Category Archives: Vacation

I hope you enjoyed the guest posters last week. They all had a great recipe to share! If you get the chance hop on over to their blogs and see more delicious recipes from them.

We are back from our long weekend in Key West and all moved into our new house. We were only in Key West for three days, but I used those three days as an excuse to find the best conch fritters on the island.

We began the food adventure at Island Grill on Islamorada. The husband and I split the buffalo shrimp po boy and the conch fritters. Our trip was off to a great start. The conch fritters were crispy on the outside, but the conch was a little to chewy for my liking. I’m big on sauces and the sauce served with the conch fritter was a a delicious spicy remoulade. On a scale of 1 to 10 these conch fritters get a 7. Pretty good, but not perfect.

Once arriving on the island we checked into our hotel, Casa 325. If you are looking for a hotel near all the action I can’t say enough great things. The location was perfect, the staff was warm and welcoming, and the room was clean.

We then stopped by Alonzo’s Oyster Bar for happy hour. Everyday from 4-6:30 everything on the first page of the menu (oysters, shrimp, and appetizers) is half price, drinks are as well. It is a must stop if you are in Key West. The happy hour prices can’t be beat and neither can the Buffalo Oysters. Of course I had to try the conch fritters here as well and I’m a little sad to report they were the worst of the trip. The conch inside was the best, but the outside texture really ruined it. They were not crispy at all. In fact I think they had been sitting out for a while before they arrived at our table. There was no special sauce to go with them either. My advice is to stick to drinks and oysters at Alonzo’s. Alonzo’s conch fritters get a 5.

The walk back to the hotel resulted in a stop in Peppers, Key West’s hot sauce bar. They offer free hot sauce tastings and we couldn’t say no. We tried many different sauces and left with a bottle of our favorite, Green Lava. It is a sauce made with cilantro, avocado, and jalapenos. Not too spicy but a delicious mix of flavors.

The next day after laying by the pool and a meal that didn’t involve conch fritters. We headed to Mallory Square to watch the Catman show. He was a little difficult to find as he is not really at Mallory Square, but past it on a hotel boardwalk. It was an interesting show and he is definitely a strange guy, but now we can say we have seen it. We ended up eating a late dinner at Jack Flats that again didn’t involve conch fritters, but I did have a delicious buffalo shrimp wrap.

Our last day in Key West we sadly checked out of our hotel and did a little shopping. For our last meal we went to Schooner’s Wharf. Lunch wasn’t served until noon and we arrived a little early. Luckily we discovered happy hour was going on until noon. We enjoyed a few morning drink and waited to place our order. We ended up splitting the conch fritters and fish taco. And it was at Schooner’s Wharf that I found the best conch fritters of the trip. They receive a 9 for the crispy texture, hot out of the fryer and the tangy key lime mustard sauce. The conch was good and it was overall a great experience.

We had a great mini vacation in the Keys full of lots a food and a little bit of relaxation.

Have you been to Key West and enjoyed great conch fritters? Tell me where.