Seafood and Tiki Bars: South Florida Living!

I moved to South Florida a little under a year ago and it is a funny old part of the world, not least because the heat never gets turned down and the median age is close to that of a retiree home but there is also a dichotomy between shirtless, casual and sculpted perfection that somehow manages to reside side-by-side.  One of the trials of living in a vacation-centric part of the world is the strong urge to hit up Happy Hour, night after night, though I admit that reality tends to kick in around the time your credit card bill comes through and your bikini body starts to go south.

There also comes a point when you stop walking around with your mouth wide open and you start looking for a little reality and sanity around you.  I have found that reality in some of the best little hole-in-the-wall, dive bars and local dining spots around.  The kind of place where style does not matter, the drinks and food are honest and no one is pouting at the bar.  I should mention that I have spent years enjoying those types of bars back home but the heat and the laid back vibe of Florida begs for a different type of social life.

I was at one of my particular favorites last weekend, The Whale’s Rib in Deerfield Beach, South Florida.  Deerfield is cramped full of vacationers and 1970s architecture and it is a great little spot on the weekend; the beach is beautiful and the residents are less showy than in other parts of South Florida.   The Whale’s Rib was featured on the popular Food Network show on American TV: Diners, Drive-ins and Dives; it has been open for nearly 30 years and the menu has hardly changed over time, the prices have not changed a lot either.  The fish is ultra fresh and the drinks are cold.  Perfect!  A house favorite is the Key West Dolphin sandwich: fresh filet of mahi-mahi, purple coleslaw and swiss cheese that drips down your arms as you are eating it.  The rock shrimp, seafood platters, whale fries (fresh potato chips/crisps) and the Bloody Mary crowned with a huge shrimp are all top notch and wallet friendly.  Over on the Gulf coast of Florida I can not get enough of Stan’s bar just off Marco Island.  The place is barely describable: billionaires and bums rub shoulders at this wild, indoor/outdoor joint that is basically up a dirt path.  If I were going to name the ten most random drinking holes in the world, this bar would make the list.  I swear it is the heat and the alcohol that does it.  The menu consists of fresh and fried seafood and at the weekend there is a huge barbeque though the primary focus is on hard drinking and dancing and frankly, what could be better at 2pm on a Sunday afternoon when you are giddy drunk?

These are the bars I’ll remember best, forget the ‘style’ bars and the chi-chi hotel bars, it is all about Tiki huts, dive bars and honest dining spots.  Scraping your hair back, throwing on shorts and a T-shirt and grabbing a cold drink, some fresh seafood and a little shade from the heat.  For me, that is one of the great joys of South Florida living and that experience is always “enhanced” thanks to the people watching. 

What truly unique spots have you visited around the world that you can share with everyone?