Hungry Goes Abroad: Key Largo!

Headed out for a day trip to Key Largo, a five hour trek from good 'ol O-Town. Our main objective was John Pennekamp State Park. We took a two hour glass bottom boat tour to Molasses Reef. We saw a variety of fish, the largest Loggerhead sea turtle the narrator had ever seen, and a squid, something never seen on the tour. Quite the ride!

Pennekamp was the first U.S. underwater state park and is home to the famous Christ of the Abyss statue. It has a variety of activities besides the glass bottom boat tour such as snorkel tours, suba classes, kayak rentals and a sunken Spanish shipwreck that you can swim around. The amount of people on a Friday indicated this is quite a popular destination for tourists and locals alike.

Of course, you have to eat so we asked in the gift shop where to have dinner. I had a place in mind but I was curious to see "where the locals eat." The girl loved the Pilot House, tucked away into a little neighborhood. We got directions and eventually made it there without any trouble. It is down a side street, located right on the docks. We opted to eat on the deck with a view of the water and the boats.



The atmosphere was laid back and the bar was full of folks calling back and forth to each other and the bar tenders. Clearly, they were the locals. Our waiter was laid back; actually, that may be an understatement. Extremely laid back would be more accurate. If it had been any other restaurant, he would never have cut it. But in this setting, I wasn't surprised. Don't get me wrong, it was bothersome, as at one point we were sitting and waiting for him to come back.

But enough about service...the food! I ordered conch fritters since I had never tried them and my grandpa ordered a conch chowder for appetizers. I thought the chowder was very tasty, tomato based with chunks of vegetables and conch. It was almost Italian in flavor and I would have never guessed there was seafood in it. I guess that could be a real downside if you are a huge seafood fan but since I'm not, I loved it.

The Chowder

The fritters were very good. The batter was tasty with a bit of a kick in it; there wasn't a whole lot of conch in the fritter, though. I don't know if this is typical since I haven't had it before. I loved them with a squeeze of lemon juice and dipped in the cocktail sauce.

Conch Fritters

For entrees, I went with the tuna tacos which the girl at the park recommended, my dad got the blackened Pilot House sandwich and my grandpa got the grilled Pilot house sandwich with added sweet potato fries. I'd be lying if I wasn't a bit apprehensive about ordering tuna. My only experience has been with the canned stuff and I'm afraid that scarred me. But I trusted my dad and grandpa's opinion and went for it. The two tacos come in a flour tortillas with shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, and house made taco sauce. I loved the tacos! The tuna which I got medium was very mild in flavor and didn't seem to be seasoned. Again, my lack of experience played in my favor as I didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. The pico de gallo and the taco sauce made up for any lack of flavor in the fish. If I hadn't ordered the fish, I never would have known it was in there.

Tacos w/ Tuna

My dad got the blackened fish sandwich on rye which had tomato, provolone cheese, and some sauce on it. The flavor was very good and I liked the blackened spices. I think they were a bit on the mild side for blackened but tasted good anyways. His sandwich also came with a pickle, tartar sauce, and coleslaw. I didn't like the coleslaw but the tartar sauce was delicious. It was creamy with a hint of sweetness which I think came from a pickle relish of some sort.

My grandpa got the grilled sandwich; I did not try his but I got a picture of it. The sweet potato fries were good but after having Bar Louie on Tuesday it is hard to compare. He seemed to enjoy his meal though.

Grilled Pilot Sandwich on Rye w/ Sweet Potatoes and Coleslaw

You can't go all the way to the Keys with having a slice of key lime pie. Again, this was a whole new experience for me so I didn't know if it was good, bad, or otherwise. To me, the house-made pie tasted sort of like cheesecake though not quite as dense. The graham cracker crust was a good compliment for the tang of the pie.

Key Lime Pie

Overall, I liked Pilot House and I hope to improve my knowledge on seafood. Key Largo was a great, old Florida location and I look forward to further exploring the Keys.

A Fellow Diner