Hogfish Bar & Grill

Unless you live here, you only find The Hogfish Bar and Grill on a tip. Once there, you know instantly this is a local's spot, where people who fish eat fish. Hogfish is the way the lower Keys used to be, before all the nightlife and carnivals. Today, the Hogfish is an escape for those wanting to see and small the ocean while enjoying fresh seafood in an old-Keys environment. It is the place to savor that simple but memorable pleasure of peeling and eating shrimp while watching shrimp boats dock, and to dig into a top-notch grilled hogfish (a delicious, diver-caught fish with a scallop-like flavor) sandwiched on Cuban bread as fishing boats move in and out of port. The adjacent marina used to be the headquarters of the Bay of Pigs operation, and in peaceful times the Cuba ferry docked nearby. Today, artists and craft workers have claimed this affordable and private area, creating in their studio cottages lined up along the water. There is a tranquil, out-of-time presence as if nothing will change -- as if the future lies in bringing people back to easy seaside living and fresh local food. Thanks to the restaurant's new owner it may. As pricey homes grow around the golf course and professionals move to new offices on U.S. 1, The Hogfish could soon be the only place that looks like old Stock Island, not an up-and-coming Key West.

The owner did change the menu at The Hogfish, which used to consist of hot dogs and hamburgers cooked on a George Foreman Grill, and beer in cans (which caused less damage during bar brawls). You can shoot pool with working shrimpers (in rubber boots, often speaking Korean or Vietnamese), but there is import beer in bottles, hogfish Caesar salads and sandwiches, and live music on weekends. Sunday night brings a fish fry and Fridays are Cuban night. Take a detour for this place. Consider this your tip.

MUST TRY: Hogfish sandwich

MENU SAMPLES

starters & salads

CHILI BOWL NACHO GRANDE CONCH FRITTERS FRIED CALAMARI STEAMED SHRIMP WINGS Jamaican, Buffalo or Cuban garlic CHEESE QUESADILLA

entrees

GRILLED HOGFISH SANDWICH FRIED GROUPER SANDWICH BAJA FISH TACOS FRIED SHRIMP PO' BOY CAESAR SALAD original, hogfish, shrimp, calamari or chicken SLOW-SMOKED PORK BBQ HAMBERGER ALL THE WAY ITALIAN SAUSAGE and PEPPERS DAILY SPECIALS (Monday: meatloaf; Tuesday: smothered chicken; Wednesday: pasta night; Thursday: roast turkey & trimmings; Friday: Cuban roast pork with black beans & yellow rice; Saturday: steak night; Sunday: fish fry)

desserts

KEY LIME PIE