[Michgoner]

Wife and I are going to be taking a vacation to the Marathon Key , next week. Does anyone have suggestions on good restaurants or places to eat ? Thanks.

[daniellefort]

Choices are very slim. I was down for a weeks vacation and anything in the middle keys didn't have too much to offer. I can't even remember the names of the restaurants (i think the Boondocks is one we ate at but not sure if that was in Marathon or Islamador) because there were so few restaurants and no major chain ones.

[catsbyann]

Bentleys in Islamorada has fantastic food and is popular with locals (no water views though). It's just north of Marathon.

[Michgoner]

Thank You daniellfort and catsbyann . I think I remember the Boondocks . If that is the one , they had outdoor seating , and the black flies ate our legs up something awful . We were down last year , but just stayed a couple of days . Daniellfort , thought I recognized your name . I have been looking at the Tennessee forum for about a month or so . Wife and I are going to Johnson City , in September . We are going to check the area out for re-location . Your pictures look great of your property . Hopeing our place here in Florida sells so we can enjoy a slice of the pie .

[daniellefort]

Johnson City is a nice small town. We worked with a wonderful realtor from there. Let me know if you need some help in that area i'd be happy to give you her info. She did a lot work just by email for us showing us the info we wanted. I bought land just 20 minutes away in Newport. Morristown isn't too far away either and that's another good size town if your not looking for something as big as Knoxville anyways. We won't be moving for some time but we visit as often as we can. There's still some property for sale in my subdivision with only 2 homes built up so far in there if your interested in checking that out too.

[dyingofpoetry]

I am from Marathon and while we are on the subject, there is no Marathon Key. The name of the city is Marathon, which is located on the islands of Knight's Key, Vaca Key, Grassy Key, etc, but there is no "Marathon Key."

It might seem like nit-picking to visitors, but Marathoners are very touchy about the "Marathon Key" thing. There is a long story involved.

[lsseds]

There is a nice little coffee shop called Leann's. The chicken salad is awesome!

[dyingofpoetry]

Yes, Leann's rocks; I recommend it also. It's probably the only thing in Marathon I miss aside from family.

[mrs1885]

I've never stopped in Marathon.............. I don't think. We go to Old Town and just kinda buzz right through everything else. Our friends got married at Bahia Honda and we stayed at a hotel in that area and hated it.

We have tons of friends that would go lobstering every season in Islamorada and they liked it there. We're just Old Town people. We like the slower pace, the friendly open people, the ability to walk to every single thing you could possibly want to do or see. And the Sunset Celebration each night at Mallory Square is too wonderful to miss. Such an incredible view. And great restaurants every single place you go.

We moved from Naples to TN. We used to take the kids to Old Town for day trips - 12 + hours round trip. Then we'd go down for weekends a few times a year. It was our home away from home. And the only thing I miss about Florida. And after this post I am now missing it even more. Grrr!!!! I think it's about vacation time!

[mrs1885]

Should have added:

There is one place on one of the islands - I know, that's not much help - but it's a big hotel right on the Hwy there. They have a big waterfront chickee hut. It's really more of a bar / restaurant than a restaurant restaurant if you know what I mean. But the view is great and the people are friendly. Not sure if you're looking for something like that - casual - or something more formal.

One place to stay away from is a steak restaurant right on the Hwy. Again I can't tell you which of the islands it's one, but it's on the right as you're heading down. We stopped on our way down to OT one afternoon. They left us out front for about 10 minutes - no other people waiting. 1 other couple seated. Once we got a table we sat for over 30 minutes just waiting for a waitress. It's the only time in my entire life I got up and walked out of a restaurant. I wish I could remember the name of it.

There's a really good local pizza place - well, by now it's probably pretty well known - but it's a bit out of the way and hard to find. It's called............. the No Name Pub or something like that. They have excellent pizza. The walls, tables, ceilings, everything are covered with signed $1 bills. If I remember the story correctly it began as a bar or a house of ill-repute. It changed hands a few times a very long time ago, but has been run by the same people for quite some time. It's got a really great history. I've wanted to take hubby there everytime we go, but we get so carried away in OT that by the time we pull ourselves away we have to fly to make it home in time for work that night or the next day.