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In the early 1500s, Ponce de Leon came here in search of a boat that had been separated from his fleet by strong currents. He named the area Bay of the Cross and set forth exploring. By 1569, thanks to what is now our state insect, the colloquial name became Mosquito Bay, which stuck for the next 300 years. Still, the area wasn't settled until the 1700s, when British plantation owners planted crops of oranges, rice, cotton and indigo nearby.
Although you may be wondering what a crass reference to the nether regions is doing wedged between port and cognac on your after-dinner wine menu, there's a very simple explanation. Get your heads out of the gutter, boys and girls, and pay attention.
When I'm asked where to go for a good meal, other than spout my favorites willy-nilly, I can now recommend a guidebook to hungry restaurant seekers: Orlando Chow by Bob Mervine of the Orlando Business Journal. Mervine, too, faced the where-to-eat dilemma one too many times, so he decided to put together a book of his local favorites.