Aging is inevitable, and for many, it signals the beginning of a new chapter - one where you cross off bucket list items and live life to the fullest, on your own terms. However, for some women, aging is a horrible prospect, filled with chronic fatigue, irritability, and inability to perform in the bedroom. If you're concerned about life in middle age and beyond, we've got great news: there are easy, proven steps that you can take to help stop the negative effect of aging.
Global Life Rejuvenation was founded to give women a new lease on life - one that includes less body fat, fewer mood swings, and more energy as you age. If you're ready to look and feel younger, it's time to consider HRT (hormone replacement therapy), and growth hormone peptides. These therapies for men and women are effective, safe, and customized to fit your goals, so you can keep loving life as you get older.
HRT, and growth hormone peptide therapies bridge the gap between your old life and the more vibrant, happier version of you. With a simple click or call, you can be well on your way to a brighter future. After all, you deserve to be the one in charge of your wellness and health. Now, you have the tools to do so - backed by science and applied by our team of HRT experts with more than 13 years of experience.
As women age, their hormones begin to go through changes that affect their day-to-day lives. For women, hormone deficiency and imbalance usually occur during menopause and can cause chronic fatigue, hot flashes, and mood swings, among other issues. Hormone replacement therapy helps correct hormone imbalances in women, helping them feel more vibrant and virile as they age.
Often, HRT treatments give patients enhanced quality of life that they didn't think was possible - even in their 60's and beyond.
The benefits for women are numerous and are available today through Global Life Rejuvenation.
As women age, their bodies begin to go through significant changes that affect their quality of life. This change is called menopause and marks the end of a woman's menstrual cycle and reproduction ability. Though there is no specific age when this change occurs, the average age of menopause onset is 51 years old. However, according to doctors, menopause officially starts 12 months after a woman's final period. During the transition to menopause, women's estrogen and other hormones begin to deplete.
As that happens, many women experience severe symptoms. These symptoms include:
The symptoms of hormone deficiency can be concerning and scary for both women and their spouses. However, if you're getting older and notice some of these symptoms, there is reason to be hopeful. Hormone replacement therapy and anti-aging medicine for women can correct imbalances that happen during menopause. These safe, effective treatments leave you feeling younger, healthier, and more vibrant.
The most common reason for menopause is the natural decline in a female's reproductive hormones. However, menopause can also result from the following situations:
Oophorectomy: This surgery, which removes a woman's ovaries, causes immediate menopause. Symptoms and signs of menopause in this situation can be severe, as the hormonal changes happen abruptly.
Chemotherapy: Cancer treatments like chemotherapy can induce menopause quickly, causing symptoms to appear shortly after or even during treatment.
Ovarian Insufficiency: Also called premature ovarian failure, this condition is essentially premature menopause. It happens when a woman's ovaries quit functioning before the age of 40 and can stem from genetic factors and disease. Only 1% of women suffer from premature menopause, but HRT can help protect the heart, brain, and bones.
For many women, menopause is a trying time that can be filled with many hormonal hurdles to jump through. A little knowledge can go a long way, whether you're going through menopause now or are approaching "that" age.
Here are some of the most common issues that women experience during menopause:
If you're a woman going through menopause and find that you have become increasingly depressed, you're not alone. It's estimated that 15% of women experience depression to some degree while going through menopause. What many women don't know is that depression can start during perimenopause, or the years leading up to menopause.
Depression can be hard to diagnose, especially during perimenopause and menopause. However, if you notice the following signs, it might be time to speak with a physician:
Remember, if you're experiencing depression, you're not weak or broken - you're going through a very regular emotional experience. The good news is that with proper treatment from your doctor, depression isn't a death sentence. And with HRT and anti-aging treatment for women, depression could be the catalyst you need to enjoy a new lease on life.
Hot flashes - they're one of the most well-known symptoms of menopause. Hot flashes are intense, sudden feelings of heat across a woman's upper body. Some last second, while others last minutes, making them incredibly inconvenient and uncomfortable for most women.
Symptoms of hot flashes include:
Typically, hot flashes are caused by a lack of estrogen. Low estrogen levels negatively affect a woman's hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls body temperature and appetite. Low estrogen levels cause the hypothalamus to incorrectly assume the body is too hot, dilating blood vessels to increase blood flow. Luckily, most women don't have to settle for the uncomfortable feelings that hot flashes cause. HRT treatments for women often stabilize hormones, lessening the effects of hot flashes and menopause in general.
Mood swings are common occurrences for most people - quick shifts from happy to angry and back again, triggered by a specific event. And while many people experience mood swings, they are particularly common for women going through menopause. That's because, during menopause, the female's hormones are often imbalanced. Hormone imbalances and mood swings go hand-in-hand, resulting in frequent mood changes and even symptoms like insomnia.
The rate of production of estrogen, a hormone that fluctuates during menopause, largely determines the rate of production the hormone serotonin, which regulates mood, causing mood swings.
Luckily, HRT and anti-aging treatments in Rockaway, FL for women work wonders for mood swings by regulating hormone levels like estrogen. With normal hormone levels, women around the world are now learning that they don't have to settle for mood swings during menopause.
Staying fit and healthy is hard for anyone living in modern America. However, for women with hormone imbalances during perimenopause or menopause, weight gain is even more serious. Luckily, HRT treatments for women coupled with a physician-led diet can help keep weight in check. But which hormones need to be regulated?
Lowered sexual desire - three words most men and women hate to hear. Unfortunately, for many women in perimenopausal and menopausal states, it's just a reality of life. Thankfully, today, HRT and anti-aging treatments Rockaway, FL can help women maintain a normal, healthy sex drive. But what causes low libido in women, especially as they get older?
The hormones responsible for low libido in women are progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone.
Progesterone production decreases during perimenopause, causing low sex drive in women. Lower progesterone production can also cause chronic fatigue, weight gain, and other symptoms. On the other hand, lower estrogen levels during menopause lead to vaginal dryness and even vaginal atrophy or loss of muscle tension.
Lastly, testosterone plays a role in lowered libido. And while testosterone is often grouped as a male hormone, it contributes to important health and regulatory functionality in women. A woman's testosterone serves to heighten sexual responses and enhances orgasms. When the ovaries are unable to produce sufficient levels of testosterone, it often results in a lowered sex drive.
Often uncomfortable and even painful, vaginal dryness is a serious problem for sexually active women. However, like hair loss in males, vaginal dryness is very common - almost 50% of women suffer from it during menopause.
Getting older is just a part of life, but that doesn't mean you have to settle for the side effects. HRT and anti-aging treatments for women correct vaginal dryness by re-balancing estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. When supplemented with diet and healthy living, your vagina's secretions are normalized, causing discomfort to recede.
Uterine fibroids - they're perhaps the least-known symptom of menopause and hormone imbalances in women. That's because these growths on the uterus are often symptom-free. Unfortunately, these growths can be cancerous, presenting a danger for women as they age.
Many women will have fibroids at some point. Because they're symptomless, they're usually found during routine doctor exams. Some women only get one or two, while others may have large clusters of fibroids. Because fibroids are usually caused by hormone imbalances, hysterectomies have been used as a solution, forcing women into early menopause.
Advances in HRT and anti-aging medicine for women give females a safer, non-surgical option without having to experience menopause early. At Global Life Rejuvenation, our expert physicians will implement a customized HRT program to stabilize your hormones and reduce the risk of cancerous fibroid growth.
Endometriosis symptoms are much like the effects of PMS, and include pelvic pain, fatigue, cramping, and bloating. While doctors aren't entirely sure what causes this painful, uncomfortable condition, most agree that hormones - particularly xenoestrogens - play a factor.
Endometriosis symptoms are much like the effects of PMS and include pelvic pain, fatigue, cramping, and bloating. While doctors aren't entirely sure what causes this painful, uncomfortable condition, most agree that hormones - particularly xenoestrogens - play a factor.
Xenoestrogen is a hormone that is very similar to estrogen. Too much xenoestrogen is thought to stimulate endometrial tissue growth. HRT for women helps balance these hormones and, when used with a custom nutrition program, can provide relief for women across the U.S.
Hormone stability is imperative for a healthy sex drive and for a normal, stress-free life during menopause. HRT and anti-aging treatments for women balance the hormones that your body has altered due to perimenopause or menopause.
HRT for women is a revolutionary step in helping women live their best lives, even as they grow older. However, at Global Life Rejuvenation, we know that no two patients are the same. That's why we specialize in holistic treatments that utilize HRT, combined with healthy nutrition, supplements, and fitness plans that maximize hormone replacement treatments.
If you've been suffering through menopause, is HRT the answer? That's hard to say without an examination by a trusted physician, but one thing's for sure. When a woman balances her hormone levels, she has a much better shot at living a regular life with limited depression, weight gain, mood swings, and hot flashes.
Here are just a few additional benefits of HRT and anti-aging treatments for females:
Hormone imbalance causes a litany of issues. But with anti-aging treatments for women, females can better process calcium, keep their cholesterol levels safe, and maintain a healthy vagina. By replenishing the body's estrogen supply, HRT can relieve symptoms from menopause and protect against osteoporosis. But that's just the start.
Global Life Rejuvenation's patients report many more benefits of HRT and anti-aging medicine for women:
If you're ready to feel better, look better, and recapture the vitality of your youth, it's time to contact Global Life Rejuvenation. It all starts with an in-depth consultation, where we will determine if HRT and anti-aging treatments for women are right for you. After all, every patient's body and hormone levels are different. Since all our treatment options are personalized, we do not have a single threshold for treatment. Instead, we look at our patient's hormone levels and analyze them on a case-by-case basis.
At Global Life Rejuvenation, we help women rediscover their youth with HRT treatment for women. We like to think of ourselves as an anti-aging concierge service, guiding and connecting our patients to the most qualified HRT physicians available. With customized HRT treatment plan for women, our patients experience fewer menopausal symptoms, less perimenopause & menopause depression, and often enjoy a more youth-like appearance.
Growth hormone peptides are an innovative therapy that boosts the natural human growth hormone production in a person's body. These exciting treatment options help slow down the aging process and give you a chance at restoring your youth.
Sermorelin is a synthetic hormone peptide, like GHRH, which triggers the release of growth hormones. When used under the care of a qualified physician, Sermorelin can help you lose weight, increase your energy levels, and help you feel much younger.
Human growth hormone (HGH) therapy has been used for years to treat hormone deficiencies. Unlike HGH, which directly replaces declining human growth hormone levels, Sermorelin addresses the underlying cause of decreased HGH, stimulating the pituitary gland naturally. This approach keeps the mechanisms of growth hormone production active.
Ipamorelin helps to release growth hormones in a person's body by mimicking a peptide called ghrelin. Ghrelin is one of three hormones which work together to regulate the growth hormone levels released by the pituitary gland. Because Ipamorelin stimulates the body to produce growth hormone, your body won't stop its natural growth hormone production, which occurs with synthetic HGH.
Ipamorelin causes growth hormone secretion that resembles natural release patterns rather than being constantly elevated from HGH. Because ipamorelin stimulates the natural production of growth hormone, our patients can use this treatment long-term with fewer health risks.
One of the biggest benefits of Ipamorelin is that it provides significant short and long-term benefits in age management therapies. Ipamorelin can boost a patient's overall health, wellbeing, and outlook on life.
When there is an increased concentration of growth hormone by the pituitary gland, there are positive benefits to the body. Some benefits include:
Whether you are considering our HRT and anti-aging treatments for women in Rockaway, FL, we are here to help. The first step to reclaiming your life begins by contacting Global Life Rejuvenation. Our friendly, knowledgeable HRT experts can help answer your questions and walk you through our procedures. From there, we'll figure out which treatments are right for you. Before you know it, you'll be well on your way to looking and feeling better than you have in years!
866-793-9933
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It awaits approval, but a lot at 106-02 Rockaway Beach Blvd. is slated to become Storage Fox, with a six-story, 135,719-square-foot facility in Queens, New York City (below). The NYC Building Department and the MTA are revisiting the building plans and construction may start in March.Plans include seven accessory parking spaces on the first floor, three loading docks on Beach 106th Street and 83 attended public parking spaces. Storage Fox previous sold its ...
It awaits approval, but a lot at 106-02 Rockaway Beach Blvd. is slated to become Storage Fox, with a six-story, 135,719-square-foot facility in Queens, New York City (below). The NYC Building Department and the MTA are revisiting the building plans and construction may start in March.
Plans include seven accessory parking spaces on the first floor, three loading docks on Beach 106th Street and 83 attended public parking spaces. Storage Fox previous sold its four NYC storage facilities to Clutter in 2019 for $152 million.
Source: The Rockawave
StoreNow, which owns and operates self-storage facilities in and surrounding Indianapolis, IN, hopes to expand by a little over 3 acres. The Hancock County Area Plan Commission met with Russell Brown, a lawyer for Store Now, last week. The commission is working with Store Now on the latter’s New Palestine Self Storage location at the corner of U.S. 52 and CR 400W. The plans call for eight new storage buildings totaling nearly 40,000 square feet as well as a nearby half-acre city pond. The expansion would almost double the size of the company’s location outside of New Palestine. Source: Daily Reporter
A Lock Up Self Storage building may be coming to Wellington, FL on land off State Road 7 that once had been zoned for medical offices. It would be a new three-story building behind Cheddar’s restaurant a mile north of Forest Hill Boulevard. The project goes before the Wellington Village Council soon. Also, 50-plus lockers would be made available for wine storage, with capacity from 16 cases of wine to more than 100. Source: The Town-Crier
In Pennsylvania, the Cumberland Township Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a final land development plan for Interchange Storage, which is for 13 self-storage buildings on 15.2 acres on Solomon Road. Source: Gettysburg Times
Bristol Pike Storage LLC, a developer, seeks to consolidate three land parcels in Bristol Township, PA into a 3.57-acre site with a four-story self-storage building, with 30,348 square feet of space on each level, totaling 121,392 square feet. Source: Levittown Now
Diversified Properties, based in New Jersey, broke ground on a seven-building, 495-unit self-storage facility in Montgomery, NY, about 80 miles north of New York City (above). The facility will have one two-story building totaling 39,000 NRSF plus six single-story structures, each with 6,900 NRSF. Morris Construction Management is overseeing the building project. It’s scheduled to be finished by October. CubeSmart is the proposed operator. Source: REBusinessOnline
Extra Space Storage has started redevelopment of a long-vacant former location of a Kmart store at 360 W. National Road in Englewood, OH into a self-storage facility. The store, built in the early 1970s, closed in July 2016. In late 2022, the developer pushed for retrofitting of the existing 84,000-square-foot building into self-storage units. It will include storage units with indoor accessibility plus an outdoor area for boat and RV storage. Source: Dayton Daily News
A new self-storage facility is coming to 850 Marietta St. in South Bend, IN. Holladay Properties is converting an industrial site there into a 39,990-square-foot building. Store Space Self Storage will manage the business, expected to open in Q2. It will have four buildings with 183 climate-controlled units and 165 drive-up units. Source: REBusinessOnline
Metro Storage opened a new self-storage site with 675 units at 3286 Barclay Ave. in Spring Hill, FL. It has a three-story building with climate-controlled units plus two single-story buildings with standard units and drive-up capability. It also has 114 parking units, with 83 for covered RV and boat parking spots, plus 31 car parking spaces. Metro Storage owns and operates more than 85 properties in 12 states, totaling more than 61 million rentable square feet. Source: Metro Storage LLC
New York City announced Rockaway Beach was closed Saturday because of shark sightings, just days after a 16-year-old surfer was bitten off Fire Island.The teenager was able to walk out of the water Wednesday after being bitten about 60 feet offshore at Kismet Beach, authorities said, with a four-inch laceration on his foot. The teen was the sixth Long Island beachgoer to experience a shark attack this summer.Shark interactions from Massachusetts to Florida have beachgoers — and local officials — fearful this summer....
New York City announced Rockaway Beach was closed Saturday because of shark sightings, just days after a 16-year-old surfer was bitten off Fire Island.
The teenager was able to walk out of the water Wednesday after being bitten about 60 feet offshore at Kismet Beach, authorities said, with a four-inch laceration on his foot. The teen was the sixth Long Island beachgoer to experience a shark attack this summer.
Shark interactions from Massachusetts to Florida have beachgoers — and local officials — fearful this summer. From red flags on Long Island to closed beaches in Boston and shark patrols in Miami, the prospect of shark danger is enough to make even the most ardent shore-lover cautious about the water.
Last weekend, a 40-year-old woman was bitten on the leg, presumably by a shark, while wading in Daytona Beach Shores, according to the Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue. On Tuesday, all Rockaway beaches in New York City were closed following multiple shark sightings, police said.
"These people were probably just in or near the food source," Greg Metger, a researcher with the Shark Research and Education Program at the South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center in Long Island, told CBS New York. "These sharks are very used to bumping into large things trying to get their food."
Bites have been reported on both coasts, with five on Long Island reported in two weeks, one of which injured a surfer and another a lifeguard. A 62-year-old swimmer in California suffered major injuries to his stomach, arm and leg in an attack last month.
But the danger might not be what it seems.
Last year, only one person in the U.S. died from an unprovoked shark attack: A man who was boogie boarding in California's Morro Bay on Christmas Eve. Researchers with the International Shark Attack File recorded 73 unprovoked incidents last year, an uptick from the decade-low 52 bites in 2020 but closer to the five-year global average of 72 annually.
Unless you regularly worry about getting hit by lightning during a summer storm, thoughts of a vacation shark bite shouldn't prey on your mind. According to the Shark Attack File, 1 in 79,746 people will be struck by lightning and die — much higher than the risk of dying from a shark attack, which is 1 in more than 3.7 million. And data compiled by conservation group Defenders of Wildlife highlights that bees kill more people every year, as do cows — 53 and 22, respectively.
Historically, sharks haven't been anywhere close to the potentially deadliest part of your vacation. Many, many more Americans will die on the road — nearly 43,000 in 2021, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates, which put last year at the deadliest on record since 2005 for people on the roads. In 2020, the fatality rate for motor vehicle crashes in the U.S. was 11.7 per 100,000 people, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety — ranging from 4.9 in Massachusetts to 25.4 in Mississippi.
The lifetime risk of dying from an auto accident is 1 in 84, according to the Shark Attack File, part of the Florida Museum. In comparison, people have a 1 in 5 chance of dying of heart disease and a 1 in 7 chance of dying of cancer, the organization calculates.
And water activities have other dangers besides sharks. Nearly 4,000 people in the U.S. die from drowning every year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, many of them children. An additional 8,000 end up in the emergency room.
But there's a reason stories about shark attacks seem to be everywhere. More shark attacks are reported in the U.S. than any other country — 60% — and 38% of all the shark attacks globally in 2021 occurred in Florida, according to the Shark Attack File.
And experts say that's in part a case of mistaken identity. In a study published last October, researchers found juvenile great whites, for example, cannot significantly differentiate between humans swimming, humans paddling surfboards and prey like sea lions and seals, especially as they're still learning what constitutes food.
But a bite that doesn't kill a swimmer can still have tragic consequences. A Florida 17-year-old was scalloping off the coast of Keaton Beach near Tallahassee earlier this month when what witnesses said was a nine-foot shark approached and bit her. Though Addison Bethea's brother, Rhett Willingham, managed to pull her to safety, CBS Miami reported she was set to have her leg amputated above the knee.
As in Bethea's case, bites often don't kill.
"It's very common that the shark attack is not fatal," Christopher Paparo, manager of the Marine Science Center at Stony Brook-Southampton, told CBS News. "The reason for that is they're not trying to eat us."
And Bethea said she'll still venture into the water.
"Don't be scared of the ocean. I had so many people comment on my Instagram saying, 'I'm so scared of the ocean now'. But I'm still going to get in the ocean when I heal and get better. I'm still going to do what I love, don't just let fear overtake your life," she said.
Sharks might concern vacationers and tourists, but experts say they're a sign conservation efforts are working after shark populations crashed by the 1970s, thanks to overfishing and pollution.
"Beginning in the early to mid '90s, we started to work on this problem and say we really need to have the shark population back into healthy condition," Bob Hueter, chief scientist at OCEARCH, told CBS New York.
When top predators like sharks disappear, Hueter said, that has an effect on the ecosystem's other layers.
"When you cut that top layer off you end up losing things, sometimes even the whole habitat," Hueter said.
In recent years, efforts to restore the waters off New York City are bearing fruit. "Our ocean beaches, the Long Island Sound, a lot of these places have gotten much, much better in the last couple of years," said Paparo. "If there are sharks in your area, it means it's a healthy ecosystem."
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Special for USA TODAYThe scene: Thirty-four years ago, a Quebec native went on vacation to Florida's beautiful Clearwater Beach, just north of St. Petersburg. Like many others over the years, Michael Preston fell in love with the sand, sun and surf, never looked back and never went home. Instead, he started cooking, specifically grouper sandwiches, and today "Frenchy" is the city's most beloved restaurateur, with five eateries and the hip, retro 15-room boutique Frenchy's Oasis Motel. Each of ...
Special for USA TODAY
The scene: Thirty-four years ago, a Quebec native went on vacation to Florida's beautiful Clearwater Beach, just north of St. Petersburg. Like many others over the years, Michael Preston fell in love with the sand, sun and surf, never looked back and never went home. Instead, he started cooking, specifically grouper sandwiches, and today "Frenchy" is the city's most beloved restaurateur, with five eateries and the hip, retro 15-room boutique Frenchy's Oasis Motel. Each of these six establishments is different and unique, but they share one important thing in common: Frenchy's famous grouper sandwiches.
Rockaway Grill is probably the most appealing to tourists, because it sits smack on the sand, with outdoor tables and the smell of salt in the air. You sit inches from the sand, and the shack-like building is an open-air structure by virtue of missing parts of the walls, with a stage for bands, things hanging from the ceiling and fake sharks and Corona beer signage hung as decorations. Inside, the tables are all colorfully hand-painted and outside, they are all simple white plastic. Lots of umbrella-laden mai tais, pina coladas and rum runners go by on trays and everything is pastel and breezy, inside and out. If you sit under one of the beachfront al fresco umbrellas, you can watch the scene on Clearwater's famous beach, and see the waters from which Frenchy's grouper came. It's the kind of place that screams "vacation" and there are many loyal customers who come to Clearwater for a week or two each year and make Frenchy's their first and last stop. They have been missing the taste for a year, and a week later it is the last thing they want to remember from their trip.
Reason to visit: Grouper sandwiches (Original, Cajun, Buffalo, Reuben), "she-crab" soup, fish spread, grouper eggrolls
The food: The menu at Frenchy's Rockaway Grill is huge, running the gamut from baby back ribs and surf and turf to burgers, fried clam baskets and several entrée-sized salads. But looking around, I didn't see anyone eating anything but one of the myriad variations on grouper sandwiches and their many very popular appetizers. These are equally diverse, from conch fritters to hot wings, cheesy fries to grilled octopus, but again, for the most part the grouper-based specialties sing. The unique grouper egg rolls, stuffed with the same seasoned fish as the Cajun grilled sandwich, along with black beans, corn, cilantro and Jack cheese is a very Southwestern take on the Asian eggroll. There are breaded fried grouper nuggets with tartar sauce and grouper tamales. Notable non-grouper exceptions include the seafood ceviche, a fresh and delicious towering mound of snapper, shrimp and bay scallops marinated in citrus juices with chopped onion, jalapeno, garlic and red peppers, plus the unusual addition of cabbage which gives it an interesting crunchy contrast. This comes topped with sweet potato chips, perfect for scooping the fish. In a similar vein there is raw marinated tuna poke, Hawaiian style.
Two must-try signature apps sans grouper are the house-made fish spread, a tasty seafood pate served with crackers, and the rich she-crab soup, the No. 1 seller here (at two other Frenchy's locations, gumbo and Cajun conch chowder are the most popular signature soups). It is actually made with snow crab, not she-crab, but in the style of the Carolina specialty, and very rich with a lot of crab, butter and cream.
The grouper sandwich is a local specialty on the Gulf Coast of Florida, where the fish, always wild-caught, thrives. Grouper is a meaty white fish, but it is very light in texture and mild in taste, and its key culinary characteristic is that it absorbs seasonings very well – it's sort of the tofu of the ocean. When Frenchy arrived from Quebec, he did not invent the genre, but he perfected it.
There are three important things that set Frenchy's apart from myriad other grouper dispensaries in the region. First, because of its flavor-absorption qualities, it is perfect for the seasoned butter he fries the original version in, which adds richness and taste. Secondly, he added his signature soft, large onion roll, a transplant from his Montreal deli childhood, which works far better than the standard hamburger or bulky roll, with the right tender texture for the delicate fish and just enough roasted onion flavor. But most importantly, Preston realized early on that he had to control the quality of his own ingredients, and started a seafood company, with his own fleet of between 8-11 boats under exclusive contract.
"Farm to table is a hot concept now but it's what we've been doing forever," says Preston, adding that "some things are just regional: lobster tastes better in Maine, and grouper tastes better here."
Recently, the news has been full of horrific stories of widespread seafood fraud in this country, and grouper is one of the most commonly faked fish. In what became known as the "Florida grouper scandal of 2006," investigators found that of hundreds of tons of farmed, frozen and quite possibly drug- and chemical-laced Asian catfish had been used widely in area restaurants as a cheap substitute for the advertised grouper. Even today grouper remains a highly suspect species, and one of the big appeals of Frenchy's eateries is that they are generally considered above suspicion – and it shows in the flavor. He can trace every fish from the moment it is caught to when it is served, and doesn't stop there. Despite the humble shack appearance, the specialty here is from-scratch cooking, and everything from the tamales to tartar sauce to the habanero hot sauce on the table is made in-house. The cole slaw, also made fresh and offered as a side, is very good as well.
The original grouper sandwich that put Frenchy's on the map is the same as it was in 1980, fried in seasoned butter and served on an onion roll with cheese. It is delightful, a thick but light slab of fried fish. Throughout the decades many new variants were introduced – and I tried them all. In terms of popularity the original runs neck-and-neck with the grilled and Cajun grilled models, and of these three, the Cajun was my favorite, with the original a close second. Because grouper is so conducive to seasoning, the slightly spicy and deeply flavored Cajun is perfect. While less popular, I also loved the Buffalo-style, which is batter-fried and topped with hot wing sauce and bleu cheese dressing.
While they sell less of them, nothing on the menu has the cult-like following of the unique grouper Reuben, whose loyal fans order nothing else, and this seems to be the favorite of the annual vacationers who make a Frenchy's pilgrimage an essential part of their visit. It is grilled grouper on toasted marble rye with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing, and while I don't like Thousand Island dressing, it is very good (and messy) and I can see the appeal. All the sandwiches come with high-quality kettle chips, and you can upgrade to fries, but these are pretty bland so sticking with the chips is a better bet. If you are not in the mood for a sandwich but want to see what all the fuss is about, there is also grouper jambalaya, grouper Santorini, jerk grouper filet, and baked stuffed grouper.
Frenchy's is as much a beachfront bar as restaurant, and has a separate and elaborate menu of tropical cocktails, from Bahama Mama to Goombay Smash, frozen or on the rocks, plus a full slate of beer and wine. It's the kind of place where you might linger long after your grouper is gone, especially if you can score a table around sunset.
Pilgrimage-worthy?: Yes, if you are in the greater Tampa/St.Pete/Clearwater area: this is THE place to try a very popular regional specialty.
Rating: Yum! (Scale: Blah, OK, Mmmm, Yum!, OMG!)
Price: $$ ($ cheap, $$ moderate, $$$ expensive)
Details: 7 Rockaway Street, Clearwater Beach; 727-446-4844; frenchysonline.com/locations/frenchys-rockaway
Larry Olmsted has been writing about food and travel for more than 15 years. An avid eater and cook, he has attended cooking classes in Italy, judged a barbecue contest and once dined with Julia Child. Follow him on Twitter, @TravelFoodGuy, and if there's a unique American eatery you think he should visit, send him an e-mail at [email protected]. Some of the venues reviewed by this column provided complimentary services.
