The Hogfish Bar & Grill in Key West- from the Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster series

 

KEY WEST HOGFISH BAR & GRILL

     I fell for this place the moment I entered under the thatched-palm roof. The HogFish Bar & Grill has soul, a step back in time. It’s a symbol of how the Florida Keys used to be – fresh seafood, strong drinks, panoramic waterfront views, outdoor dining and plenty of local characters. It’s tucked away in Safe Harbor, Stock Island, a place where the locals hang out, and lacks the touristy hype. A perfect place to capture scenes for my next Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster novel!

     You will enjoy munching down on fresh seafood brought in from the boats you see docked outside. I ordered the Stuffed Hogfish entrée, and it was stuffed with crab and shrimp, all lightly covered with a mango cream sauce. Absolutely delicious!

     This unpretentious pub and restaurant sits beside old shrimp docks, and as I walked past wooden picnic tables topped with local pink shrimp, hogfish, and grouper, I hummed along with Jimmy Buffett’s voice cooing out from the wall speakers. I know that Jimmy would love this place.

     Hard-to-find but definitely worth trying, this tiki bar is tucked into a busy commercial fishing boat harbor on Stock Island. The locals love it, and its funky, friendly vibe enveloped me. Well, the fresh, reasonably priced seafood that was swimming in the ocean that morning did, too. The waterfront setting and big chickee hut and open-air atmosphere lowered my blood pressure immediately. I sat down with my daughter at one of the long picnic tables and munched on the Stuffed Hogfish (photo). After dinner, my daughter fed her shrimp scraps to the eagerly waiting fish below our dockside table.

     The owner of the Hogfish Bar & Grill said that only a handful of local shrimp boats remain in what was once an industry of about 300 boats. Shrimpers have been hurt by the rise in farm-raised, imported shrimp. One ex-shrimper told him they were getting less on the dock for shrimp today than he got in the mid-70s. Apparently, restaurants like the Hogfish that promote the pinks are the only thing that’s keeping few boats going, because they’re willing to pay the extra price to get the real wild shrimp. BTW, we ordered the Shrimp and Chips appetizer… delicious!

     In my spy thriller MISSION OF VENGEANCE, I write scenes inside down-to-earth pubs and restaurants like the Hogfish Bar and Grill because of their lively roadhouse-style impressions. In Key West and throughout the Florida Keys, the hogfish is savored for its flaky, delicate, white flesh. It’s difficult to come by because it has to be speared by a diver, and only seasonal hunting is permitted.

     The owner of the Hogfish says there’s a mystique surrounding hogfish fishing, in that “the harder it is to get, the more people want it.” He’s an ex-diver with enough connections to get about 30 to 40 percent of the local pull. I bet that every spear fisherman around must know him- rumor has it that he spears a few himself when the supply gets low!

     In the 1989 movie “Road House”, Patrick Swayze portrays a rough bouncer, and sizeable bar sandwiches were served. Well, the Hogfish Bar & Grill isn’t a rowdy place and bouncers aren’t needed, but it serves a bar sandwich that is more than comparable to what Patrick Swayze munched down on: the Hogfish Sandwich is mindboggling, smothered in Swiss cheese, onions and mushrooms, in-between fresh Cuban bread.

     Lastly, enjoy this cool video about the Hogfish Bar & Grill.

 

Robert Morton is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO), enjoys writing about the U.S. Intelligence Community, and relishes traveling to the Florida Keys and Key West, the Bahamas and Caribbean. He combines both passions in his Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster series. Check out his latest spy thriller: MISSION OF VENGEANCE.