Well we didn't sail, we speedboated. And it wasn't Key Largo, it was Key West.
And what a bloody great weekend it was! This American hospitality blows me away, sort of like how blown away I got on the speedboat going out to watch the amazing Key West sunset on Saturday night.
It all started innocently enough. I was visiting the wonderful Susan, who I met in the Bahamas. I arrived Friday night after an 11 hour Amtrak train ride (which was comfy, safe and great value btw). Susan and her hubby whisked me off for a Fort Lauderdale dinner at Aruba, right on the beach, where not only did I get to eat blackened red snapper, the waiter gave me tastes of lobster salad and lobster bisque - mmmmmmm. YUM YUM.
I was woken early on Saturday morning, told hurry up and get ready - we were heading to the Florida Keys, with an overnighter in Key West. OH YEAH BABY!!!!
The Florida Keys are a series of small islands, some very very small, the main ones joined by bridges so you can drive all the way to the end - Key West. One of the bridges is the famous Seven Mile Bridge (that one you see on True Lies with Arnie and Jamie Lee Curtis hanging out of a Hummer I think). The first of these Keys is the famous Key Largo (also a very um "exciting" nightclub at Terrigal on the Central Coast...hmmmmm).
We arrived in Key West after a very pretty 4 hour drive. It's a gorgeous little place, beautiful tropical architecture, nice and warm, palm trees everywhere, and lots and lots of fresh seafood.
And the fresh seafood is not only BLOODY SPECTACULAR, it's the star of this post!
How on earth do I ever explain how divine the fresh Stonecrab Claws were at Nick and Jeannine's house????? How do I say that it was like eating a delicate, silky taste of the sea that virtually disintegrated in your mouth in a sweet and salty minor explosion???? OH MY GOODNESS. It was really really special. But who are Nick and Jeannine, I hear you ask.
Nick and Jeannine are friends of Jerry and Susan - and they invited us to their home to:
a)watch the Key West sunset from their speedboat (after a really really fast ride from their place to the Harbour - I felt like I was in that speedboat scene from Charlie's Angels, I'm Cameron Diaz - see top pic above, us three Angels are there with Nick as Bosley)
b) eat Stonecrab claws they had harvested that very day from their own crab traps
c) have dinner
Geez, travelling sucks, doesn't it!!
Now, the speedboat ride was so much fun, the sunset breathtaking (see pic 2 above), the company a hoot, and I even got to see my first Turpon fish - there were schools of them out there, and boy are they bloody big fish.
We did dinner next - and it was INCREDIBLE. Being locals, Nick and Jeannine knew the best "hole in the wall" to take us. Off we went to the Shrimp Shack on Stock Island - which is the working part of Key West. We sat and ate right where all the fishing boats hang out, and where they bring back their catch. The Shrimp Shack, owned by Ray (pic 3 above avec moi), shares space with Fishbusterz, the local seafood market and distributor - the boats load their catch straight onto the wharf where we ate, and they haul it in for sorting and shipping all over the USA.
We ordered and ate a heap of local seafood. It was obscene. We ordered "Peel & Eat" Key West Pinks. Translation is, Pink Key West shrimp that comes as per pic above - heads off, but you need to peel the shell then dab them in the dipping sauces or melted butter, then eat. Pretty straight forward. I preferred them plain - why ruin good prawns with sauces?? The flavour of the Pinks was much more subtle than in Oz, but the flesh was sweet and soft, not like our salty in-your-face prawns...these are much more delicate.
We also ate Lobster Po Boy (see New Orleans post coming up), Grouper Chowder (to die for), Mahi fish and chips (done in a wonderful breading and deep fried) - all done by Ray himself. He proudly told us (over our loud appreciative moans), that his place is "Key West's only dining experience on the working waterfront". I would highly recommend a visit. Go and find it - drive past the trailer park and track it down...as Ray beautifully put it, "It's like the treasures of the world..not easy to find". Go. Do it.
You think I'm finished now, don't you? You think you can go and do something else after humouring me by reading this post. I know you do. Well, you're wrong. Sit back down. I haven't got to the best bit yet.
Nick and Jeannine's Stonecrab Claws. They were by far the BEST BIT. I catch myself dreaming about them. Seriously. Check out that bowl above...wonderful big claws, when cracked, so thick, like a crab steak - and sooooo gutsy in flavour, like I said before, a real punchy mouthful of the sea.
Now there is an amazing story to these Stonecrab. Stonecrab are actually a sustainable food resource. Listen to this. Nick and Jeannine have a resident's license to trap the crabs, they harvest them every 7 days. When they go to harvest them, they actually snap off only one of the claws (it's the law) at the knuckle - these crabs have a beautifully designed knuckle claw that snaps off easily - they are then set free - and they regrow that claw to full size. This virtually means that you have an endless supply of the most divine chunky crab claws on tap!! HOW'S THAT, EH?????!!!!!!
Sigh. Isn't Mother Nature amazing.
So, sportsfans, we finished off our Saturday night back at the locals place cracking (well, Nick the Professional Cracker, cracked them) and eating the most wonderfully sea-infused Stonecrab claws that had been harvested from their sea-backyard and boiled (in only fresh water) that day. Food experiences don't get much better than this.
I am truly humbled by the hospitality and warmth of not just these guys who gave me such an amazing weekend, but by Americans in general. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting such fun and genuinely warm people.
Thank you so much Susan and Jerry, there are no words. And to Nick and Jeannine, well, all I can say is I'll remember the Stonecrab night for the rest of my life. THANK YOU.
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