February 6th, 2010 . Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags: craziness, dessert, festival, food, fundraiser, key west, wine
This year marked the 16th annual Master Chef Competition benefiting the MARC House (Monroe Association for ReMARCable Citizens). The Westin provided a great location on the pier, complete with tents and far too few places to sit, or even lean.
Chefs from all over Key West were in attendance hoping to win the coveted 1st place title in each of three categories – appetizer, entree and dessert.
Clearly some restaurant folks understood the setup better than others. Those that made food in actual bite size portions that one could eat while standing, with a glass of wine in hand, were clearly thinking. Here is a hint, Chefs: if it requires a knife and more than two or three bites, at an event like this (read: with no place to sit) it is too big and unwieldy. Take your genius idea and reformat it so it can be enjoyed outside, standing up.
Food-wise, some of the standouts for me were Better Than Sex grilled brie 
and chocolate sandwich served with a strawberry prosecco soup. There was a guy who was stenciling little sugar hearts on every sandwich that went out. Tavern N’ Town had a wonderful black bean cake with mango salsa (the actual version served was topped with what appeared to be tasty roast pork). Hot Tin Roof did a pepper crusted tuna with mushrooms and a peach sauce, which somehow worked.
On the other hand, Rooftop cafe’s seared tuna wrapped in root vegetables was a cold, soggy mess. Lesson learned here: if you are making tuna, make it on site.
Overall, the event was a success and it seemed that everyone was having a good time. Here are some tips to the organizers to make next year even better:
- The ticket setup was confusing. Have 2 levels of tickets – one with wine and one without, beyond that is confusing to everyone and the bartenders pay no attention anyway.
- Get some more seats, not necessarily enough for everyone to be seated at once, but enough for us to have a fighting chance.
- Does every chef have to make something with shrimp? Maybe you can expand the categories and include things like shellfish, fin fish, meat, poultry and (gasp) vegetarian. It would force the chefs to be a little more creative and expand the audience of people that would come.
I hope the event was profitable for the MARC house. See you next year.
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February 4th, 2010 . Posted in General craziness | No Comments »
Tags: drinks, festival, key west, wine
Duval Street stretches from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. It is about a mile long. Last Saturday evening, as part of the Key West Food and Wine Festival, there was a wine tasting that traversed the entire street. Galleries, restaurants, shops and bars had stations set up so that those attending the event could come in and sample wines while being exposed to what they had to offer (fortunately, the Red Garter Saloon was not on the wine map). Overall, it was a great event.
First, the could-use-improvement points:
- Enough with the Barefoot Cellars. I know they are a sponsor, but I don’t want to drink their wine, much less drink it at four or five locations.
- I have yet to see the city enforce the open container laws. Can we please have some decent plastic stems (a la those at the MARC Master Chef event). Please?
- If Grand Cafe is a sponsor, I would think they would be welcoming people for the entire time of the event, not telling people at 7:40PM “We’re done pouring for this event” when the event is until 8:00PM. You had a bunch of people there in the afternoon for a tasting that would not have otherwise been exposed to your restaurant. Be a sport.
On the other hand, there were far more highlights than low-lights:
- Strolling Duval tasting wines is just fun, and if you can’t have fun doing that, I really feel sorry for you.
- Blackfin Bistro had some of the best wines of the evening and also provided snacks – salmon tartare on toast. They even put plates of the snacks where people were sitting, away from the bar. Kudos.
- Wyland Galleries had people upstairs in their entertaining space, which was lovely. Plus they had Piper Heidseck and food from Tavern n’ Town (I believe they were French Dip sandwiches)
- Small Chef at Large was at The Gilded Peach with delicious tuna. Bravo.
- I learned that the vintage poster shop on Duval is one of the cooler shops around. Great stuff!
- I love that 801 Bourbon had jello shots (although I passed on having any). You have to go with what you are good at. I also learned that locals get into the drag show for free!
- Towels of Key West also had some great snacks – gazpacho and seared tuna.
I could go on, but you would get bored and hungry and that just wouldn’t be right. This is another one of those events where you see the same people over and over throughout the evening. We did enjoy hanging out with Rich and Mandy from Buffalo, although I really do not get why she moved to Buffalo from Florida. Must be love.
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February 2nd, 2010 . Posted in General craziness | No Comments »
Tags: drinks, key west, sail, wine
Danger Charters does a sunset sail every night. “So what?” you may say, “so do a hundred other companies.” Well, maybe not quite a hundred in Key West, but there are many, indeed. So what’s so great about Danger?
The sailboat, Danger’s Prize, is lovely. They only take up to 25 people per sailing, so the crowd is intimate. Every evening they do a wine tasting on the sunset sail. (Now are you getting the point?) We went on this boat as part of the Key West Food and Wine Festival. They serve about 8-10 wines per night, and they change often. The crew is happy to refill your glass as often as possible, and with two crew members dedicated to being bartenders, that is pretty darn frequent. Have no fear, they also provide snacks.
While on the boat, I was naturally talking to a bunch of people around me. On a boat of 25 people I met someone who knew a friend of mine in Vermont (for years) and someone else who lived in the same building in New York as I did several years ago. What are the odds?
The funny thing about these types of multi-day festivals, you end up seeing the same people over and over again. Like the guy who didn’t realize that you should lock the door in a public restroom (I only ran into him in the bathroom once. All other times were at perfectly acceptable places).
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January 31st, 2010 . Posted in General craziness | No Comments »
Tags: gift, key west
Via Key West is a fabulous new website launched at the end of 2009 by a local Key Wester, wanting to give locals and tourists a great platform for giving gifts (or buying stuff for yourself) inspired by Key West. Stop in (virtually, of course), check it out and buy something. New products are being added all the time.
They also happen to have excellent customer service.
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January 30th, 2010 . Posted in Restaurant Reviews | No Comments »
Tags: drinks, food, key west, restaurant, seafood, wine
I will start by saying that I really like this place. The Flaming Buoy Filet Co. is located at 1100 Packer Street, at the corner of Virginia. This is the former digs of Ambrosia, and some other places in between. Although only open since mid-November 2009, The Flaming Buoy (next time I go I will try to find out how they got their name) definitely has a good thing going.
The menu, though short, is thoughtful and well done. Their entrees are unique, and they will do just about any protein with any preparation, including tofu. The wine list, although not necessarily what I would choose (but none really are) is well thought out. Almost all wines are available by the glass or bottle and prices range from $28-49 per bottle, with one or two choices at about $100. They also allow corkage for $15.
The tropical curry grouper served over brown rice was terrific. The sauce is a little spicy and has flavors of banana and pineapple. I also had the grouper special which was pan seared and topped with a fresh banana salsa. Maybe they have a banana tree out back, hence the use of so many of the fruit. Whatever it is, works. The banana salsa (I admit, I was a little hesitant) was outstanding. Delicious. Full of flavor. The dish was also served with corn on the cob and mashed potatoes, both very good.
I highly recommend a visit to The Flaming Buoy. It is a warm neighborhood restaurant. Make a reservation, as the place is small. I would also like to thank the people who rudely made a reservation and then did not keep it, thus allowing us to have a table that evening.
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January 28th, 2010 . Posted in General craziness | No Comments »
Tags: drinks, festival, food, key west, wine
This weekend marks that first annual (one can hope) Key West Food and Wine festival. While both the quality of the events and attendance remain to be seen, it has certainly been put together with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm.
The weekend will include two tastings – Friday night and Saturday night, with Saturday night’s event being a tasting along Duval Street. There is a champagne sunset sail on Friday, opening parties on Thursday and a few other things in between.
Sunday the weekend will conclude with the annual MARC house Master Chef competition. This is an annual event that always draws large crowds.
This is sure to be a fun weekend, and if you are not so into wine and food then (a) you probably aren’t finding this blog terribly interesting and (b) there is also a dulcimer fest this weekend.
stay tuned next week for reviews of some of the events.
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January 26th, 2010 . Posted in General craziness | No Comments »
Tags: food, key west, movie, weather, wine
For years the thought of going to a movie theater, waiting in line (even after buying my tickets on the internet), getting crappy snacks and listening to other people’s cell phones go off was not the most appealing way for me to spend a Saturday evening, or Tuesday afternoon for that matter.
Enter the Tropic Cinema. (Cue “Hallelujah” music here). You must realize that my first visit to the Tropic was on a day when my home was a mere 57 degrees. Yes, that is inside. We have no heat. Alas, the Tropic does and thus the attraction.
I went to see Up In The Air with George Clooney. I will not turn this into a movie review, so suffice it to say that I thought it mediocre. Somewhat entertaining. Whatever, it was nice and warm and cozy in the theater and that is what counts.
But what makes the Tropic the greatest movie theater of all time? It could be the Zabar’s coffee served at the concession stand. After all, the Zabar’s are contributors to the theater. Clearly they have good taste in movie theaters as well as coffee. It could be the selection of wines available by the glass or by the bottle. No, it is not the greatest wine list of all time, but the fact that it exists, along with decent choices and reasonable prices is a BIG deal. It could be the choices of healthy snacks, like toasted pumpkin seeds, or the array of beverages such as San Pelligrino. Perhaps it is the fact that they serve popcorn in sizes like “Date size” (for two) as opposed to “Jumbo”, and they serve it with real butter, not a cheap imitation.
I think the real reason the Tropic is, in my not so humble opinion, the greatest movie theater of all time is because it was started in 1998 by a group of people that truly wanted a cinema in Key West. It is run by a non-profit (yes, you still have to pay for your ticket) and brings quality moviegoing experiences back to Key West. They also have heat.
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January 23rd, 2010 . Posted in General craziness | No Comments »
Tags: food, key west, laziness, salad
I wanted a BIG salad
This post started as a restaurant review of one specific place. It turned into a rant about lettuce, so I will save the review for next time and save this one for something very important – salad. That big plate of greens usually served at the beginning part of a meal, at least here in the U.S.
I love salad. I eat (on occasion) salad for breakfast. It is a little disturbing how appealing I find the combination of lettuce and nice, zesty vinaigrette. Red leaf lettuce, peppery arugala, crisp romaine – I find it all good. Even the occasional iceberg wedge, sans bacon crumbles, please. So, when I see a choice of a “small” or “large” salad on a menu, you can guess which I am going to pick. I was recently at a restaurant where I ordered a Large Caesar Salad. It was serviceable, but by no means big. There were a few other issues with the salad: 1. There were tomatoes. Caesar salad does not have tomatoes, and by adding them you are not being creative, just a little weird, and 2. The lettuce was not cut. (Warning: here comes the rant.)
When did this trend of whole-leaf salads start appearing and when will it go away? If you are in the kitchen making a salad, then CUT THE LETTUCE. At least hand tear it. Just don’t make me do it, thus getting tomato juice all over myself while flinging croutons across the restaurant. Again, it is not creative, just lazy.
Arranging lettuce on a plate does not make you a good chef. Making food that someone actually wants to eat, does. So get off your high horse and make me salad I may actually want to dig my fork into, again and again. I think I will go make myself a nice bagel, along with a salad, possible topped with lox, for breakfast.
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January 21st, 2010 . Posted in Restaurant Reviews | No Comments »
Tags: drinks, key west, restaurant, seafood
Comfort food means many things to many people. In the food world most people would think of a big bowl of chicken soup or a plate of macaroni and cheese. Surprisingly, Mexican food is also something I would classify as comfort food. A nice toasty tortilla filled with cheese and some spicy salsa – there is nothing better on a cold day.
I recently made two visits to Chico’s Cantina on Stock Island. The photo above is of the albondigas (meatballs) enjoyed by a friend on a recent visit. She proclaimed them the best Mexican food she has ever had. Each visit to Chico’s starts with a basket of warm, fresh chips and salsa brought to the table. The order or guacamole did not disappoint, either.
The menu includes seafood, enchiladas, tacos and more. I enjoyed a “cheese crisp” which is basically an open-face quesadilla. The cheese was evenly melted and 
you could have it any number of ways. Fish tacos here are listed on the menu as fried. When asked if it was possible to grill them instead, the answer is a cheerful “no problem”. The tacos are served on a plate with loads of fish, salsa, guacamole, rice and beans. They are the kind of fish tacos you (OK, I) long for when too often faced with the inferior sort – fish you can’t quite identify, soggy tortillas… you get the idea. These are fresh, well prepared and delicious!
It is worth the 5 minute drive to Stock Island to get to Chico’s. Don’t be fooled by the less-than-exciting interior, instead head to the back patio (covered and heated, if needed) and enjoy!
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January 19th, 2010 . Posted in General craziness, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tags: festival, key west, music, parade, seafood
As you know by now, the people of Key West get rather excited about a lot of things. Take, for example, the Christmas parade, just a month after the Fantasy Fest parade. You may recall the Grinch sitting next to me. Maybe he was still hung over from Fantasy Fest. Granted the two parades don’t have a lot in common besides the fact that they are, in fact, parades. This weekend was the 5th Annual Seafood Festival in Bayview Park.
I think it is charming that there is so much to celebrate here. In fact, the 
grouper ban started just a couple of weeks ago, and yet there is still an abundance of seafood to enjoy. The park was packed with people waiting in line (the lines were quite long) for stone crabs, shrimp and lobster. There was even flan. Although with “The Best Flan Maker” currently residing in the cemetery, I don’t see how it could have been good. There were booths selling all sorts of stuff – both seafood related and not. There was a band playing all afternoon to the delight of those who brought lounge chairs, as well as those playing on the farthest tennis court in the park.
It was a crowded event – the middle school parking lot was packed and people were eating, drinking and generally being merry.
In the next two weeks in this festival-laden town there is a Wine and Food Festival (first annual, one can hope), and let’s not forget the Dulcimer festival. If you don’t believe that there really is a dulcimer festival, click here. I can’t possibly make this stuff up.
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