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Laura Martone
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American Nomad covers the best of U.S. travel—from vacation deals to festivals, weekend getaways, travel tips, and more. A seasoned traveler and Moon author, Laura is the perfect guide to help discover new gems when traveling domestically.
February 13, 2011, 11:08 pm
A Middle Keys Escape: Seafood Dinners in Marathon
Though I've already announced the winners of my latest guide giveaway, I certainly haven't forgotten about posting the last part of my “Middle Keys Escape” series. After exploring my favorite accommodations, breakfast spots, lunchtime options, and family-friendly attractions in and around Marathon, Florida, I have only one topic left. That's right, folks – it's dinnertime!
Situated between mile markers (MM) 70 and 45, the Middle Keys boast several ideal options for dinner, especially if you prefer local seafood. One of my – and my husband's – favorite places is the spacious Castaway Waterfront Restaurant & Sushi Bar (1406 Oceanview Ave., Marathon, 305/743-6247, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily, $10-30), which, prior to a massive renovation that dramatically expanded and modernized the space, was the oldest intact restaurant on Vaca Key. Originally built in 1951 and frequented back then by beer-drinking shrimpers, the restaurant has been owned for more than a decade by hospitable husband-and-wife duo John and Arlene. As John explained during our last visit to Castaway, he and Arlene arrived in 1999 after getting married, quitting their jobs, and sailing from Los Angeles to the Florida Keys, where they decided to buy the popular local eatery – which was little more than a bar beside the shrimp docks – and stay for a while.
“We had some money saved, a good business plan, and very little experience,” said John, who once served in the U.S. Navy and previously owned a small engineering firm. But the lack of experience didn't faze him. “We came here to get away from doing what we were doing,” he said, and after all, the former owner “had lost his love of the place.”
Eventually, the space “was built up and out,” according to John. When part of the floor collapsed during dinnertime in the summer of 2007, John said, “we had to re-imagine the whole place. We didn't want to chase away the locals, but we wanted to protect it from everything that floods or blows.” With the help of private funding, the restaurant is now quite impressive, featuring a cavernous indoor space with booths, tables, and televisions for sports lovers, plus quiet outdoor seating alongside the adjacent marina and a casual tiki bar where you can listen to live music before or after your meal. In addition, fishing charters are offered in the channel behind the restaurant.
Of course, the décor isn't the only thing that's changed over the years. “I had a 12-item menu when I bought the place,” John said. “Seventy percent of the business was steamed shrimp and beer.” Well, that's certainly not the case today. The eclectic menu, which John created himself, boasts such delectable seafood dishes as freshly shucked oysters, shrimp ceviche, sautéed alligator tail smothered in mushrooms and scallions, hogfish stuffed with shrimp and scallops, premium queen conch lightly egg-battered and fried, and “you catch 'em, we cook 'em” options – not to mention a full lineup of topnotch sushi. Of course, Castaway also features well-prepared steaks, baby back ribs, several salads, and more than 30 beers on tap, from Bud Light to Sierra Nevada to Guinness Stout. As John claimed, “Tourists eat fish, locals go out for steaks,” so it's no surprise that the menu reflects such variety.
During our last visit, we started our meal with a selection of delicious appetizers, including usuzukuri (thin slices of Scottish salmon in a citrus-soy ponzu sauce), oysters Tokyo (raw oysters with sour cream, smelt roe, and Kimchee sauce), oysters Moscow (raw oysters with sour cream, horseradish, and red and black flying fish roe), oysters crawfish Benedict (baked oysters with mushrooms and diced crawfish, topped with lobster and hollandaise sauces), and sautéed deep sea scallops. Afterward, we shared a salad with a delicious homemade ginger sauce, then sampled three different entrées: seared yellowfin tuna in a ginger/wasabi crepe, snapper Mazatlan (sautéed local snapper with tomatoes, mushrooms, scallions, and artichoke hearts, in a wine-cream-basil sauce), and slow-roasted prime rib. Despite being fairly full after dinner, we forged ahead and made some room for a shared slice of delicious key lime pie.
Given such wonderful dishes, it's no wonder that, despite its hidden location on a side street south of U.S. 1, Castaway can get fairly crowded with tourists and locals during the peak season (from January to April) – often making it necessary for patrons to make reservations, park in overflow lots, and hop aboard a golf cart shuttle. When it's really busy, you might see John and Arlene tending the sushi bar. On an active weeknight in January, we even spied Matt and Carolyn Anthony, owners of Sparky's Landing, another popular restaurant in the Marathon area, dining nearby – and what better testimonial could there be for Castaway than a fellow restaurateur's seal of approval?
Another favorite of ours is the Island Fish Co. Restaurant & Tiki Bar (12648 Overseas Hwy., Marathon, 305/743-4191, 11:30 a.m.-close daily, $8-32), located on the bay side of U.S. 1 near MM 54. Featuring one of the longest tiki bars in the Florida Keys, this casual eatery offers a rustic indoor patio area, decorated with festive signs and enclosed by canvas flaps in poor weather – in addition to outdoor seating alongside the water, the perfect spot to watch a classic Florida Keys sunset. It also presents one of the largest menus in the Keys, including soups and salads; wraps, burgers, and sandwiches; raw, steamed, and baked seafood; fried island platters; Italian and Mexican dishes; and various house specialties. Also impressive is the drink menu, which boasts various beers and specialty drinks, from hurricanes and margaritas to key lime coladas and gulf oyster shooters.
During our last visit, Dan and I opted for a table in the enclosed patio area, then kicked off a wonderful meal with a key lime martini, served in a martini glass that was cleverly ringed with graham cracker crumbs, and a plate of delicious fried calamari, lightly breaded and prepared with onions, banana peppers, diced tomatoes, cilantro, and key lime mustard. Afterward, we shared two entrées: the Caribbean special (seasoned, pan-seared grouper, served with island rice, black beans, and pineapple salsa) and the stuffed shrimp (Key West shrimp, stuffed with mango crabmeat, baked with lemon, garlic, and white wine, topped with Key lime mustard sauce, and served with island rice, black beans, and sautéed vegetables). The Caribbean-style grouper was especially delicious.
Dessert was memorable, too. Opting for a variation on tradition, we sampled the flash-fried key lime pie, which was covered with a brown sugar crust and drizzled with a raspberry sauce. Though I prefer the traditional key lime pie (which happens to be my all-time favorite dessert), this was well worth sharing with Dan – and a nice way to punctuate the meal.
Naturally, these aren't the only good options for a seafood dinner in Marathon. Even some of the area hotels have delightful on-site seafood restaurants. At Hawks Cay Resort & Marina (61 Hawks Cay Blvd., Duck Key, 305/743-7000), for instance, the laid-back Tom's Harbor House (305/289-2970, 4 p.m.-close daily, $6-23) serves seafood soup, fish tacos, shrimp salad, fresh fish, and other seafood dishes every night (5-10 p.m.). As a bonus, Tom's features two daily happy hours (4-6 p.m. and 9 p.m.-close). Farther west, the Keys Fisheries Market & Marina (3502 Gulfview Ave., Marathon, 305/743-4353 or 866/743-4353, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily, $8-29) offers an open-air dining experience, with picnic tables beside the marina and a variety of fresh seafood dishes, including such popular choices as the lobster Reuben, key lime scallops, and whiskey peppercorn snapper.
For more information about restaurants in the Middle Keys, consult the Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce (12222 Overseas Hwy., Marathon, 305/743-5417 or 800/262-7284, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily) or my recently published Moon Florida Keys – and enjoy your next trip to the Sunshine State.
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As always, I’m open to ideas for future posts. If you have any suggestions, burning questions, or destinations that you’d like me to explore in greater detail, please comment below or contact me via laura@wanderingsoles.com.
Disclosure: While I occasionally accept free or discounted travel assistance when it coincides with my editorial goals, my opinion is never for sale, which means that everything written in my American Nomad blog and Moon travel guides is my unbiased reflection of the things that I see, do, and experience while traveling across the United States.
Photo of the Castaway Waterfront Restaurant & Sushi Bar © 2011 Daniel Martone / Text © 2011 Laura Martone
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Laura Martone is Moon’s American Nomad and the author of Moon Florida Keys, Moon Michigan, Moon Baja RV Camping, and the upcoming Moon New Orleans, which will be published in Fall 2011.
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COASTAL ANGLER MAGAZINE
OCTOBER 2011
