Key West Sunset
Joe is a Florida native, born and raised in Key West, so you can trust us to give you really good advice when it comes to visiting Key West, the Keys and South Florida.
We go to sunset just about every night when we are in Key West. Going to sunset means going to watch sunset, and we watch sunset from several different places around the island depending on the time of year and how much we want to be around tourists.
Fort Taylor is a state park so it will cost a few dollars to get inside, and the park closes at dusk so you have to leave immediately after sunset. Fort Taylor has a beach and the old historic fort, so many people make a day of their visit. There is a nice beach and you can grill your own food at Fort Taylor, so it is very family friendly and not nearly as crowded as Mallory Square.
Find out more about sunset in Key West by checking out these blog postings:
Key West Sunset from White Street Pier
Sunset in Key West
Food in Key West
With so many great places to eat in the Keys we get asked a lot about our favorite places. We don't go to many of the tourist restuarants and bars. If that's what you are looking for on your trip don't worry, popular places like Sloppy Joe's and Jimmy Buffet's place are easy to find on Duval Street.
Our favorite place for dinner in Key West is El Siboney on Catherine Streeet. Siboney is a cuban restuarant and is as popular with the locals as it is with tourists. The #1 roast pork comes highly recommended, as does most of the seafood on the menu.
For lunch we like Five Brothers on Southard Street. Five Brothers is a corner grocery and sandwich shop. This is where we get our Cuban Mix Sandwich served "all the way" with sweet potato fries. There are lots of places to get a Cuban Mix in Key West, so we hope you get yours at one of the local places like Five Brothers. Lots of people love Sandy's Cafe at the M&M Laundry on White Streeet, and Siboney can make you one if you happen to be there for lunch instead of dinner.
Food on Stock Island
Stock Island is next to the island of Key West, so it is bit of a bike ride and a really long walk if you don't have a car. Stock Island is far less touristy that Key West and has some of our very favorite places to eat. If you want to buy fresh seafood to cook on your own, there are a couple fish markets on Stock Island.
Hogfish Bar is probably our favorite place to go on Stock Island. Hogfish is an open-air place and we normally sit out on the dock. Getting to Hogfish the first time might be a little bit of an adventure if you are not familar with the area. Hogfish is a very relaxed atmosphere with good food. It is routinely one of the first places we go on our trips.
The Rusty Anchor is a nice place to have dinner on Stock Island. Rusty Anchor is a nice restuarant popular with locals who are looking for a good meal. Rusty Anchor also has a fish market. This is generally our special occasion restuarant so we don't go often, but we always have a good time.
Food in Marathon
Marathon is the biggest island in the Middle Keys about fifty miles from Key West, which is about an hour's drive. We normally go up to Marathon at lunchtime. Bahia Honda State Park is between Marathon and Key West, and Bahia Honda has some of the prettiest beaches in the Keys. If you head to the Keys to lay on the beach, you should go to Bahia Honda. If you go, you can walk out on the old Bahia Honda rail bridge which has an incredible view of the water.
In Marathon we love to go to Keys Fisheries and Herbie's. Both places are very popular with locals. Keys Fisheries is home of the famous lobster rueben and you sit right on the water. If you visit Keys Fishers, be prepared to give them a name of a favorite celebrity or sports team - they use these names to call out orders for pick up. Prices are very reasonable at Keys Fishers and the food is very good. We normally go for lunch, but they have a very good dinner menu, too.
