134273 Tue Feb 07 23:07:23 -0800 2006 5 10 Florida 0 721955 Hiya Hounds! My wife and I are driving from Orlando to Key West this Friday afternoon and driving back Monday afternoon. We are staying at the Duval Gardens B&B in Old Town. (They give us a continental breakfast.) Please review our itinerary and make comments or suggestions. We prefer cheaper, but not greasier, meals, and we would love to eat at least on meal on the water. ON THE WAY TO KEY WEST Ideally we will go to Craig’s in Islamorada. If we get hungry before we get to Islamorada, we will stop in Keys Fisheries in Marathon. If we get hungry before we get to Marathon, we will stop at Fish House in Key Largo. If we get hungry before we get to Card Sound Road, we will stop at Shiver's Bar-B-Q or Alabama Jack’s in Homestead. (If you insist on any of these, please let me know.) IN KEY WEST For breakfast we will try Blue Heaven and maybe Banana Café as well. For lunch we will try BO’s. We may also try El Siboney or Pepe’s. For dinner we will go to either 915 or 7 Fish...any votes? 7 Fish seems slightly cheaper, but if 915 is smaller and more intimate, I suppose we would prefer that. Are either on the water? If we have time we will boat to Little Palm Island and eat there. For desserts we will try Flamingo’s and Key West Key Lime Shoppe. For grocery will try 5 brothers and/or Waterfront Market. We’ll try and grab some coffee beans from Baby's Coffee. Lastly we will try to grab some conch fritters in Mallory Square. Other restaurants we might try: Cafe Sole, Hickory House, Upper Crust Pizzeria Tue Feb 07 23:07:23 -0800 2006 0 Matthew David 1 721961 I am SO jealous!!!! 7 Fish isn't really all that intimate or on the water, but I LOVE the food. I had a good meal at Cafe Sole my last trip. You are picking a lot of my favorites, El Siboney, B.O's, Blue Heaven, and to get your on the water fix, I'd do a drink at Louie's Back Porch, probably not a whole meal, maybe an appetizer. Wed Feb 08 07:29:10 -0800 2006 721955 0 Coyote 1 721962 Sounds good but a "must" is the Half Shell Raw Bar in Key West for lunch or dinner. Little Palm Island is amazing and as a result requires reservations ahead of time. So if you are going to do it don't wait till you arrive to make them. Baby's Coffee is just ok. They moved the roasting operation to Miami and since then its lost something. There is a new place called Island Joes coffee that is the rave. They roast out of a gas station in Marathon but I am not sure which one and many places in Key West have their coffee. I am sure if you do a google search for it you will find something on it. Wed Feb 08 08:26:47 -0800 2006 721955 0 Max 1 721973 I have not been to your other on-the-way stops and so cannot make comparisons, but I do want to mention Denny's Cuban Cafe on the main drag in Key Largo, next to a liquor store and almost across from the Holiday Inn, for excellent guava pastry, Cuban sandwiches, and Cuban coffee, esp if you are on the road and wanting to get through Key Largo in reasonable time. They also have salsa/Latin music Saturday evening, I believe. I really liked BO's and El Siboney (be sure to get to the latter early to avoid lines). Did not get to Pepe's or 7 Fish. The lunch menu at Blue Heaven seemed overpriced and not as interesting as I'd been led to expect, and we never got there for breakfast (because of the continental B we had at our inn). I liked Flamingos and the Key Lime Shoppe too. 5 Brothers had excellent Cuban/grouper etc sandwiches, which we had for lunch. I also had a Cuban sandwich at Sandy's which was fun by the laundromat but not as good as 5 Bros (or Denny's in Key Largo). I noticed an interesting looking Polish grocery down the street from Sandy's (I think that is White Av?) (there are a lot of eastern European immigrants in Key West) butnever got back, alas. I think they did takeout pierogi etc, no idea if any good. Wed Feb 08 11:19:44 -0800 2006 721955 0 Wanda 1 721981 I haven't been to the Keys for some time now....but did get at one time all the brochures on Little Palm Island .....its an amazing place from what I see and hear and could definately be the perfect ending to your vacation. My friend goes to Islamorada alot and raves about Pierres for dinner. Also she says Morado Bay is great for lunch and to watch the sunsets from. Its right next door or maybe even part of Pierres and owned by the same owner. Also recently, I got a brochure from Sarabeths. They opened this year in Key West. (Their in N.Y. and always a great breakfast spot-so check it out also) Have fun! Wed Feb 08 14:01:44 -0800 2006 721955 0 Carolew 1 722155 Hiya Hounds---we had a great trip! Our scuba diving was cancelled, but we had fun parasailing, shopping, swimming at Ft. Zachary Taylor State Park, and visiting the Harry Truman Whitehouse. But on to the chow: Mangrove Mama's = GOOD Blue heaven = GOOD B.O.'s Fish Shack = GREAT Conch Fritters in Mallory Square = DECENT Upper Crust Pizza = DECENT/GOOD Blonde Giraffe = GREAT Half Shell Raw Bar = DECENT/GOOD Duvall Gardens B&B (Continental Breakfast) = DECENT Baby's Coffee = GOOD On our way down Mangrove Mama's hit the spot. Everything was fresh: the salad, the vegetables, the rice, the tempura shrimp, the key lime tartar sauce. The atmosphere was cheesy and delightful and the service decent. We had Blue Heaven breakfast twice. We favored the shrimp omlette over the lobster eggs benedict. The pecan pancakes and blueberry pancakes were disappointing. The coffee (Baby's coffee) was tasty. The banana bread was subtle in flavor and therefore perfect. The homeade OJ hit the spot. The first morning we waited for an hour to get a table. We didn't get around to playing ping pong, but we found a niche near the entrance to chill on the porch swing while we sipped a cranberry/pineapple juice. B.O's was our fave, we also hit this place twice, with a shrimp'n'chips each time. The shrimps was so tender and the fries so soft, we were quite satisfied. The key lime mayo was terrific as was the lime juice and ambiance. We tried the conch fritters in Mallory Square, and liked the fellow cooking them up, but the texture was way too chewy, and his wife's key lime pie left something to be desired. Upper Crust Pizza was a nice late night snack. We had the Spinach Leaf pizza: "red pizza topped with fresh spinach, ricotta and fresh garlic." We added feta cheese and the taste made us not mind the messy/crumby crust. On our way to the white house we stopped for a slice at the Blond Giraffe. We didn't try the Key Lime Shoppe, but it is hard to imagine a better slice of key lime pice. We opted for whipped cream rather than meringue and were in heaven! Take-out from Half Shell Bar was good enough, but I now wish we had taken the time to dine at 7 Fish. Ah well, there is always next time. Monday morning, we tried our B&B's continental breakfast, which was just fine. They had bagels, cinamonn rolls, cereal, coffee (no decaf), OJ, kiwi, apples, and I think some banana bread. On our way out of town we stopped and bought a breakfast blend bag of beans at Baby's Coffee. They also had slices of Blonde Giraffe key lime pie, so we indulged once more. Next time we will try some of the other excellent suggestions you all made. Thanks for the input!! ~Matthew Wed Feb 15 14:31:44 -0800 2006 721955 0 Matthew David