You don’t really have a choice when it comes to restaurants on the Tamiami Trail, a road that knives directly through the Everglades from Miami to Naples. Joanie’s is it, which they remind you with a handwritten message on the chalkboard behind the register. “If you want fast food, keep traveling. 44 miles west or 66 miles east.” But this 38-year-old restaurant with a self-deprecating sense of humor is not just a last resort for tourists who need to use the bathroom immediately. Joanie’s is a destination on its own for anyone who loves blue crab, fried swamp critters, and a slice of old Florida we feared had been lost to french bulldog-ridden apartment complexes. Joanie’s is just about in the middle of the Everglades, and the closest thing that could be called civilization is Everglades City, a nearby fishing town where the restaurant sources its blue crab. You should order everything on the menu that utilizes that crab, especially the fried soft shell crab sandwich. Also be prepared to eat a lot of fried things, because the other essential order is the swamp combo, a basket of crispy creatures you can probably find in Joanie’s backyard. Thankfully, the gargantuan mosquitoes that emerge after a summer rain can’t penetrate Joanie’s screened-in porch. So both that and the humid dining room are itch-free zones. Don’t expect modern amenities at Joanie’s. The portable air conditioning units are as strong as a gerbil’s lungs. Every square inch of wallspace is taken up by something that must have a fascinating backstory: a greying photograph of a man with a Florida panther on a leash, a dangling coconut that’s been carved into a pirate’s head, and so many taxidermied alligator heads. If this doesn’t sound like a beautiful thing to you, then keep driving. You’re almost to Naples, and you don’t belong this deep in the swamp.