Eats in the Florida Keys- A Diary of Our October 2015 Excursion

Sunday.

Blue Heaven Day. (See prior post)

Monday.

Our final full day of vacay took us to couple new places featuring distinctly local flare.  Our first stop was in the Cuban neighborhood of Key West.  Sandy’s sandwich shop specializes in Cuban fare, breakfast items and an array of street foods and sandwiches.  Known for for their Cuban sandwiches, their “Cuban Mix” sandwich consists of ham, pork, pickles, lettuce and tomato on Cuban bread with a mix of mustard and mayo, then heat pressed to sear the outside of the bread.  The ham and pork were melt-in-your-mouth tender and packed with salty porky flavor.   Also of note was their Cafe Con Leche (Cuban coffee).  The coffee is particularly strong but served with steam milk, it is similar to New Orleans’ cafe au let.  Sandy’s is easily a gem of a place for something simple that can be a filling lunch or dinner. Traditional Cuban sandwiches without the bustle of some of the bigger tourist traps.

Cuban sandwich at Sandy's

Stock Island is directly northeast of Key West and separated from Key West by Cow Key Channel.  This working class village seems miles away from the high-end vacation homes, tourist traps and the debauchery of Key West.  Situated in this community along a marina is Hogfish Bar and Grill.  This is a very unassuming establishment on the water “where the locals go.”  Our hotel bartender described Hogfish as “Key West before the cruise ships stopped here.”  One huge attribute of Hogfish is their utilization of local seafood and fishermen.  They purchase their fish directly from the fishing boats; if one particular species is not available, there are no substitutes for menu entrees and the items are temporarily removed from the menu.  The menu itself consists of a variety of land and sea choices but we went for their item of choice, the hogfish.  Served in a variety of ways, we elected to try the fish with tacos and their signature sandwich for entrees.  Both items involved frying the fish (per recommendation of our server) but one can opt for blackened or grilled.  The hogfish itself has  a firm texture with mild flavor.  The sandwich is served with sautéed onions, mushrooms, swiss cheese and Cuban bread.  A blend of mild cheeses, baja sauce, jalapeños, lettuce and onions complemented the tacos.    Served with black bean and rice their Mexican take was exceptionally well put together in a generally Cuban influenced neighborhood.  

Hogfish Bar, Hogfish sandwich & tacos

Our third trip to the Florida keys opened up some new doors and reinforced others.  We were treated to an array of local fare that was both harvested from nearby waters and imported from neighboring countries.  This form of travel is surely our passion and it is what drives us to return to favorite places and pursue new adventures.  With Key West being a place we have been multiple times, each time we go offers a better opportunity to try new things for various reasons. For starters, we did the tourist stuff already so that is out of our system. Secondly, the more we go the more interested we are in what drives the locals, including the food. To be honest, we want to move there ourselves so it would stand to reason that we are more and more drawn to things that people who live there do themselves. That may be us someday giving you recommendations on where to go and what to try. Someday…

Eats in the Florida Keys- A Diary of Our October 2015 Excursion

Saturday.

Our day started with a morning fishing excursion.  The plan was to catch a few keepers, proceed with our filets to one of the marina restaurants, pig out on our bounty and bask in our self-sustainment.  Everything worked out well except the “catch a few keepers” part.  We did, however, proceed to Schooner Wharf anyways, and outdoor bar and restaurant on the marina.  The highlights include their local catch Mahi Melt sandwich and headliner Michael McCloud, a musician who knows over 3,000 songs and performs a better acoustic “Layla” than Clapton himself. If his covers are not enough to keep you entertained and impressed, then his anecdotes and life lessons will make you want to come back like we did from our last trip here. 

The blackened mahi is complemented with molten American cheese, sautéed onions and mushrooms and so many fries they must fall off the plate.  Multiple textures and flavors abound but nothing is too strong or out of place.  One platter of this and you’re set for the rest of the day. We have had this dish before and it was just as good, if not better than before. New this time around was the fish tacos.  Also made with mahi (you will notice this is a trend in Key West), if was also blackened and served with a light chipotle mayo and coleslaw. Well rounded flavors, but not as amazing as the mani sandwich. 

Schooner Wharf

Blackened Mahi Melt

Blackened Mahi Fish Tacos

Help Yourself Organics in Old Town is quite the contrary to the purveyors of gluttony you find along the marina.  The menu provides a variety of vegetarian fare: salads, wraps, fruit drinks and smoothies. There is also a small organic market place with standard Whole Foods fare but on a smaller scale. The ‘mocha freeze’ was a delectable 16 oz concoction involving coconut milk, cocoa protein, espresso and banana.  While it might have been a little much after the beer and blacken mahi, but it gave us a much needed energy boost to finish the rest of the day. 

For the evening, we decided to check out the Waterfront Brewery, a new brewery that opened approximately 3 weeks ago.  Currently there are only 4 beers on tap that are made on premises. Other than that they sport a very nice draft list consisting of Floridian micro-brews. While the beer selection is outstanding, the food still needs a bit of work. We were still full from lunch, but decided on a few appetizers. The conch and shrimp ceviche had fresh fish and a nice sweetness that complimented well with the buttered toast it came with. But it was clearly made with canned pineapple (any canned fruit is quite disgusting, but canned pineapple on an island like Key West just seems lazy), and the lovely addition of high fructose corn syrup just ruined the appeal. The fish dip was our other choice. While the corn tortilla chips were amazing, the fish did not taste fresh and the spice they were attempting to add in there was not quite to the level it should have been. We didn’t get full meals as we were still full, but these dishes told us that while this restaurant has definite potential (the atmosphere was amazing and location was perfect), it is not there yet. This is to be expected, its only been open for three weeks. It is also worth mentioning that the service is exceptionally good and knowledgable about the various beers. The staff are aware of their appeal as a sports bar and are incredibly accommodative to patrons when it comes to games on TVs and billiards in the rear of the building. If all the positives continue, this place will definitely be added to our list of frequent stops. 

Conch & Shrimp Ceviche at Waterfront Brewery

Eats in the Florida Keys- A Diary of our October 2015 Excursion.

Friday.

Blue Heaven is already written and unless there is an abominable disappointment it will still be the best restaurant in Key West and amongst the best we’ve experienced outside Philadelphia.  There are, however, multiple other edible establishments along the Florida Keys.  We have pre-determined a few stops and randomly stumbled upon a few new places.  Here we will share our experiences for your criticism or enjoyment-probably a little bit of both. 

Robbie’s in Islamorada was highly recommended as a stop on our way to Key West.  Located at Mile 77 it’s about half way between Key West and Miami.  This fishing outpost includes several stands of various souvenirs, fishing excursions, snorkeling, and an opportunity to physically feed the 3 to 5-feet-long Tarpon.   The Hungry Tarpon is the restaurant aptly named in the condensed shopping/hobby/fishing marina. It is facing the small marina and offers variety of pub fare integrated with local catch.  After having some local brews, we opted to have lunch here and started with the Mahi fish tacos.  I opted to have the fish grilled (blackened or fried were my other choices).  Mahi has a nice texture but does not have a strong flavor.  The tacos were tasty with its complements of slaw, tomatoes and onions but did lacked a good flavor that a blackened option may have afforded. Cassie had the blackened shrimp quesadillas. While it was probably a case of “eyes bigger than the stomach,” the shrimp was excellent and not over blackened. It came with guacamole and (by mistake) cocktail sauce instead of pico de gallo, but somehow it worked quite well with the flavors. The cheese mix in the quesadilla was particularly memorable. 

The Hungry Tarpon at Robbie's Islamorada

Mani fish tacos

Blackened Shrimp Quesadilla

The large meal in Islamorada at 4PM put us over the edge for anything big when we arrived in Key West.  We decided instead for a liquid diet and hit up The Rum Bar at The Speakeasy Inn on Duval Street.  This is quickly becoming one of our mainstays in Key West.  The Rum Bar is not just a fancy name, it actually has dozens of rums from the generic to the exotic.  They also have a great rum cocktail menu.  Dark & Stormy was nice and refreshing on a humid breezeless night.  For a thicker, fruity beverage with a more than generous amount of alcohol try their hurricane of pain killer.

One hurricane put Cassie over the edge.  So naturally she desired pizza, one cuisine not usually synonymous with Key West.  Onlywood is a Italian restaurant in an alley off Duval Street.  They also specialize in gourmet pizza.  Onlywood wound not compete with our pizza challenge from the spring but it certainly did whip up a good sweet Italian sausage pizza to soak up some rum.  With  a sauce that in itself is outstanding, we will not hesitate to favor this place again after one too many hurricanes (or pain killers as the case may be).

Mainland Inn- Harleysville, PA

We opted to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary at Mainland Inn, a farm-to-table set in an 18th century stone building.  We arrived at Mainland Inn with high expectations.  Farm-to-table is our favorite trend of restaurant and we have a couple true gems under our belt inducing Wyebrook Farm, Junto and The Farm and the Fisherman.  After all, what food experience is more rewarding than knowing the source of your veggies, fruits and meats?  Mainland works in conjunction with nearby Quarry Hill Farm.  Most vegetables and all land animals are sourced from this location and plated with the talented vision of chef Ezra Duker. 

Mainland, in addition to farm-to-table, also ventures toward the realm of organic cocktails.  Every spirit category includes one organic label.   I could not pass up the opportunity to try Hooker’s House organic bourbon in their own old fashioned.  (I also had to pay tribute to Donald Draper’s beverage of choice after John Hamm finally won the Emmy but I digress…)  

The wine list is extensive with a unique selection of varietals, and the beer list involves several gluten free items and organic brews.

We elected to pursue the chef’s tasting menu which is a 7 course dinner including dessert at the end.  We started with a selection of relishes, all made in house. Each was unique and paired with flavors that if not complimented them, at least were exciting. Next we had butternut squash soup with pork belly. While the pork belly was tasty, the broth without it was a little too much on the salty side. 

Our path to entrees concluded with a lettuce wrap with suchi-grade salmon, egg yolk, kimchi and puffed rice.  A rather nice Asian touch, the puffed rice’s crunch made it a mosh pit of textures and stirred away from the strong flavors of kimchi and salmon.  Finally, the orecchiette, lima bean, bacon, peach and citrus rounded up our pasta.  This sure tasted good but my snobby nature scoffed at the fact this dish is something I could easily make at home on a weeknight and not something I pursue at a progressive restaurant.

Salmon, egg yolk, kimchi puffed rice

We had two entree style dishes, starting with the roasted chicken with mushroom bread pudding. There were three style of chicken including a breast with skin, chicken pancetta, and a piece wrapped around sage and cooked. The breast skin was perfect and the meat was well done. It took us back to memories of Junto, the best chicken we have ever had. The pancetta was interesting but nothing to write home about. The mushroom bread pudding is a different story. It was essentially the best mushroom stuffing ever. 

Roasted chicken

The second entree was the lamb dish including 4 cuts of meat-the cheek, heart, neck, and tenderloin. We differ on our favorite pieces of meat here. I (Cassie) absolutely loved the marbled texture and flavor of the cheek. Rob preferred the heart for its meaty flavor and both of us agreed with was the best heart we have tasted. The tenderloin was done well but not particularly memorable. Ditto to the neck. 

All cuts of duck

Ahh, dessert.  Finally.  Mainland is known for souffle and dabbles amongst pea and corn; and in our case, sweet potato.  Paired with bourbon maple syrup, this was the best shuffle I ever tasted.  Creamy, light, a tad fluffy with a hint of natural sweetness from the potato and a sharp spiciness from the bourbon maple syrup.  without a doubt a great exclamation point on our tasting menu.

Sweet potato shuffle

The farm-to-table movement has been revving up in the recent years.  The wholesome notion of supporting local farms that provide fresh organic produce and meats was once unique and fulfilling.  Now it's a formality in the Philadelphia food scene.  This is by no means complaining; I'm 100% into this whole philosophy.  However, more restaurants mean more competition.  Mainland Inn, although very good, is a place that falls victim to the new hype of farm-to-table.  It will not crack our "best restaurant" list but is recommended for a solid suburban dining experience.