Modica Market in Seaside's town center is stocked to the rafters with gourmet products and freshly made delicacies like just-baked cinnamon rolls

From CNN Food & Health Correspondent Carolyn O'Neil

SEASIDE, Florida (CNN) -- Dinner plans for many vacationers these days don't include eating out every night. In fact, resorts that offer gourmet groceries and accommodations with well-equipped kitchens are growing in popularity.

Welcome to Seaside, population 1,027, cats and dogs included. Of course the number of folks in this Florida Panhandle town goes up with the mercury.

Florida grouper on a salsa-like salad of avocado, lime cilantro and tomatoes

Modica Market in Seaside's town center is stocked to the rafters with gourmet products and freshly made delicacies -- from just-baked cinnamon rolls for breakfast to polenta crostini with rosemary tomato sauce for lunch, or a platter of olives, cheeses, roasted peppers and grilled bread for sunset cocktails.

So while the beach beckons, the gourmet kitchens in Seaside homes are a vacation playground for others.

"And in this period of the late 20th century, so few families sit down and have a formal family dinner every night that it's a rare treat to be able to do so while on vacation," says Seaside founder Robert Davis.

But eating out is just steps away in Seaside -- at Bud & Alley's featuring Florida seafood and a style of cooking as natural as the view.

"Our food is simple," says chef Scott Witcoski. "It's on the rustic side. We like to keep it that way."

Witcoski grills Florida grouper, placing it on a salsa-like salad of avocado, lime, cilantro and tomatoes. And a steaming dish jumping with the flavors of shrimp, scallops, mussels and clams in a saffron orange sauce.

There may be one more reason food lovers flock here. The town's design encourages walking instead of driving and strolling by to say hello to neighbors on the porch.

From fitness to beachside fun or a table by the sand, Seaside serves up a lifestyle healthy for body, mind and soul.

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• FloridaInfo: Seaside

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