This year we decided to take advantage of the long Thanksgiving weekend and travel somewhere we’d never been before, and we settled on Key West!  If you’re unfamiliar with just where Key West is, let us give you a little geography lesson:  at the bottom of Florida, just south of Miami, are a chain of islands that stretch out into the Gulf of Mexico – these are called the Florida Keys.  Bridges connect the islands so that you can drive all the way down U.S. 1 to the furthest inhabited key, which is Key West.  It’s a popular tourist destination, because it’s warm all year round there and also because there’s a lot to do:  you can visit Ernest Hemingway’s home, you can kayak and see all kinds of interesting wildlife, you can bar hop at dozens of different spots, and of course there’s tons of cool restaurants to check out.  So today we’re going to present you with a sampling of some places we tried while we were there, but just be warned that there are images of meat here.

One aspect of Key West’s food scene that we enjoyed was all the casual spots on offer, where we could stop in and get just a quick and tasty snack.  For example, we got a chance to try a little Cuban food at El Siboney – they made Miriam a vegetarian plate with yuca, plantains, rice, pickled onions and a slice of Cuban bread.

Cyril got a similar plate, except with roast pork instead of yuca.

At Old Town Bakery, Miriam got the vegetarian sandwich, made with spinach, thick slices of fresh mozzarella, and a sun-dried tomato pesto …

… while Cyril had a breakfast sandwich made with eggs and bacon on a croissant.

We also discovered Frita’s Cuban Burger Cafe, a small counter service place that’s open late.  Cyril had the namesake traditional Frita burger, topped with matchstick potatoes and cheddar cheese, all on a Cuban roll.

But Frita’s also has some good vegetarian options, like these veggie tacos stuffed with fried avocados, queso fresco, hot peppers, and coleslaw.

Plus we also shared a side of yuca fries topped with cilantro and garlic.

Now if you’re looking for something sweet, Key West also has a lot of cool places.  You can go to Mattheessen’s for enormous cookies – this one is their classic chocolate chip.

You can get some creative donuts at Glazed – here on right is a brown butter hazelnut one, and on the left is the stuffed key lime pie donut.

Speaking of key lime pie, which is the area’s specialty – the most famous place in Key West to get some pie is Kermit’s, so of course we had to stop there.  Here’s a slice of their key lime pie dipped in chocolate and stuck on a popsicle stick for your eating convenience.

Then for dinner one night we decided to stop at Santiago’s Bodega, a tapas restaurant that also has two locations on the Florida mainland.  In the tradition of tapas, we ordered a bunch of different things to split, starting with this spicy curried lentil soup.

Plus the avocado and pear salad, topped with Parmesan cheese and pine nuts.

Next up was some puff pastries filled with mushrooms, herbs, Parmesan, crème fraiche, and a béarnaise sauce.

And some patatas bravas, topped with olives, capers, tomatoes, Parmesan, and a spicy aioli.

And finally, burrata and cherry tomatoes drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette.

And one last place we want to highlight, which actually isn’t on Key West – instead, it’s on Islamorada, a different key that’s further east towards the mainland.  Since it’s a three hour drive from Miami to Key West, many people (us included) stop at one of the keys along the way for a bite to eat.  On Islamorada we found M.E.A.T. Eatery and Taproom and decided to try their burgers.  Thankfully they offer an Impossible Burger, so Miriam got that topped with cheddar, jalapeños, and a thick onion ring, plus truffle fries on the side.

And Cyril had their signature burger, a double Nancy Pants with American cheese, plus some onion rings.

So there’s our suggestions for what to try if you’re traveling in the Keys.  There’s a lot on offer there, but we think we found the perfect mix of sandwiches, sweets, Cuban food, burgers, and one really interesting and unique table service spot.  There’s a lot of drinking, swimming, and soaking up the sun to do in Key West, but when you get hungry check out these places that go beyond just your usual tourist food and serve up a nice variety of delicious, local eats.