How We Got Here

We've had several friends from Maryland visit Key West in the last few weeks. I swear I see more people here than I did in Frederick! It is always fun to spend an hour catching up over breakfast, or to meet for a drink and give KW newbies the scoop on what to see and where to eat. I feel like it's our duty as residents to make sure that everyone has a good time. We have extra bikes to loan, an extra car for a run to Publix if they got rid of the rental....stuff like that. We rarely have overnight guests here at the house, generally just family. Friends are going to have a much more relaxing vacation staying at their lodging of choice instead of at my crazy house with two kids, thousands of Legos, and our elderly dog. During these catch-up chats I've told the story of how we moved to Key West several times. I thought the tale would make a good blog post.

We first visited KW in 2003 for a friend's wedding. We stayed at The Reach, ate at Louie's Backyard, and enjoyed the wedding festivities on Sunset Key. It was fun! When it was time to plan our next vacation, we came back and stayed at Southernmost on the Beach. And then we did that again six months later. And then six months after that....each trip we liked it here more and more. When Mari joined our family, her first vacation was to Key West. A hotel wasn't the best situation for little ones, so after we brought Josie home, we started renting houses on the island. That was a turning point. It was like living here for a short time instead of being a tourist. There were many more trips from Maryland to Key West. We stayed in houses on Fleming Street, Amelia Street, Reynolds Street, and in the Windward Park townhomes on Truman Avenue. One week vacations turned into two week vacations. We visited during different months to see what it was like here in each season. And when we went home, we really just wanted to come back. Even though we had changed careers and could really work from any location, we stayed in Frederick because John's mother lived there and we kept an eye on her at 89 years old. When she passed away, we made the big move from urban dwellers, renting out our historic home in downtown Frederick, to suburban dwellers, moving into the home John grew up in. Nope. That SO didn't work. But it was a good experience in that it showed me that even though I had two little girls I did NOT want to live the suburban mom life. Not that there is anything wrong with that, of course. It's just not me. Or us. So John suggested that we spend a month in Key West to see if we really wanted to make the move there. I went along for the ride, but I didn't really think he would make such a big move. Two weeks in we were both completely convinced that this is the place we wanted to be and where we wanted to raise our children. School, church, pediatrician, and everything else fell into place. We put a contract on a house that was a bank short sale, and during the several months it took to go to closing, we got buried in Maryland's biggest snow storm in years. 3 feet of snow followed by 2 feet of snow. I can't tell you how frustrating it was to ALMOST own a home in Key West while being snowed in. We closed in April 2010, so our four year anniversary as residents is coming up soon. No place is perfect, including Key West. But it is perfect for us at this point in time, and I've lived here just long enough that I'm not worrying about our next move......no hurries, no worries. :)

Little girls and the sea :)

One of the things I love about living in Key West is that we live a relatively simple life. Chuck E. Cheese and shopping malls with amusement park-like attractions are places my girls get to visit on our yearly vacation up north to see friends and family. Down here, we fill our days with school, homework, reading, crafts, some Disney Jr or a DVD, lots of pretend play with Monster High dolls, bike rides with dad, and pool time with mom. Neither child is interested in sports, so we work to keep them active. Josie still doesn't want to take dance lessons, but she often wears costumes and puts on some pretty amazing ballet performances for us. And I don't feel judged for keeping them out of the cycle of lessons and practices....or maybe I am judged but I just don't care. With all the comings and goings of a normal week, it is easy to forget some of the amazing things we can do with a spare hour or two. Like go to the beach on a breezy, clear day. Just for the heck of it. Yesterday after school ended we headed to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, Key West's best beach in my opinion. We got two hot dogs, a bag of chips, and two drinks from the concession stand. Mari (my older daughter, who is 9) said 'I think this is the best restaurant in Key West!' And she means it. I love that about my girls. After their snack, we hit the beach. Too rough for swimming, we looked for shells and the girls giggled as the waves chased them. For what seemed like forever for a mom sitting on a pile of coral rocks (that would be me), they dug holes in the sand and acted completely delighted that the waves came and filled them up every time. But I waited as long as I possibly could before asking them to pack it up and head home. It was glorious. Just like the sun shining off the water. It isn't always easy to be so far away from friends, family, and civilization, but watching the girls yesterday was a reminder that we are blessed to live here.

Eaton Street Seafood

Sean Seaman opened Eaton Street Seafood in 2007, in a much smaller space, next to what is now Old Town Bakery. 'We were full if we had four or five people in there, but people waited outside and we were able to build a following,' he explained. Moving into the bigger site at 801 Eaton Street has provided more space and exposure. 'Since the beginning, we catered to people. And without much advertising, we've grown by word of mouth.' Commercial fisherman Damon Santelli came on board as a partner, providing support and fish, when needed. 'There are times he goes out for us when other fisherman are staying in, so we always have fresh fish in the case.'

I hung out at Eaton Street Seafood on a busy Friday. I knew from the traffic in town that LOTS of people were arriving in Key West, and it really seemed like half of them were stopping here for lunch or supplies. 

'I'll take 5 lobster rolls to go.....be back in a few!' said one gentleman as he headed out the door. Another regular came in for his usual of two crab cake sandwiches, on croissants, with mango salsa, please. A few first time customers were looking around, eyeing the large case full of snapper, salmon, shrimp, crab claws and scallops, but unsure of what to order. 'You can pick anything from the case. We'll cook it up for you and put it on a salad or sandwich, served with a bag of plantain chips,' explained Santelli.  After a short wait the couple was diving into a Lobster Roll and fresh snowy grouper over a salad of mixed greens. (There are stools at an indoor counter and several benches out front in the shade.) And along with all the food orders, there was a steady stream of customers coming in for Key West pink shrimp, fish and conch ceviche by the pound.

Eaton Street Seafood is well known on the island for their Lobster Roll, presented in the old school, New England style. Giant chunks of Maine lobster mounded in the side-split roll (shipped in from a traditional baker in Rhode Island) and topped with melted butter. I think their crab cakes are one of Key West's best deal s.....$5 each and full of crab. I often buy them to take home, but the staff will cook one up for you to eat there. Grab a container of their remoulade or Key lime mustard sauce to go with.

This seafood shop is also a great one stop shop for easy entertaining. One case holds containers of housemade dips, like smoked fish and crab & artichoke. There is a selection of specialty grocery items, plus some fresh produce and artisanal mozzarella from Key West's Mozzarella Mark. Seaman and Santelli procured a liquor license this past year, so you can also purchase beer and wine, to go or to enjoy with your meal there. 

Food Writing & 'Chefitude'

I am happy to be dipping my toes back into the food writing waters. I was away long enough that I had time to miss it, and it is much easier than it was 15 years ago (I used to turn my stories in ON A DISC before everyone got online). No more trying to take notes while the server is away, and no more stealing the menu so I could work with it at home.....EVERYONE has a website these days, or at least a Facebook page with a link to their menu. The one thing about my food writing career that I did not miss was the attitude that some chefs would dole out. And I use the word chef loosely here, since often times the biggest offenders weren't actual trained chefs. I think running a restaurant and cooking on the line are two of the toughest jobs in the world. You do it because you love it, because unless you are quite lucky, you won't become rich and the hours are long and hard. I always approached people like 'we are all in this together, interested in food, restaurants, getting more customers, highlighting what you do, etc.' Sadly, there would often be the time in the interview when the 'chefitude' would arise, and I would get to hear all the things this person would NEVER do. I would NEVER serve this, I would NEVER put that on my menu, I would NEVER eat such and such. Believe me, it got old. Over the years I had one chef literally get in my face because the magazine I worked for hadn't written about them enough. Personal space invasion, spittle, the whole nine yards. I also was kind of afraid of a lawsuit or maybe a mysterious accident after writing that I thought a restaurant's crab cakes were really good, but not worth the money. So by the time I left the world of food to focus on building my family, I was really ready to go. In the few interviews I have done here in Key West, I am happy to report that I haven't had any 'chefitude.' And really, I'm not surprised. People are generally nicer here than they are in the real world, but also, living on an island gives us all that 'we really ARE in this together' thing. There are tons of tourists who visit Key West each year and lots of well-heeled locals (especially in the winter), but there are also hundreds of great dining establishments to compete with and extremely high rents. These people need and want the exposure. I'm sure as time goes by, I will meet the rude or condescending chefs on the island.....there have to be a few. But I will just smile, get my information and photos, and remember not to go there next time I want to go out to dinner.

Making Mozzarella with Mozzarella Mark

During Key West's week-long Food & Wine Festival in January, I enjoyed a Saturday morning class on making fresh mozzarella. The instructor, Mark Anthony Redux, has been making mozzarella for many years, at one point producing it for gourmet grocery stores up North before moving to Key West. Here in town, you can find 'Mozzarella Mark's' cheeses at Cole'z Peace, Eaton Street Seafood, and at the monthly Artisan Markets at The Restaurant Store. This mozzarella is easily the best I have tasted, with a firmer, chewier texture than most. Here is how Mark made it:

He started with a 10-pound block of cheese curd (basically milk to which an acid has been added to make it sour and curdle), which are available at specialty food suppliers. This block would produce 8 pounds of fresh mozzarella, with 20% of it separating out as butterfat. The large block is broken into chunks and room temperature (about 70 degrees) water is added to cover. Mark encouraged us to don plastic gloves and get our hands in the large bowl to break the curd into small, same-sized pieces to ensure even cooking. After a few minutes of massaging, the curd had broken down in to chunks about the size of lima beans. Mark added a pot of warmer water, this time around 94 degrees, and we stirred to distribute it through the curds. 'If you make the water too hot, the yield will go down,' Mark explained. 'The first two times you add water, it's forgiving. The third time you have to be very careful.' More hot water is added and as we stir and move the curds with our hands, it forms a uniform mass. Mark showed us how to shape and form the mozzarella into balls, allowing gravity to do most of the work. I certainly couldn't get the hang of it.....definitely a skill that comes with practice! The base of the ball is 'cut' from the larger mass by squeezing it between the thumb and forefinger. The balls of mozzarella then go into a bath of salt-saturated water for a brief soak, about 10 minutes, depending on size.

The class was held at The Restaurant Store on White Street, and the staff and owner were gracious hosts. We enjoyed sparkling Cava and Prosecco, crusty bread, and house-made caponata (the Sicilian sweet-sour eggplant relish) to go along with our cheese. Mark uses space there, along with a custom-made table with a deep stainless bowl, to make his product. He does demonstrations at the Artisan's Markets as well.

To end our morning of cheese making, Mark placed rectangles of mozzarella on trays (after giving it a quick dip in the salt brine) and stacked them up. The last tray was weighted down so that the cheese spread out into flat sheets. He added caponata to some, and chopped tomato and basil to the rest. He rolled the cheese up and sliced it into rounds, sushi style. Amazing! It was beyond delicious.

Mark recommends storing the mozzarella, wrapped air-tight in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to four days. 'Refrigeration changes the texture,' he explained. That also explains why I've never had such delicious mozzarella.

Mozzarella Mark shows the class the ropes.

After the curds form together in the hotter water, the cheese looks like this.

Mark showed us how to form balls of mozzarella.