cybil J. wrote: > >A friend and I will be in the Florida Keys in late August. >We would appreciate information on restaurants there, all >kinds. Thanks. > I'll be there this (Memorial Day) weekend. Here is my usual Keys blurb, usually posted into alt.fan.jimmy-buffett. PS - None of these people give me money for this ;-) ============================================================================== My sister Kathy works as a waitress at Snapper's in lower Key Largo. It is one of the best places in the upper keys. Great seafood, good prices, and a *real nice* waterfront location. It is on the ocean side at around Mile Marker 94. Ask for Kathy Trentine, she would get a kick out of it that her brother told someone about her on some computer network! There's a great Caribean rest. in my town, Pompano Beach, called the Calypso. It is in a deserted mall near I-95 and is just a little place, but what a find! Worth a special trip! We're in north Broward, not far from Palm Beach really. Super seafood and steaks and everything else, low low prices. I go there so often, I know the owners pretty well, they are two couples, Jackie & Mike (from England and Trinidad) and Chuck & Laura (from New Jersey). Tell them also that I sent you. They will probably throw you out. I assume you will be flying into Miami. This gives you the benefit of driving through the entire keys on the way to Key West (the southernmost). There are lots of nice things to see in the upper and middle keys. 1) When you leave the airport (or even if you drive all the way down) you will end up at the end of the Florida Turnpike Extension. This is Homestead and Florida City. (You will be in the heart of where Hurricane Andrew hit). From here the roads get smaller. There are 2 choices for going on to the keys, US1 and Card Sound Road. You want to take a left and take Card Sound. After about 15 minutes you will come up to a little kind of village. Here you can stop at Alabama Jacks sleazy bar, which was in Tales From Margaritaville and is a classic place to go anyway. There's also another dump nearby niknamed the Tiltin Hilton. Have a beer and sit out on the deck for your first relaxed view of Florida Bay. You'll continue on and in another 1/2 hour meet up again with US1 (aka Overseas Highway aka A1A). You'll go through Key Largo, where you can pick up some tourist brouchures if you want at any hotel lobby (there is also a visitors center on the bay side). In fact right now you should call an 800 number and get some literature. (I think it is 1-800-FLA-KEYS). There's some tourist stuff in Key Largo at the Holiday Inn at MM 100.5 (everything's address in the keys is MM (Mile Marker). My buddy Jackie McQuire runs the Captain Jack party (head) boat across the canal if you care to go out fishing all day for about $45. The Upper Keys start at appx MM 120 and they go sown to 0 at the south of Key West). Next comes Tavernier (good restaurant = Snappers, my sister works there @ MM94). After that is Islamoroda. When you get to Islamoroda as you're driving south through the keys, a great place to stop is the outdoor bar of the Loreli Restaurant. This is on the bay side (back country) (gulf) (flats) (right) (west side) around hmmm lets say MM 78. Look for the sign with the mermaid. George Bush goes for bonefish out of this restaurant/marina. Have some conch fritters and a cold one and you will be in paradise. There are fishing boats at Whale Harbor Marina at MM82.5. Stop and see the catch if you're there around 4pm or so. Say hi to my friend Paul Johnson on the Reef Runner. The big party spot in the upper keys is right over the bridge at MM82, that would be Holiday Isle. They made Rum Runners famous. I think they were better 10 years ago, and they also weren't $5 each. If you're hungry here, there's an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet at Whale Harbor every day. My other sister Jill is a waitress there, send my regards. Have I dropped enough names yet? You can head south now through Lower Matacumbe down to Marathon etc. You should have a great time. If you want to make sure you have a great time DO NOT DRIVE DRUNK AND DO NOT SPEED. Police in the Keys could do nothing all day except arrest out of town drinkers and speeders. The locals know better and now you do too. The keys are absolutely loaded with people that love to party but they know how to do it right. I only know the upper keys so that's all I have to say. Have fun. Charlie Byrne * University of Miami * Div of Marine Biology and Fisheries 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149 * Voice: (305) 361-4705 Usual disclamers apply.
Florida