Sun, Sand and Seafood - The Cheapflights.com Menu for July 4th long Weekend

Enjoy Mouth Watering Delicacies with Cheapflights.com Top 10 Seafood Destinations

Boston, MA – June 22, 2011 - As Americans start planning their July 4th long weekend celebrations, fun, sun and food all feature heavily in the planning. And, with many flocking to the beaches to celebrate, Cheapflights.com, the online leader in finding and publishing travel deals, thought it would be fitting to feature the best of the best locations for lobster, crab, oysters and other melt-in-your-mouth delicacies with its list of Top 10 Seafood Destinations. So, whether you are planning to hit the beaches of the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Great Lakes or the Gulf, Cheapflights.com’s list of top seafood towns and regions in the US and Canada will definitely tantalize your taste buds.

Below are five of the mouth-watering destinations to make Cheapflights.com’s list of Top 10 Seafood Destinations.

Chesapeake Bay, Maryland - Each summer the Eastern Shore of Maryland draws thousands of tourists nostalgically eager to swim, sail, kayak and – possibly most important – eat. Crab houses line the shores of the Chesapeake, offering East Coasters a chance to crack and pick at the freshest crabs in the country. At neighborhood favorites like Waterman’s Crab House in Rock Hall, brown paper-covered tables set the scene for sun-kissed families to maneuver mallets and crackers to get to the good stuff. Those less enthused about manual labor should stick to the award-winning crab cakes – broiled or fried – prepared with lump crab meat and intricate spices.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana - Between swamp tours of the Bayou and Saturday morning visits to the Red Stick Famers Market, visitors to Louisiana’s capital indulge in the city’s culinary claim to fame: crawfish. The freshwater crustacean is traditionally prepared down south in a crawfish boil, combined with potatoes, corn on the cob, garlic, sausage and cayenne pepper. It’s the crawfish étouffée though – similar to a gumbo – that lures visitors 40 minutes west of the city to Joe’s Dreyfus Store Restaurant in Livonia for a taste of the best.

Seattle, Washington - Way before Starbucks staked its claim, Seattle was known for seafood. And though some tourists visit solely for the caffeine, the Northwest hub continues to reel up and serve some of the finest filets in the world. More than 10 million people annually visit Pike Place Market, a massive public market that’s satisfied locals for more than 100 years. Bring your camera and capture the excitement of merchants tossing the latest catch among the countless stalls before placing orders for fresh salmon, Dungeness crab and other shell fish.

Halifax, Nova Scotia - All the biking and walking you’ll be doing in Nova Scotia is bound to leave you hungry for delicious meals. You’re in luck – the tiny Canadian province is renowned for its top-notch food from the sea. After exploring the working lighthouse and views of Peggy’s Cove – situated just over 20 miles southwest of Halifax – stop in Shaw’s Landing for out-of-this-world fish and chips, seafood chowder or lobster jambalaya. The restaurant, run by a seasoned chef and retired lobster fisherman, serves up the freshest catches of the day against views of operating wharves. Needless to say, it’s authentic Nova Scotia.

Boston, Massachusetts - Whether you’re visiting outlying beach towns on the Cape, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket – or the city itself – Boston is the East Coast destination for fresh-shucked oysters. Take a break from duck tours and overcrowded Faneuil Hall and venture to the South End, where B&G Oysters plates the finest oysters in New England. The raw bar changes daily to feature more than a dozen types of briny treats from both coasts. Hesitant to go raw? Mediterranean seafood dishes and meaty lobster rolls will satiate any appetite. Not to mention B&G’s signature clam chowder, prepared with bacon lardons and spicy croutons. Remember when ordering that you’re in New England; it’s pronounced “chowda.”

Key West, Florida; Prince Edward Island, Canada; Georgetown, Maine; Charleston, South Carolina and San Diego, California round out Cheapflights.com’s list of Top 10 Seafood Destinations.