Vlog-style YouTube video by Nate Buchanan documenting a one-day food-and-sightseeing tour in Key West. The hosts join a guided food tour (guide Shannon) that visits an authentic Cuban restaurant (including Cuban coffee and plantains), a small award-winning fish-taco shop with fresh daily fish and handmade corn tortillas, a rum bar/distillery (historical notes about rum runners and over 300 international rums), tastings of conch fritters and key lime pie, plus stops at the Butterfly Museum (near the southernmost point) and Mallory Square sunset celebration. The video mixes food tasting with local culture and history and concludes with dinner overlooking Duval Street.
Questions this video answers
One part espresso and one part sugar (served sweet; locals dip bread in it).
Over 300 international rums.
About 100 ft away from the southernmost point in Key West.
Shannon.
They go to the market every morning so the fish is fresh each day, and they hand-make the corn tortillas in-house.
Chapters
Foreign.
It is already day four here in the Florida Keys. Today we are in Key west, and we are currently walking to the meeting point of today's activity.
Today we're doing something that we love to do when we have the opportunity in, like, every new country that we visit, and that is go on a food tour.
Yay.
And Key west is like this really unique part of the United States, so we're really excited to do it here.
It kind of feels like we're not in the United States.
Because the culture here is just so unique and they have their own food. Like, the food here is so delicious. I'm extra excited about today's food tour.
We actually learned this morning that the Keys technically succeeded from the United States in, like, the 80s or 90s. And it's called the Conch Republic, so they definitely have their own style. And this morning we are actually meeting at a Cuban restaurant that I've already read about on the Internet. So I think it's already off to a great start.
Our first stop was a great start to the food tour. Our guide's name is Shannon, and she's so informative. She told us all about the Cuban culture here in the Keys. We got to have an authentic Cuban lunch. It was so good. The plantains was the best part, but we got to end it with Cuban coffee, which is one part espresso and one part sugar, like half and half. So it was so sweet. We got to dip our bread in it because that's how the locals do it. It was kind of weird, but I kind of liked it. And now we're going to our second.
This is stop number two. I have a really good feeling about this place. It's just a little hole in the wall place with an award winning chef. And we're trying fish tacos. I'm not kidding. That is the best fish taco I've ever had. They go to the market every morning, so the fish that was on the taco is fresh every single day. And they hand make the corn tortillas in house. It was so good.
And there was cheese on it. Why don't you be with me?
Okay, quick history lesson about our next stop. It's called Rum runners, and in 1886, there was a huge fire in Key west, and it destroyed all or most of the cigar making shops. All the Cubans were here making cigars. That was their thing. So then they kind of didn't know what to do anymore since they didn't have cigars to make. And it was during the prohibition we used to get on boats, drive to Cuba or the Bahamas, and bring back barrels and barrels and barrels of alcohol. And they were called rum runners. So we're gonna try some.
Behind the bar. There's over 300 international rums. Really awesome. Great place to be adventurous and try some things that you might have never even heard of.
So this was back during prohibition, so they couldn't, like, openly say that they were a bar. And this house had a very creative way of doing it. They actually built it into the lattice. So this is a wine bot. This is a liquor bottle. And they were also playing poker here at the time. So they have diamonds and hearts. Pretty creative.
Why don't you be with me?
Why don't you be with me?
And there are. That's the mango habanero sauce on the top there.
O.
Oh, good. It's like.
A seafood Thanksgiving. So, like, the filling in the middle kind of reminds me of, like, the dressing that you get on Thanksgiving, but then there's little pieces of conch inside of it. So it's got, like, the seafood flavor to it. It's delicious. She gave us a few pro tips. One, not all places, like, especially the touristy places on Duval street, actually serve conch in their conch fritters. She said only go to a place if they make their own sauce. If they serve it with tartar sauce or cocktail sa, then you know that they're probably not serious about the conch critters. We also learned that conch is the densest seafood. So, like, it's really chewy, but it has a good taste to it.
This is our last food stop. Our guide has taken us to her favorite place to get key lime pie.
Oh, my gosh.
They're nice and cold. Have some food.
Oh, is it all here? It's like a delicious Quan pop with a perfectly toasted marshmallow on top. So good, strong vlog.
Cane sugar made vodka. It's made with the Florida sugar, and it's a little, like I said, a little different than your classic vodka.
Last stop was the Key west distillery. We got to try a few different rums and whiskeys that are all made in that building.
So that was super cool. Slightly different than the way we learned they make rum in the Amazon a little different.
People don't chew it up before you drink it.
No, no, no. The one where the horse goes around the thing.
Oh, yeah.
A little more high tech here.
Yeah. And that officially concludes our first U.S. food tour.
It was really good. Like, one of the things we really like about food tours is that you're able to learn about the place through food. Some food tours just like, mainly focus on the food. Others have like a good mix and food. And this is one that had a good mix of both.
Yeah, our guy did a great job.
Next on the agenda is the thing with the butterflies.
The butterfly thing.
What's it called?
Butterfly Home.
So it's going quick.
Oh, my gosh. Can't find myself making.
This is amazing.
Sam.
Sa.
I don't see any. So the butterfly museum is about 100ft away from the southernmost point in Key west, which is also the southernmost point in the United States. The thing that cracks me up about this area of the island is that everything is the southernmost. The southernmost guest house, the southernmost street, the southernmost hotel. Everything is the southernmost something.
Well, I'm pretty sure we got a picture there last time we were in Key west, so we'll just show that here.
We were only here for a few hours. It was a stop on a cruise and there wasn't even a line to take a picture.
Must have been in the morning or something. That place was packed.
Yeah, that was crazy. Next up, we are at Mallory Square and we are going to the sunset celebration. I love this. Cuz they've been doing it every single night since 1960. All these street performers come down and they celebrate the sunset.
Look at that guy.
For you.
And as if we hadn't already eaten enough today, we are now going to dinner at a restaurant that's supposed to have some really good seafood.
Today has been a huge day. We have this seat upstairs at this old fisherman's house from the 1800s overlooking Duval Street. This is such a good way to end the day. I'm sorry.
Good hit.
Yeah.
Now you're good, y'. All.
I see the big switch.
Okay, here we go.
This is for you.
Woo.
One this.
One more. What here?
One more. What your babies. Don't look at it. You won't see it.
There is nothing. There is nothing. There is nothing. I could have been a real politician. There is nothing.
