News from The Restaurant Store

HS 2 Fundraiser

This past Sunday we hosted a little get together in conjunction with the Hemingway Day's Sidewalk Art Show at The Green Parrot Bar. Master loin roaster Bob Jameson did the meat honors, ably assisted by the Hairy Potter, Jay Gogin. My lovely bride Cathy brought the homemade sides of potato salad, coleslaw and Cole's Peace cookies and Cuban Bread. I drank beer. We raised over $1,200.00 for the HS 2 home school out at Florida Keys Community College and a good time was had by all. You cannot have a bad time at the Green Parrot Bar. It's simply impossible.

 

 

Beer for My Horses - Derby Day in KW

Every year on Kentucky Derby Day we drag it over to The Half Shell Raw Bar for a few brews and bi-valves and watch the Derby on the big screen in The Sailfish Bar. In the true Derby tradition the ladies wear their finest hand made hats. There is a nice buffet of food, lots of friendly wagering, mint juleps and mojitos and kegs of cold ones to keep the crowd refreshed.

This weekend also happens to be when one of the best events in our fair community takes place; the annual Key West Songwriters Festival; www.kwswf.com. If you've never been you need to come down here for it. It's over 100 of the best Nashville songwriters performing all over town for 4 solid days of the best music on the planet. And it happens right here, in Key West on the first weekend in May. Pictured here with my lovely bride and me is Sotty Emerick who likes to write # 1 hits with Toby Keith in his spare time. Scotty been to Derby Day at The Half Shell for about 6 years running. This year he brought the whole family.

2008 Master Chef's Classic Results

The Results are in and the winners are:

Appetizers

First Place goes to The Rooftop Cafe for their King Crab Cocktail with Citrus & Ginger Vinaigrette.

Second Place goes to the Conch Republic Seafood Company for their Coconut-crusted Pink Shrimp with Hot Pepper Jelly & Hearts of Palm Salad.

Third Place goes to Guy Harvey Grill for their Roasted Artichoke & Asparagus Bisque garnished with Caviar & Crème Fraiche

Entrees

First Place goes to The Sailfish Club for their Lobster Tempura with Southernmost Caesar Salad (Lobster tempura with Caesar dressing, tomato grilled pineapple and Parmigiana Reggiano Tuille)

Second Place goes to The Pier House for their Asian Style Lobster & Tuna Romance with Spicy Vegetables.

Third Place goes to The Conch Republic Seafood Company for their Juju-glazed Grouper Filets with Coconut Couscous & Macadamia Sambal

Desserts

First Place goes to The Pier House for their Fresh Cherry Crisp with Bourbon Ice Cream & Cinnamon Drizzle

Second Place goes to Pepe's Cafe for their Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie

Third Place goes to Finnegan's Wake for their Chocolate Enchiladas (Chocolate Cake wrapped in a Tortilla basted with Nutella and topped with Belgian Chocolate

Here are some pictures of the festivities. See you next year.

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The Great Green Parrot Pig-Off

A grand time was had by all at the first (and possibly last), Great Green Parrot Pig Off held in conjunction with the annual Off The Wall Art Show. Photo Credits: Nick Vagnoni and Vicki Lapier

January Cooking Class and Event Schedule

JANUARY 2007 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 31 11-4 Open 1 New Year's Day Closed 2 3 4 5 6 Pan-Asian noon 7 Closed 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pan-Asian noon ~ Fla Keys Seafood Festival 14 Closed 15 Pan-Asian 6pm 16 17 18 19 20 21 Master Chef's Classic 22 23 24 25 26 27 Pan-Asian noon 28 Half Shell Half Marathon Closed 29 Pan-Asian 6pm 30 31 1 2 3

Florida Keys Seafood Festival

December Cooking Classes

It's great to be able to start the holiday season with a new series of cooking classes. These classes are presented by Chef Andrew Berman, one of the most talented chefs to ever work in the Keys. Among his many accomplishments, he has been the Head Chef at Pisces/Cafe des Artistes for the last 17 years. Andrew has a real gift for teaching cooking skills in a fun and informal style -- and his food is extraordinary. Check out our series of classes. You can sign up online or in the store. See you there.

Lobster Mini Season Opens Today

The Annual 2-Day Lobster Mini Season was introduced about 30 years ago to bring some sanity to the lobster harvest. The Mini Season was set up to allow locals and visitors who are not professional lobster fishermen the opportunity to harvest lobsters prior to the start of the commercial lobster season on August 1st.

Every year, the mini-season draws 30,000 participants from all over Florida and beyond. Every hotel room in town is booked and some 190,000 lobsters are expected to be pulled from the near-shore waters of the keys in the two days.

If you are in town to participate in the Mini Season, here's a tip: Stop by The Restaurant Store first so you have everything you need to cook your catch. That way you can start eating right away. Here are some things to check out:

• 3-Piece Steamer Sets
• Double-Jaw Lobster Crackers
• Butter Warmers
• Seafood Picks
• Lobster Bibs

Battle In The Bay

May 13th will forever be remembered as the great Battle in the Bay. This is the day many brave rowers came to the Outer Mole to risk heatstroke, sunburns, sore muscles, and even extreme thirst to do battle and serve a worthy cause.

The first (annual) Dragon Boat Festival was staged to raise money for Community Housing and other local charities. Cole's Peace Bakery sponsored our team, named "Dye Trying" to raise money for the Marc House as well as Habitat for Humanity.

Many of The Restaurant Store Irregulars were in enlisted; including, Cathy, Mari-Lynn (and Scott), Sarah (and Joe) as well as a whole crew of local faves like Bucco from Waterfront Market, Louis and Maureen from Montage and Flanagan from Turtle Kraals.

While "Dye Trying" failed to live up to its name, we did finish in the middle of the pack and raised $750 for the Marc House. We are already looking forward to next year.

Click Here to Look at some Photos.

Slow cooked in Key West

We did the Taste of Key West as a food vendor for the first time. Over 500 portions of slow cooked and smoked pork served open faced on Cole's Peace bread with either choice of Old Ray's or Scott's dipping sauce were served. We cooked them on The Big Green Egg; made a lot of people happy and raised over $2000 for AidsHelp. We had so much fun, we'll definitely be back for the Taste next year.