We ate at the touristy El Meson de pepe right off Mallory Square. This is a Cuban restaurant with a broad menu and great location. The food was tasty, but expensive, and of course we realized this and decided to go 'local' the rest of the trip.
A laid back and delicious 'local' spot was the Half Shell Raw Bar at the seaport....way way to the end. Fresh seafood included Florida lobster, crab, local fish, great raw bar. Plenty to eat, in fact too much for me. No air conditioning and sitting on the docks watching the boat activity brought everything down to basics, and fun!
Our fun discovery was the Better Than Sex desert restaurant on Petronia Street between Duval and Whitehead. Mark and I walked past in the morning and decided we needed to visit on our way back to the hotel that night. After all, they are open 6-midnight (Tuesday through Sunday). Perfect for the late evening snack.
We arrived just before 9pm to a quiet spot that we appreciated as 'our' place for the evening. The low lighting, plush couches and seats, elegant and funky chandeliers, deep red draping and candles help set the stage. This was completed with age-old classic love songs and black and white photos of happy and celebrating couples. The menu is a fun double entendre list of enticing deserts - all sized for sharing. Some examples:
Jungle Fever
Smooth. Soft. Supple. A warm chocolate brownie body Oozing a dark pudding. Rubbing up against cool white vanilla bean balls.
Naked Nut
Upright & Firm- this airy & dense cake is easily excited by the Essence of Almonds and Performs At its Best accompanied by our very own Signature Lubrication (White Chocolate Crème' Truffle)
There are an assortment of wines, ports, and coffee drinks on the menu. We were excited to find the port and cabernet sauvignon served in dark chocolate dipped glasses.
The concept and desserts originate from the creativity of Len and Dani Johnson who opened the restaurant 3 months ago. I didn't get much background except that this has been a passion come true for them. And that passion is clear through the whole experience.
Mark and I pondered and pondered, finally deciding on the evening's special - One Night Stand. A tasting plate of Naked Nut (almond cake), Better than Sex (chocolate with cherries cake), and Tenderness Torte (a layered chocolate pudding dessert with strawberries).
Mark ordered the port and it arrived in an interesting blown glass device that one can sip from a small spout. The thinking behind this design is that the port is not exposed to oxygen, preserving its richness. I had dry champagne which was perfect with the sweet desserts.
While I'm a chocolate lover, both Mark and I agreed that our favorite dessert was the Naked Nut almond cake. The almond flavor was rich and addicting, while not to sweet. The tort was tasty, but messy to eat while the 'Sex' cake had almost a crumbly brownie-like texture heavy with chocolate, mixed with some Bing cherries as a nice added zip.
I have to admit, we returned the next evening to find a packed restaurant - some of it because of our freely disbursed recommendations throughout the day. Looking around, we found the chocolate dipped cabernet seemed popular. This was confirmed by the couple next to us who wore their chocolate lips with glee.
We couldn't decide on a mutual dessert choice, and since it was our last night, we went hedonist and ordered two dishes. Too much to even try the chocolate dipped wine. The Jungle Fever which is like a warm brownie lava cake- but unexpectedly not overly sweet. And the Karezza Key Lime that is Dani's take on the local favorite key lime pie. She mixes key lime into a mousse that doesnt diminish the tart and rich flavor. Remember, both desserts are really meant to be shared. But, undaunted, we manage to work our way through most of both dishes. Mark found the key lime pie to be too tart - but eating a serving for two might have had something to do with that. Now for the chocolate dipped wine glasses...may have to experiment with that until we get back to Key West.
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