Key West Report

[carolinadawg]

My wife and I just returned from our first visit to Key West. Thanks to some great suggestions from fellow Chowhounds, we ate well!

Our first stop upon arriving was Half Shell Raw Bar. Unfortunately, we just missed happy hour, but the steamed oysters, stone crab claws and beer boiled shrimp were great. Probably the best shrimp we had during out trip.

Breakfast the next morning was Sarabeth's and it was delicious. I had an omelette with shrimp, bacon and cheese...loved it! Lunch was B.O.'s Fish Wagon...great fried grouper and conch friters. Dinner was 7fish...another great meal. Reservations are a must (we asked to sit at the bar so Brent would be our server and I'm glad we did. He is efficient, friendly and approachable). We had grouper in a mild curry sauce over sushi rice and a brownie for dessert. If you go to Key West, 7fish is a must do.

The next day ww had breakfast at Croissants de France. It was fine, but nothing great. We tried to go to Bahama Mama's for lunch, but it has apparently closed, so we pedaled over to Alonzo's Oyster House. I had the garlic lime oysters and conch chowder...both were excellent. The chowder was tomato based, like manhatten clam chowder. For dinner, we had some apps at Schooner Wharf Bar. Oysters on the half shell were excellent, shrimp were good, but not as good as Half Shell. Then we had dinner at Pepe's, which was also wonderful. My wife had a special, shrimp bisque which she loved and I had pork chops. Delicious and a great value in a fun historic atmosphere.

Camille's was our last breakfast...we both had the lobster and bacon and omelette that was soooo good!

We did a key lime pie taste-off between the Blond Giraffe and Kermits. We liked them both, but liked Kermits better.

W also had a glass of wine at the wine bar upstairs from 915 Duval and enjoyed it very much. Its a beautiful space and the bartender was very nice. 915 is definitely on our list to try next time.

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Lots of friendly folks, great food and fun bars, especially Capt. Tony's and Cowboy Bills.