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).