Robbie’s of Islamorada in Islamorada, Florida

At Robbie’s of Islamorada, the main attraction is not on the menu, in the gift shop, or even really on land. It is in the water below the dock, where big, silver tarpons gather to be fed. The ritual traces back to 1976, when Robert “Robbie” Reckwerdt and his wife Mona found an injured tarpon near the marina. The fish had a badly torn jaw, and the couple nursed it back to health. Even after the tarpon (later nicknamed Scarface) recovered, it kept returning to the dock. Other tarpons soon followed, and the impromptu rescue story turned into the marina’s defining activity. Toss a bait fish amo...