Spanish moss hangs from an abundance of banyan trees in the front yard that are accompanied by palms and other greenery of all sorts. The roosters who inhabit much of Key West are not absent in this front yard and give a very down-home feel to the place. As for the actual bar, it is situated in the rooms of the house that use to be the parlor and dining room. The motif is a kind of sci-fi modern. Prints of famous scenes from different sci-fi films adorn the walls and the flat screen was playing the new Alice in Wonderland. But don't let this turn you off. The place is full of natural light and the feeling of the old house is still present, if not somehow enhanced by the decorations. They serve only craft beers and fine wines. It is almost like a better lit Gingerman, if you're familiar with the establishment. I enjoyed one of my favorites, a Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout.
The place that got my vote for coolest atmosphere, however, was the Hogfish Bar and Grill. But this is also where my "worst" is found. We went a little off the beaten path to find this local favorite because Adam Richman, from Man Vs Food Nation, made a stop there on his Key West episode. My father was intrigued by their hogfish sandwich, so we went. If you are unaware, the hogfish is one of Key West's staples, along with conch and jumbo pinks (shrimp). It is a very odd looking fish but yields a very flaky, delicious white meat, a meat in which I wish I could have enjoyed...but I'm getting ahead of myself.
We took a seat in the open air restaurant and ordered a couple of the Key West micro brews, Sunset Ale. Like many of the restaurants we patronized in the Keys, this one had no idea of the concept that appetizers are supposed to come out before the meal, not with it. We ordered the fried green tomatoes and three orders of the lobster bisque. The bisque came out first.
Uncharacteristic of a bisque, this one was jam packed with clumps of lobster meat. I have to say, they must have stewed that bisque for two days. The lobster meat was more akin to lump crab meat. It was the most tender lobster I've ever eaten and elevated the bisque to a whole new level. Surprisingly the two best things I had on this trip were both soups. Next came our sandwiches, along with the untimely tomatoes. The tomatoes were some of the worst I've ever had. Way over battered. And the sandwich was even worse. A perfectly fried filet of hogfish sat in a Cuban role with a MOUND of onions, mushrooms, and Swiss cheese. TERRIBLE. First of all, very rarely do you mix cheese and fish, they just don't make very good music. Second, the abundance of other toppings completely killed the flavor of the fish. I gave it a few tries and eventually scraped everything off and ate the ruined filet.
Cool atmosphere, amazing bisque, but next time I'm there, I'm going with the whole fried hogfish if it's on the board.
As for the rest of the eats; we had lunch in Sloppy Joe's because we felt we had to, we had a rather enjoyable experience at Jack's Seafood Shack, and we sampled plenty of the pie in which the area is most famous for. Most of the rest of the food was very good and I would recommend any of the places I've talked about. The Grande on Duval St. makes a damn good Old Fashion but the food was mediocre. Speaking of Old Fashions, soon to come is my recollection of our final night bar crawl.
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