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.
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| Schooner Wharf |
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| Blackened Mahi Melt |
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| 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.
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| Conch & Shrimp Ceviche at Waterfront Brewery |
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