Key West Trip Report Part 2 - Restaurants
May 3rd, 2002 | 08:31 AM
#1
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Key West Trip Report Part 2 - Restaurants
This is a continuation of my previous Key West trip report – focusing on one of the best things about Key West – the food! Please note that I am not a gourmet – but I like good food. And unfortunately I am not a fan of shellfish at all – but my traveling companion is – so the shellfish comments are from her.
Hard Rock Café – Not really the place to go for seafood, but a good place to go on Duval during the heat of the day (air conditioned interior) with dependably decent food.
Blue Heaven – we only went there for breakfast – but liked it so much we went back a second time. All seating is outdoors and it has a quirky atmosphere – several island chickens and roosters run around under the tables and there is a rope swing for the kids. They made the best blueberry pancakes I have ever had.
Fogarty’s on Duval – seating indoors and out. Salads are so huge that they must be shared among 2 or even 3 people.
Alonzos (in the same building on the bight as A&B Lobster house): The concierge recommended this as one of the best places to eat shellfish. My fried had the peel ‘n eat garlic shrimp – and thought it was the best shrimp she had the entire time we were in Key West. I recommend the homemade potato chips – nummy!
Croissants de France (on Duval) – Good croissants (baked fresh 3 times daily). Also worth mentioning that the servings of fruit are very generous. Good place for breakfast.
Kelly’s Caribbean Grill – OK food. Known more for its frozen drinks and microbrew – which I would give a thumbs up. It’s one block off Duval – which means that it is usually not too crowded. Note: If you fly directly into Key West, pick up a coupon at the airport for a free drink at Kelly’s.
Margaritaville – You have to go just to say you were there! Being the landlubber that I am, I had several hamburgers while on the island - and the cheeseburger at Margaritaville was by far the best among them. The peach margarita was pretty good, also!
American Bar – GREAT tapas (appetizers)!
Conch Seafood Company (on the bight) – OK food – largest selection of rum and rum drinks on the island. Live music at night and lots of seating.
El Siboney’s – a local Cuban diner (can’t really call it a restaurant). Off the beaten path, but well worth the walk. I had the Ropa Vieja - which I would recommend.
And now for the 4-star restaurants:
The Marquesa Café: A real gourmet’s delight. They mixed flavors that I would never have dreamed could be mixed – but it worked! My friend had the fixed price menu – eggplant to start, a large prawn for the entrée and a "too die for" dessert. For her, this was the best meal of the trip. I had a pork dish which was pretty good also. One drawback of the restaurant – it is pretty small. No problem for us since we made friends with the couple at the next table (which was less than a foot away).
The Pier House: Spacious, great service – my best meal of the trip. I had grouper on a bed of spaghetti squash and proscuito (sp?). I devoured this meal – would have licked the plate if it wasn’t such a classy restaurant! The dessert was also first class – banana bread pudding – mmmmmm! There is a piano bar at the restaurant after 8:30 – the music can be heard throughout the restaurant.
That’s it! Couldn’t eat any more after all this and had to go home.
Hard Rock Café – Not really the place to go for seafood, but a good place to go on Duval during the heat of the day (air conditioned interior) with dependably decent food.
Blue Heaven – we only went there for breakfast – but liked it so much we went back a second time. All seating is outdoors and it has a quirky atmosphere – several island chickens and roosters run around under the tables and there is a rope swing for the kids. They made the best blueberry pancakes I have ever had.
Fogarty’s on Duval – seating indoors and out. Salads are so huge that they must be shared among 2 or even 3 people.
Alonzos (in the same building on the bight as A&B Lobster house): The concierge recommended this as one of the best places to eat shellfish. My fried had the peel ‘n eat garlic shrimp – and thought it was the best shrimp she had the entire time we were in Key West. I recommend the homemade potato chips – nummy!
Croissants de France (on Duval) – Good croissants (baked fresh 3 times daily). Also worth mentioning that the servings of fruit are very generous. Good place for breakfast.
Kelly’s Caribbean Grill – OK food. Known more for its frozen drinks and microbrew – which I would give a thumbs up. It’s one block off Duval – which means that it is usually not too crowded. Note: If you fly directly into Key West, pick up a coupon at the airport for a free drink at Kelly’s.
Margaritaville – You have to go just to say you were there! Being the landlubber that I am, I had several hamburgers while on the island - and the cheeseburger at Margaritaville was by far the best among them. The peach margarita was pretty good, also!
American Bar – GREAT tapas (appetizers)!
Conch Seafood Company (on the bight) – OK food – largest selection of rum and rum drinks on the island. Live music at night and lots of seating.
El Siboney’s – a local Cuban diner (can’t really call it a restaurant). Off the beaten path, but well worth the walk. I had the Ropa Vieja - which I would recommend.
And now for the 4-star restaurants:
The Marquesa Café: A real gourmet’s delight. They mixed flavors that I would never have dreamed could be mixed – but it worked! My friend had the fixed price menu – eggplant to start, a large prawn for the entrée and a "too die for" dessert. For her, this was the best meal of the trip. I had a pork dish which was pretty good also. One drawback of the restaurant – it is pretty small. No problem for us since we made friends with the couple at the next table (which was less than a foot away).
The Pier House: Spacious, great service – my best meal of the trip. I had grouper on a bed of spaghetti squash and proscuito (sp?). I devoured this meal – would have licked the plate if it wasn’t such a classy restaurant! The dessert was also first class – banana bread pudding – mmmmmm! There is a piano bar at the restaurant after 8:30 – the music can be heard throughout the restaurant.
That’s it! Couldn’t eat any more after all this and had to go home.
May 3rd, 2002 | 11:23 AM
#4
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Mike - I'm really surprised that you didn't get any good reviews of the Pier House restaurants. We've only eaten dinner there once, and didn't particularly like it, but we've eaten lots of breakfasts and lunches there at the restaurant overlooking the Gulf and they were all wonderful.
May 16th, 2002 | 12:26 PM
#5
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Next time make sure you try Blue Heaven for dinner. Everything on the menu is excellent and they have an amazing dessert (Bananas Heaven, I think it's called) which is fresh bananas over banana bread -- with vanilla ice cream, and a sauce of rum & brown sugar. Really, really worth crawling to KW on your hands and knees for...
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