Hot Tin Roof

Travel Edition – Key West, FL

This has to be one of the coolest places to eat in Key West. It overlooks Key West Harbor and Sunset Pier and has spectacular views, especially if you go there in the evening when the entire pier lights up and is alive with people and music. The styling is Island whimsy and has a very interesting entrance and staircase. We had difficulty with the GPS finding the place as it is tucked around the corner close to the pier entrance. We had to go into the hotel (Ocean Key Resort and Spa) and ask where it was. Before we opened our mouths, they greeted us and said “looking for Hot Tin Roof” (so it must happen frequently).

We were running late this evening, so I had called ahead and let them know. They were very accommodating and let us know it was not a problem but there was another reservation for the same table an hour later and asked if that would be enough time. I appreciated that they were willing to be pleasant and straight forward, so we respected the timeline and kept within it.

We were seated outside on the balcony overlooking the pier and, if you can, we would recommend you request it as it has to be one of the most romantic spots in all of key west. The interior was full of wild sculptures and painted murals on the ceiling and gave that Island feeling of eclectic styling.

The service was impeccable and pleasant. They have a nice selection of interesting and unique crafted cocktails, so I ordered the “Hot tin tini” which was a chilled pineapple vodka infusion (and very good) and my wife ordered the Kim Crawford sauvignon blanc. We already knew what we wanted to eat so we ordered immediately (and we wanted to make sure we didn’t take too much time, it turned out that the service was so good it didn’t matter) and relaxed with our drinks and enjoyed the views and live music coming from the pier (with the exception of the occasional rum party boat passing by, which we always smile at because that’s just not our idea of fun but to each their own…).

For appetizers we ordered the Burrata Salad with cucumber which was incredible, and we could have just eaten that and been happy. We then ordered the Lobster Mac and Cheese and the Beef Short Rib. Both were amazing and we appreciated the hometown comfort food vibe we got from them. Apparently, the menu changes nightly so this restaurant never gets boring and we would have gone back several times if we were staying longer. We wanted to save room for dessert and take them to go so we could enjoy them back at the hotel with the live music there (sadly we found out they were not having live music that night so we should have stayed and eaten our desserts by the pier). We ordered the Pineapple Rum Cake with Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream and the Key Lime Pie with a cashew graham cracker crust.

Overall, this was a great experience that we wish we had taken more time to enjoy and would highly recommend.

Tonight reminds me of something I once heard someone say when giving marital advice, “Marriage is like a bank, you have to put in more than you take out”, and tonight was a romantic evening where we put a little more in the bank.

Wishing you and yours well. 😊

Southernmost Beach Cafe

Travel Edition – Key West, FL

We arrived at the Southernmost Beach Café after an obligatory photo at the Southernmost Point and a quick walk over. They have a huge Adirondack chair out front that is a bit of an optical illusion, if you take a picture sitting all the way back it appears as if you are really tiny. They have a small beach and some nice places to sit and enjoy the view for a few before dinner. Unlike some of the finer dining places this has a down home and casual feel about it along with extraordinary views. It doesn’t hurt that it is located at the end of Duval so the location is perfect for a stroll either before or after dinner down the famed street.

Parking can be a bit challenging so like we mentioned before, we would recommend leaving your vehicle at the hotel and just hail a Lyft or Uber. You will find this to be an easy and stress free experience. We arrived early and after taking a couple of tourists photos we strolled down Duval and visited several of the many art studios and souvenir shops. There are some incredible art studios down the strip so take your time and marvel at all the beautiful things you cant figure out where you would put in your home (or at least that’s what we do).

We strolled back to the Café and were welcomed at the front with a big smile and immediately seated in a cute outside table just off the sand and looking at the ocean. Actually, pretty much every seat here looks directly at the ocean. The waitress came and took our drink orders (of course we ordered white wine and a dirty martini). I was impressed when, not wanting to keep us waiting, the waitress made the decision to put regular olives instead of the blue cheese stuffed olives (which I love) in my drink so she could get them out. The impressive part is she told us that they couldn’t find the blue cheese olives but she would keep looking and didn’t want to keep us waiting. In a couple minutes she returned with the correct olives and a big smile. I appreciated that she made it a priority even though I had not.

We ordered Eggplant Chips as our appetizer (which were delicious). For the main course we ordered a Tomato Burrata Salad and the Drunken Glazed Scallops with lobster mashed potatoes and glazed baby carrots. I was pleasantly surprised that the flavors and plating were such a high quality and was not expecting that in a casual café. The food was delicious, and the service was wonderful. We really enjoyed the food and the Key West type atmosphere. Sometimes we want good food without all the extra efforts, and this seems like the perfect place for that. Enjoy every moment in life and if you are as lucky as I am to have an amazing spouse, these are the times to appreciate. Wishing you the best.

Better Than Sex

Travel Edition – Key West, FL

Yes, that really is the name of a restaurant in Key West. Actually, it is specifically a dessert restaurant. We weren’t sure what to make of this when we first saw it but after seeing their clever menu we decided to give it a shot, and we were glad we did. This is just a fun and romantic experience centered around a total dessert experience.

I don’t know if you have ever attempted to drive in downtown Key West but it is not for the faint of heart. Between the scooters, golf carts, and pedestrians (most of which were less than sober) it can certainly surprise you at any moment. So, we prefer to use Uber or Lyft while in town. It’s very convenient and there are plenty of quality local drivers, so I don’t think we ever waited for more than 2 minutes for a ride anywhere, which was nice. You can walk and explore as much as you like then just hail a Lyft when you are ready.

We took our Lyft from the pier to “Better Than Sex” and found several couples waiting out front (on a Thursday night in the middle of COVID) so we highly recommend reservations. There were several people that were getting desserts to go (which typically means they have excellent food) but the experience is so good you should take your time and do the full sit-down experience. We were greeted immediately and found a seat in the small and slightly crowded waiting area. They called us and we walked through the opening to a dimly lit dining room with separated and cozy individual tables that were more like little private booths. The walls were painted a deep red, the ceiling had tin decorative tiles, the booths each were lit mostly with candlelight, and there was an eclectic collection of different chandeliers everywhere. It was clearly intended to create a cheeky and romantic atmosphere and landed the intended effect.

The server came by our private area and offered us digital menus which I appreciated since I have trouble reading menu’s in dimly lit restaurants (it was also hard to get good pictures). My wife tells me its because I am presbyopic and my eyes cannot flex like….blah, blah, blah. I know its just a nice way of telling me I’m old (specifically because she always gets a sly smile and a twinkle in her eye when she is telling me that, I think she finds it funny) and I think its cute when she teases me. The digital menus are nice and we took a few minutes laughing about the descriptions they use to describe the drinks and desserts (this creates a bit of levity and some fun banter with your date so I don’t want to spoil it for you but take some time and enjoy their creativity and word play).

We ordered our drinks which were decadent and fun. I ordered the “Late night Rendezvous” which is nice coffee with an Amaretto licker and rimmed with your choice of chocolate, and my wife ordered the “French Kiss” which is Ayala Champagne in a caramel covered glass with bruleed sugar. We then ordered the “Between my red velvet sheets” red velvet cheesecake on a cookie dough crust with cream cheese frosting and the “Popcorn Pimp” vanilla bean cheesecake on a sugar cookie crust and a salted popcorn chocolate bark with caramel sauce. I did say decadent right? It was all excellent and I will let you read the real (slightly blush inducing) descriptions on your own…….

Overall, this was an excellent experience with wonderful desserts and a great atmosphere that you can’t help but enjoy. Plan to spend some time here and enjoy! Highly recommended.

Latitudes on Sunset Key

Travel Edition – Key West, FL

Amazing. That is the best way to start a write up on Latitudes, amazing atmosphere, amazing service, amazing food. This might be one of the most romantic restaurants we have ever seen. I will say that getting a reservation can be quite a challenge so the moment you start planning a trip to Key West you should probably book this one. We tried, as usual, to book online with OpenTable but there was nothing available. I did however find success when I picked up the phone and spoke to the staff there directly. I explained that it was my wife’s birthday and they managed to make it work and fit us in. If you are unable to find a dinner reservation it is still worth going if you can get in for lunch.

Our reservation was for 5:15 (which is actually the time you check in for the water taxi not your meal) so we would be there to see the sunset. They will check you in dockside then transport you to Sunset Key (a beautiful private island that has homes owned by superstars like Oprah) just 10 minutes by boat. When you arrive you will immediately see why this is such a coveted reservation and why some people make them a year in advance. The restaurant has a little beach area surrounding it and plenty of outdoor tables with beautifully lit tiki’s like something you would expect to see in Hawaii or in a movie. Once you get off the boat you will pass by the quaint outdoor bar and be checked in then immediately seated. One couple stopped at the bar first and was not checked in which created confusion once they were ready to be seated. We would recommend you just get a drink at your table and enjoy the view.

The staff was impeccable and very professional. Since this is Key West the dress code is relaxed but make no mistake, this is an upscale restaurant so wear something nice. My wife had on a beautiful Lilly dress and pearls and I had on a nice Tommy Bahama shirt and khaki shorts.

They have a very nice drink menu and the very friendly waiter made his recommendations. I had the Key Lime Martini (and later the house special Latitude 24N81W martini) and my wife had the Pomegranate Margarita. All of the drinks were fantastic and they kept a good eye out to make sure they were there when you wanted another or to keep your waterglass full.

For appetizers we had the lobster bisque (which was different because they use local Florida lobster but very good nonetheless) and the artisan cheese plate (perhaps one of the best cheese plates I have ever had, it was incredible). For the main course I had the grilled center cut tenderloin (it was perfectly cooked and the seasoning and blue cheese topping was amazing) and my wife had the butter poached Caribbean lobster tail in a delicate potato fried basket (absolutely beautiful and delicious but different from Maine lobster, if you have never had it you should expect it to be a little less sweet).

By the time we were finishing our meals the sun was setting and the atmosphere was incredibly beautiful. I believe there was another couple that got engaged on the dock just in front of the restaurant and everyone clapped and cheered. The staff was very gracious to take pictures for all the couples that were trying to capture the moment and the entire experience felt like something out of a magazine. We opted not to have dessert as we had other plans for that (which I will do a write up on), not that we could have eaten one more bite. The food was so good you just don’t want to stop eating. We went back to the dock and relaxed while we waited for the next ferry back to Key West (I believe they come every 30 mins). The ride back was nice and the boat ride feels like a bit of a bonus and we really enjoyed every minute of this experience. We would highly recommend you plan a special trip to Latitudes the next time you go down to Key West, we know we will again. Have you ever had your expectations exceeded on every level and somehow the food tastes better, the service seems excellent, and the atmosphere more romantic and a bit magical? Yeah, its like that.

Casa Marina – Key West

For my wife’s birthday we decided to have a little weekend getaway in famed Key West, Florida. Known for Earnest Hemmingway, Truman’s Little White House, Fantasy Fest and the Southernmost Point of the United States (Stateside, I actually think Hawaii is closer to the equator) and only 90 miles from Cuba (There is a story of the mayor once waterskiing to Cuba to illustrate how close it is).

We made some new friends from Michigan who know way more about food and libations and they recommended we say more about the total experience so here goes.

We booked a room at the Waldorf Astoria’s Casa Marina for 3 days and away we went on a road trip adventure only 4 hours away from the Palm Beaches. We packed up the Ferrari (light packing since there is not much trunk space) and headed out with the top down in the beautiful sunshine. Ok, it was a bit ambitious to drive the whole way with the top down so we put it down once we were off the turnpike, and to be honest we had to put on sunscreen after we realized we were getting sunburns (Not a great way to start out a vacation). But, wow, what a view and beautiful drive! Tip: if your following the GPS you may want to ignore it as you get into Key West and the road forces you to turn left or right. Turn left to take the scenic way around the island and enjoy the view instead of heading through the center of the city residences and crowded streets.

I’ll take a moment to talk about the Casa Marina and what to expect there. They do have valet parking and their team is experienced with supercars so they knew exactly what to do without having to be taught (which we often have to do) but be aware that there is no covered parking and it tends to rain regularly in FL so when we got the car back 4 days later it was the dirtiest I had ever seen it (I am sure my wife was expecting me to freak out but it was fine).

The resort boasts the largest private beachfront in Key West and is a historic building (so don’t be expecting newly renovated, or even the most logical layout in the rooms) and is quite charming even though some of the room bathrooms are quite small. We would recommend you spring for the ocean view with a balcony on the 3^rd floor (you can thank us later). The staff is warm and welcoming and if you are looking for a true Waldorf experience have a chat with Vincent out front. The pools (one for families and one adult only) and beach are the reason to head to this resort with an amazing waterfront experience but be careful if you want to go for a swim in the ocean and its probably best if you enter and exit down by the watersports rental area as we found the rocks to be quite tricky (my wife opted just to head to the pool instead).

We found ourselves renting the sundials (partially covered beach daybeds) each day (literally 30 feet from the water) and it really felt like you were in your own private oasis on the beach but with great service. They technically don’t serve food and drinks on the beach but they do at the pools and we found with a smile and a nice tip the staff were very willing to accommodate. We also enjoyed the nightly local bands and entertainment on the beach or around the bar area each evening.

This was a truly amazing experience and I can think of only a few places that offer this type of old school resort style experience (it reminded me of the resort in Dirty Dancing but I don’t think my wife was up to trying the water lift, LOL). If you plan on spending more time at the pool or on the beach then in the room we would recommend it. There is no shortage of things to do in Key West so have fun.

Stay tuned this week to hear about the food…….