side venue, Walker's Landing, was aptly named Saltwater Ranch – a meal that took inspiration from “the strains of farm life and the simplicity of coastal living. In particular, the four-course dinner showed what can happen when tasty dishes are paired with well-mixed cocktails.

First lesson (blue crab with sweet corn, braised pork cheek, celery, and Fresno peppers), served alongside a bright green vodka shot accented with elderflower liqueur, honeydew, and cucumber, it made the believer come out of me. (To be fair, the drink also reminded me that vodka has its place on the cocktail menu, even if the spirit lacks individual character.)

Simply put, the dish and pairing worked on all levels. The cured pork cheek provided a unique richness and umami quality combined with the delicious crab, which itself was balanced by the heat of the Fresno peppers and a slightly bitter, herbal note from the celery. The cocktail cucumber, on the other hand, played off the celery notes in the crab salad; while honeydew syrup and elderflower liqueur complement the natural sweetness of the seafood. The chef's kiss!

Fragments of an important memorable event

The large Fish to Fork event provided an opportunity to see how a variety of different chefs met the challenge of celebrating the beauty of the sea, and each took a different perspective.

Joey Ward of Southern Belle and Georgia Boy in Atlanta contributed his grab a Chick-Fil-A sandwichaccented with ramp aioli that gave the bite an earthy kick.

Carlos Raba of Clavel in Baltimore served grouper en mole verde and salsa machaand those sauces – especially the mole – were the stars. Raba's mole was rich, complex, and brought some spice, but it overshadowed the fish. How much that affected the dish's success is left to the diner's discretion.

Similarly, the resort designed by Omar Collazo oh dad accented with red curry, green tomatoes, and garden seeds; and the bright, spicy curry was memorable, though it was because of the wahoo taste.

Kathleen Blake, chef at the Blair Hill Inn in Maine, created a dish she called the “Isle of Eight,” a red fish crudo topped with grapes, jicama, coconut, and ginger. Grapes, in particular, infuse the dish with unexpected sweetness; the coconut was a wonderful twist; and the softness of the fish was obvious.

Chef Samuel-Drake Jones of Grand Army Bar in Brooklyn cooked a dish called Southern Drum – a red drum bouillabaisse topped with crispy polenta, grouper, and salsa macha. The bouillabaisse was rich but still showed its maritime roots; and the grouper was featured prominently, both in flavor and texture. This was one of the highlights of the event.

Cesar Zapata, executive chef at Phuc Yea in Miami, fried crispy, Cha Ca-style porgy which was spiced with turmeric and dill, drizzled with green coconut curry, and topped with pickled pineapple. The fish was bright and crisp – a great contrast to the sauce – while the combination of turmeric and pineapple introduced a fresh, exciting flavor.

Kevin Tien, the owner and visionary behind Moon Rabbit in Washington, DC, surprised attendees with his. Josepha Japanese hot pot where grouper-and-shrimp meatballs are bathed in a ginger XO scallion broth with steamed shiitake mushrooms and snow peas. It was a real umami bomb, if ever there was one.