(Sunset at Mallory Square, Key West, Florida)Cindy and I are still here in the Florida Keys, taking in the sun at Long Key State Park…and yes, our site is right on the beach again! And yes, we watch the sunrise from our coach each morning!! And yes, the waters are a deep coral blue color, it’s 78 degrees and the beer is nicely chilled. Our daughter Jessica emailed us today to inform us that Farmington, Maine (were she attends college) received 24–inches of snow yesterday!!!
Two of our children, Jessica and Chris, paid us a visit this past week for 5 days while on school break. It was great seeing them…the dogs enjoyed the added attention and the kids liked being out of the cold weather for a few days. Our oldest child, Jennifer is planning a visit in a couple of weeks as well.
We have received several suggestions as to eating places for us to try out along our journey. One of these suggestions was for Annette+'s Steak and Lobster House located in Marathon, Florida – right on the Overseas Highway (Route 1 for us ol’ timers). Sunday night Cindy & I decided to give this place a try to see if it was as good as we had been told. Upon entering, we certainly had our doubts as the interior was certainly dated with that late 50’s – early 60’s motif with dark wood walls, floor and tables – the lights turned all the way up so it felt like eating at a night game at Fenway Park. Cindy looked over her shoulder at me as we were being shown to our table, as if to ask “do we really want to stay”. The place was busy, but a quick scan of the other diners only proved that we were amongst the “youngest” patrons in the place.
The menu was the “classic” plastic laminated version and was pages in length (usually not a great sign). Our friendly server arrived at our table within a minute or two and suggested the Sunburst Martini for Cindy and the “House” Margarita seemed the appropriate choice for me. Our second round consisted of 2 more Margarita's! We decided to split the Conch Fritters Appetizer (Conch is a local mollusk much like our New England clams) which was served fried with a nice lemon buerre blanc style sauce -wow these were done perfectly. For dinner Cindy selected the Sesame Encrusted Tuna Steak and I opted for the Macadamia Encrusted Grouper…the salad bar (a la 1960’s) comes with the meal – but you are not entitled to the soup or fresh fruit selections without an additional charge!!! Ashlea, our server brought over a few deliciously warm rolls with whipped butter served in a small plastic cup. The salad was fresh and crisp and altogether enjoyable. When our dinners arrived both Cindy and I were impressed with the presentation of each plate. Cindy’s Tuna, which she ordered “Rare” had simply kissed the grill and was done to perfection. My Grouper was moist and fork tender and the Macadamia crust was just golden brown and the mandarin orange cream sauce was an excellent accompaniment. Our conversation halted as we dove into our meals with total abandonment…each bite was better then the last. Cindy had ordered the coconut sweetened sweet potatoes for her starch, which she found to be just a tad too sweet. My garlic smashed potatoes were “spot-on” and the vegetables served were in fact fresh and properly cooked!
As we nearly licked our entree plates clean, I spotted a remarkably decedent looking dessert being served at an adjoining table. It was so good looking that I had to excuse myself and ask the patron’s at that table if it was in fact as good as it looked – “Better” was the reply. A Caramel Soufflé arrived at our table about 15 minutes later accompanied by a homemade Cinnamon Ice Cream – this dish is a 12 on a scale of 1 to 10!!! Ashlea informed us that Annette makes all of the desserts herself – I now love Annette!!!
As we were finishing our dinner, I noticed that the last several tables of diners entering were of a younger generation then those mentioned previously.
All-in-all, our meal at Annette+'s was a very pleasant surprise. After originally entering, I had set my hopes low but left feeling that we had received an excellent dining tip and well worth our trip to discover.
(Interior view of Annette’s Steak & Lobster House, Marathon, Florida)
Annette+'s Steak and Lobster House rates: 
for atmosphere
But rates:
for food and level of service. I could recommend this place to anyone looking for a great meal, but Annette – please turn the lights down a bit!!!
Of course the kids wanted to visit Key West while they were visiting so on Wednesday we made our way down to the Southern most point in the U.S. and had a nice day visiting the Butterfly Conservatory, the many unique shops, Earnest Hemmingway’s Florida home and the pet-friendly Pasta Garden for lunch. Roman, our server brought out two cardboard water bowls for Tucker & Panda while we enjoyed a very nice lunch on the terrace which is set back off Duval Street which was nice as it was out of the sun. We shared the Calamari Fritti which was good although very traditional. Jessica had the Ocean Caesar Salad served with nicely grilled, plumb, juicy shrimp; Cindy enjoyed the Antipasto Salad; Chris really liked the Blackened Mahi Mahi Sandwich, and I was intrigued by the sounds of the Italian Sausage Roll with Mozzarella cheese, garlic, olive oil and Parmesan – I did not realize that this creation could have fed the entire table. It was delicious as we all enjoyed it, including Panda & Tucker.
(Patio dining at Pasta Garden, Key west, Florida)
The Pasta Garden rates:
for a nice leisurely lunch.
Our adventure continued throughout the afternoon in Key West and as the afternoon sun began to make it’s way off into the horizon, we found ourselves visiting Mallory Square which hosts a daily “Sunset Party” complete with magicians, jugglers, “The Cat Man”, Reggae music and did I mention cocktails? We found a great table overlooking the water at “Sunset Celebration” which is part of the Westin Hotel. From our vantage point we could watch the schooners head out of the harbor on their daily sunset cruise while sipping our Margarita’s; Bahama Mama’s; Green Thing’s and Beefeater & Tonics. For round 2 we decided to try the Westin’s Conch Fritters…the drinks were delicious!!!
(Schooners at sunset, Mallory Square, Key West, Florida)
As the sun slowly faded away, we all had a great time simply taking in the electrifying energy that Mallory Square omits. It is easy to see why someone could get used to life in Key West.
(Another schooner heading out at sunset from Mallory Square, Key West, Florida)
(The sun begins to set from Mallory Square, Key West, Florida)
(Almost gone!!! Key West, Florida)
As the week wound down and it was time for the kids to depart, we headed into Miami on Thursday afternoon as the kids had a 6:00am flight back home on Friday. We had a bit of a mix-up with regards to our hotel and ended up having to boondock the motor coach in a Wal-Mart parking lot for the evening (any RV’er understands this). Once we got ourselves situated and the dogs walked we were all starving and the local choices were “Hooters” (Chris’ pick); “Chili’s” (no ones pick); “Subway” or this little Japanese Sushi place called Yuki Hana Japanese Restaurant – we opted for sushi. Upon entering we were one of three tables and the staff seemed very happy to see us (Please read my “shout-out” in last weeks blog). We had a fantastic dinner of Steamed Gyosa; Edamame; Coconut Shrimp Tempura; Rainbow Roll; Spicy Tuna Roll and a Dragon Roll. Everything was fresh, Fresh, FRESH. Service was pleasant and attentive.
“Yuki Hana ” rates:
We would definitely visit again the next time we find ourselves staying in the Wal-Mart parking lot for the evening.
Please support your local restaurants and let them know how much you enjoy their hard efforts.
Have a great week, after the Keys, Cindy, the dog’s and yours truly are off to the Western side, or Gulf-Side of Florida as the GYPSY KITCHEN Tour ‘09 continues.
Until next week,
Chef John
in the “Gypsy Kitchen”
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For information and/or directions for any of these establishments, please visit our interactive “Gypsy Kitchen Tour ‘09” map.
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Ratings Scale:
= Needs Work, Most Likely Would Not Return
= Good Basic Find, Things Could Be Improved, Would Probably Try Again
= As Expected, Good Choice, A Few Things Could Be Better, Almost Certainly Visit Again
= Better Than Expected, Great Choice, Would Definitely Revisit
= Totally Blown Away, Every Point Exceeded Expectation, Would Drive Out-Of-Way To Revisit
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