Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Key West - Two Sloppy Joes

This is the one on Duval Street
The original Sloppy Joe's restaurant and bar was in Havana, Cuba. Hemingway was instrumental in getting a bar in Key West renamed to Sloppy Joe's. However, it is not the Sloppy Joe's on Duval Street. There's a bar just off Duval named Captain Tony's Saloon that was the one Hemingway frequented. The Sloppy Joe's part was moved to Duval Street after Hemingway left Key West so there's no record of him ever having visited the Duval location even though they picture him prominently in the restaurant.

This is the original Sloppy Joe's just off Duval Street
The one on Duval Street is the famous one and the one all the tourists go to and they have the famous Sloppy Joe burgers. We had one last year and listened to Barry Cuda play and the burger does have a unique taste. True to its name, we ate the Sloppy Joe with a fork. If you ever come to Key West, you ought to eat at the place once just for the experience. There is always someone playing and it's open air (no AC) but that's part of the charm. Unfortunately, if there is a tour boat in town, it's almost impossible to get a table.

Ann and I are gradually recovering from our combination cold and stomach virus. It seems to last about three days so not much was done today except laundry. The boat is back to a two person layout now and we're just waiting to recover. We still have over a month to go in Key West and we're looking forward to it.


Fred Brillo said...

Funny thing, my first visit to Key West was in 1958 when I was 10.. growing up in Miami, I've been there hundreds of times over the years and never once set foot in Sloppy Joe's. Captain Tony's is another story. Everyone knew Captn Tony. He was a real person and a real character. In college, we went there alot. It's been a few years since the last visit, but I highly recommend it.