A Restaurant - Memory Lane Friday

Memory Lane Friday is a weekly blog carnival where you can blog about your memories and link up.  More importantly, it's a time for me to preserve my memories for my family.  This week's theme is a restaurant.

I sure had a tough time with this one.  I really love food!  And I've eaten so many wonderful places.  Brennan's in New Orleans, The Crazy Crab in Hilton Head, Buzzard Billy's in Waco, Chuy's in Houston, and so many more that I know I'm forgetting.  Not to mention the national chains I adore - Macaroni Grill, P.F. Chang's, Silver Diner, Carabba's.  Mmmmmm.  And then there are restaurants that stick in my memory, yet the names of them are long lost.  Like the little barbecue stand Paul and I ate at on the side of the road coming back from the dinosaur footprint river in Texas - sawdust covering the pavement and the best bbq ever.  Oh dear, I'm just overwhelmed with all the choices!

So I decided on Blue Heaven.  Not because it's the best food I ever had (although it is tremendously good).  I picked it because I love the atmosphere of the place.  And the history of it. 

You go through the gates into a back courtyard, full of tropical trees and rustic benches.  Blue Heaven is in Key West, and used to be a spot where Hemingway watched boxing matches.  Today, they often have live music, and chickens and cats lounge about the place on dirt floors.  The menu includes vegetarian, Caribbean, and American cuisine.  Oh, and Mimosas.  Mustn't forget those.

I've been there twice with my family.  It is such a treat to sit down in the middle of January and enjoy warm weather, tropical breezes, and some really wonderful food.  Of course, key lime pie for dessert is a must.  Hopefully one day I'll get to take the boys there, so they can experience Blue Heaven for themselves.

Want to participate in Memory Lane Friday?

Here's the link.

And come back next week!  The topic is "New Shoes".