Visit the Conch House, Mon

The weather is absolutely beautiful here. Mid-seventies, a generous breeze, and clear skies that make even the worst photographer look like a pro.
But it's never enough, is it?

So yesterday we went to our favorite slice of the Caribbean, the Conch House. We haven't been there for a couple of months, and I was excited to go again.

If you haven't been to the Conch House, you should know about some of the things that make it special: they have a ton of tiki's all over the place (they're worth walking around to look at--I took some photos but I can't remember which camera they are on, so as soon as I do, I'll post them), they are right on the water, the temperature there is about 25 degrees cooler than anywhere else (so take a sweater, even if you're sweating when you begin your trip there), and they have these really cool tiki huts up on piers where you can eat (and sway a little in the breeze).

When we got there yesterday, there was a tiki hut available (probably because the wind was a little whippy...and other less hardy souls decided to eat inside, or on the ground floor). We hopped on up there, and enjoyed the view and the breeze.

It definitely feels like the Caribbean. There's the rustle of the palapa's dried roofing material, the reggae music in the background, and the easy laid back attitude of the young and good-looking staff.

I started the meal with one of my favorites--the Minorcan conch chowder. It's a tomato-based stew, filled with potatoes and conch, and enough red pepper to leave a pleasant burn in your mouth afterwards. For my main course, I had the blackened mahi tacos, which were excellent. They had a little cabbage, and a tangy sauce that reminded me of doctored thousand island dressing (which downplayed the blackened part pretty well).

Mike got the Anastasia key lime shrimp, which comes with pasta. I snagged one of the big crustaceans off his plate, and it tasted very good.

Other members of our group got the cheesesteak (which came with batter-dipped fries, or "lumpy fries" as my FIL likes to call them), the fried oysters (which were big and sweet, according to Grandma), and the fish of the day (which was wahoo). We all were happy with our meals.

Unfortunately, we were too full to get the key lime pie, which I got last time we were there. I'm very fussy about key lime, and this one was a tart variety--which I prefer to the really sweet variety (although I could have done with a little more sweet on this particular version).

But it's okay...we can come back to the Caribbean again soon. It's just a short drive across the bridge; no passport required.