A Taste of Key West

401 South Swarthmore Avenue
Ridley Park, PA 19078
(484) 497-8007
Website

I was recently out in Ridley, fishing one afternoon, and after an early afternoon of mixed success, was hungry for some snack food. Although A Taste of Key West has had varied reviews, it is (as far as I know) about the only place you can boat up to for food and drink on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware, at least in the Philly area. Besides, DelCo doesn't frighten me (too much).


Located just off of 95, where the marina is by the airport, it's not hard to find this place. The outdoor "Tiki-style" bar was packed with locals, and we were told to seat ourselves. No problem.


They made an attempt to put down sand to increase the island feel, but the sand was a bit wet and came away more as hard pack. No biggie.


Although they have a huge menu, we played it safe with some "island brews," which inadvertently were Victory Lagers. I remarked how it would just be easier to call it by its name than to explain to every customer what island brew meant. Some crappy Jimmy Buffet played over the well-worn speakers in the background, and the crowd drank and ate peacefully. You really can't beat the option to park a boat outside of the restaurant you are going to.


We also played it safe on the food scene, and considering it was mid-afternoon, and we had dinner plans for a few hours later, just got a light round of food. Some of the food items sounded good in theory but I was not quite ready to jump into a $14-18 entree at a place that most likely doesn't require shoes.


Michael's Buffalo Chicken Tenders were quite tasty. They were served with a sort of peppercorn blue cheese dip, and with a side of fries. Not too bad for $8. They were also gracious enough to only scoff slightly at the request for sides of brown gravy AND cheese for the fries. What can I say, I like to dip. The wing sauce was good, and the fries with dipping sauce hit the spot. The regular chicken tenders were also good, served with a side of honey mustard, and another generous portion of fries.


Now for the wild card. I decided to give the cheapest item on the menu a go-round and ordered a Hans Weiner Dog. Mustard, onions, and special sauce, for a whopping $2.50. Awesome. I remarked how I was hoping the special sauce was a crappy chili sauce, like Nathans. And it was. They even served it with a bag of kettle cooked chips. For the price, you really can't beat it. It was a pretty okay cheap dog.


The inside looks like it's straight out of backwoods Florida, and I imagine it gets jumping on summer weekend nights. All in all, I will definitely be boating in that area again, and I will definitely stop at A Taste of Key West again.