| Local Classics: Keys Fisheries, Marathon |
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| May 01, 2009 |
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The road to Key West is a long one. It requires a lunch stop (a breakfast stop if you leave early enough. We don't.) So when I recently headed south, a friend said my must-stop for lunch was Keys Fisheries Market & Marina in Marathon. True to form, we aren't even halfway there when heading south, so I am determined to make it our lunch stop as we head north.
I succeeded. Keys Fisheries is not on the main drag of Route 1 but about 1 block away--turn bayside (right if you are heading south, left heading north) on 35th Street once you are in the heart of Marathon. A big parking lot filled with cars, large signs welcoming you. Trust me, you cannot miss it.
Perched right over the water, Keys Fisheries serves up simple goodness: fresh fish prepared loads of ways. I love this sign: Items in red are house specialties. Items in blue are just plain good.
The other words of universal wisdom? Good seafood is not cheap and cheap seafood is not good. I know I'm going to be very happy with my lunch.
I go straight for the house specialty, a lobster reuben. I'm a bit dubious, but they win me over. There's even a running contest -- guess the number of lobster reubens sold in any given month, win a prize. It's tasty, with great rye bread and plenty of cheese and cole slaw, all complementing the sweet chunks of lobster.
Other house specialties include stone crab soup, lobster bisque, coconut shrimp (I get to taste those: excellent -- the shrimp still juicy with a coating of crispy sweet coconut on the outside), crab cakes, fried conch. The menu is enormous; it's printed on a big board next to the order window. The day we lunch here, we ID ourselves by naming our favorite TV show; they call that out when the order is ready. We were the desperate housewives. My daughter got to choose ... I get the distinct feeling you cannot go wrong here.
The Key lime pie lives up to its billing, the perfect combination of sweet and biting tartness that I love in my Key lime pie.
We dine on picnic tables looking out over the water. The stream of customers is steady, but everyone is happy and relaxed. The food is good, the view is great, my company content. That's all I need in a place.
Keys Fisheries has it all. (If this entices you, but you cannot get to Marathon, check out the web site for orders that ship.) This was certainly a must-stop and will remain so any time I head north or south in the future.
Keys Fisheries, 3502 Gulfview Avenue, Marathon |
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| View from the Tables at Keys Fisheries, Marathon |
| Credit: Barb Freda |
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