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Rattler served here

AUBURNDALE, Fla. - For Detroit Tigers fans and other travelers in Florida who want to get off the beaten path, one of the best stops is Carl Allen's Historical Cafe in Auburndale, a restaurant 20 miles east of Lakeland that features what is called Cracker cookin'.

Alligator and rattlesnake share the menu with swamp cabbage, but the chief attraction is Carl Allen himself, a crusty 69-year-old raconteur who has made his restaurant a monument to a way of life that has all but disappeared. The ramshackled roadhouse is packed to the rafters with Florida memorabilia, plus everything from bottles of Walker's Old Indian Health Tonic to a Civil War canteen.

Allen's menu includes familiar seafoods, plus alligator, soft-shell turtle, armadillo and rattlesnake, all served with slaw, hush puppies and a choice of fries, baked beans or grits.

This is not the usual farm-raised catfish, but wild catfish, caught in nearby Lake Okeechobee. It is, Allen promises, "a whole lot better than a fish that doesn't work for its living."

The rattlesnake is a chewy white meat with a mild flavor and a lot of bones. It's a little tough, because, as Allen says, it's "nothing in the world but a muscle crawling around."

	Allen talks with George Gurley, "Mr. Tiny", who emcees the Sunday gospel and Thursday bluegrass shows.
Carl Allen hugs Vera Gurley, known as "Mrs. Tiny," who stopped by the cafe Sunday afternoon to hear gospel music.   Story by Jeremy Iggers; Photos by Mary Schroeder	Allen breads rattlesnake for frying.