Shrimp Shack Puts Out Great Seafood and Traditional Fare Fused With a Caribbean Flair

**Shrimp fritters, moist and extremely tasty. The Cracked Conch-a favorite of mine and about a million other Keys visitors!**

AmericanPressTravelNews-Sat January 14th, Islamorada, FL. Bob and Barb just invaded the Shrimp Shack for their seafood fixes.

**Nautical all the way! Comfort food, and beverages that will please any palate!**

**Shrimp and Grits was so tasty, we are spoiled again! The sauce is king with this dish-combined with the correct grit flavors and consistency, as well as, naturally super-fresh shrimp and voila!**

**Chicken loaded with an incredible sauce and veggie melange! Called the Continental Chicken dish!**

I love Conch, no not just the Conch Republic, but the big Sea Cow browser called the Conch, a gentle delicious snail that lives in a mini palace people from around the world collect at shell shops, and road-side gift displays, to sit on their do-dad tables. At the Shrimp Shack the critter is fried and served with a pungent sauce that is about the best slice of seafood possible. The Shrimp Shack is a family owned business that opened in Dec. 2011. Since that time they have been serving delicious food to their customers and have become a “go-to-place” for Islamorada, FL. Keys locals. The restaurant is run by the mother, daughter team of Jill and Morgan who bring out their family recipes from their kitchen and onto the plate. They were discovered by Guy Fieri and were featured on Diners Drive-in’s and Dives! Guy who has eaten his way across America loved the shrimp Fritters as we did and the “Senator” style local catch of the day. The episode is named “Smoke and Seafood.” They are closed Wednesday’s and are located at 81901 Overseas Highway, Islamorada, FL just down from The Guy Harvey Outpost Resort. Phone: 305-664-8443 email: islamoradashrimpshack@aol.com

Marathon Grill & Ale House-A Big Step Up in Dining Fare

AmericanPressTravelNews.com–January 6th,–Marathon, FL.–Bob and Barb “On The Road Again” & “Stopping to Smell the Roses and Seafoods” at the Marathon Grill & Ale House. We stopped for lunch and absolutely loved everything about this great spot, just off the Overseas Highway in Marathon. This fine dining spot has two Happy Hours and no matter who dines and has a brew here will be very happy indeed! Grill is open for lunch, dinner and late night steaks, seafood and pasta. To kick off our lunch we started with a most unusual pear & bleu cheese salad festooned with field greens, walnuts, tomato and onions tossed with sherry vinaigrette topped with bleu cheese glazed walnuts and sliced pears. This was a salad that had pears, but had no peers-unique flavors and would have made a fine, healthful, tasty meal all on its own. But, we were just getting started: We next dove into a platter of shrimp Po Boy’s. The flavors and enhancements to this dish by way of sauces and spicing ‘s was extraordinary. Barb decided on dividing up some baby-back ribs. Again the meat barbeque sauce was just right. We slid slivers of meat off the bone that were cooked just right and tender. The flavor was as good as it gets. We also tried the shrimp and scallop scampi-WOW! Every part of this seafood dish from the Linguine al dente, to scallops that were firm and tasty, as well as shrimp caught out of Key West waters was superb. Sure we took a few boxes of foods we could not fit in our stomachs and for two day after our original feast we had to order for our books pictures, we continued to enjoy all of these dishes. They have a full menu of more than 75-dishes available until 2AM and over 100-craft beers ( I drank Mile Marker 0 beer and loved it) There early bird specials every day from 4-6 pm in the afternoon, offers “buy one entree’ and the other one is “on the house!” They have a kids menu, and every day is a new treat day (call for details 305-743-5888) Oh, I almost forgot we also had Pork Hambies for appetizers and you just have to try these to understand the flavors of this boned meat treat! Dessert, sure! We had Key Lime Pie with blueberries-first time we tried this twice! Beyond luscious! Marathon Grill Ale House is located at MM 50, 5800 Overseas Hwy. Marathon, FL. Gulfside Village Plaza.

Mangrove Mike’s Cafe & Catering in Islamorada, The Sunset Favorite for Decades!

**Key Lime Pie, original recipe, but with lemon meringue “high top.” So good you can finish off a quart of milk with this honey of a pie!**

**This omelette is made with real blue crab an asparagus. Topped with a sauce that came down from heaven! Loved it! Definitely large enough for two!**

**Regular Mango Mike’s Special breakfast that comes with pancakes, two eggs, bacon, grits, sausages and hot Maple Syrup.**

AmericanPresstravelNews-January 5th,–Islamorada, FL., Keys-Bob and Barb, “On the Road Again” and Stopping to Smell the Roses” & Key Lime pie. We love mom and pops breakfast and lunch spots. They have a special kind of character, and they also produce very custom dishes that the big box guys just cannot do based on logistics, and corporate structure. Mangrove Mikes caters, offers “killer” breakfasts and lunches and is a favorite meeting place over coffee and hot cakes, in Islamorada. Over 40-years ago, I had breakfast here with many of the old “salts” and charter captains that fished out of this fishing and diving town. Check out their menu on-line at www.mangrovemikes.com Indoors they have those old fashioned counters, booths and tables too. They also do Island parties out back, on the Gulf of Mex. for from 10-1,000 guests. Weddings, picnics, reunions or whatever kind of group. Mike said “bring it on and we’ll set it up!” Flip flops, no problem, that’s part of their dress code! M.Mikes is next door to the Sunset Inn and Seafood Market, MM 82.2 Bayside, Islamorada phone 305-664-8022

Kaiyogrill & Sushi in Islamorada-A Step Up & Outta Sight for Japanese Cold and Hot Grill Specialties

Avacado stuffed with tuna tartar, and cream cheese, Executive Sous Chef Adrian Quesada, topped this with spicy mayo and tobiko then lightly torched this melange and served it with wonton chips. We were hooked!

**Executive Sous Chef Adrian Quesada for the past 4-years, putting the finishing touches on our Avocado Suchi dish-some fire to meld it all together.**

AmericanPressTravelNews-January 1st, Bob & Barb “On the Road Again” stopping at the Kaiyogrill & Sushi Dining Establishment-Islamorada, FL Keys. When we visited this upscale, yet laid- back restaurant decorated in a distinctly Asian motif, totally reminiscent of some of the fanciest sushi bars and restaurants found in larger cities such as Miami, Orlando, New York, we felt right at home. But here it is, gourmet sushi and delightful grill right in the middle of Islamorada, between the Atlantic and a thousand feet to the Gulf of Mexico too! Just about any type of sushi, sashimi, rolls, and a wide variety of hot dishes such as steaks, scallops, stuffed shrimps and lobster tails can be had here, grilled and sumptuous. Executive Sous Chef Adrian Quesada introduced us to their Asian Fusion themed food emporium and we were very impressed. There is a hot and cold kitchen, open six days per week. He described their Udon Noodles (we’re going back to slither some down the pipeline, their “Drunken Scallops” in a beer sauce, and a variety of offerings (see their online menu) that had the juices steadily flowing. Kaiyogrill & Sushi will have their own page in our “Florida Keys Best Restaurants” book coming out in late February. go: www.kaiyoGrill.com (305)-664-5556