Good home cooking is what first comes to mind when thinking of Grassy Key Outpost’s eclectic menu. Soul food like shrimp and grits and Mom’s meatloaf, share the menu with traditional Italian family recipe pizzas and Caprese salad, Asian inspired baby back ribs, and local seafood specials.
With drinks served in handled mason jars and black and white photos gracing the walls of the right-off-Overseas-Highway restaurant, it feels like walking into an old school Southern diner. In the back of the restaurant, a market offers off-the-beaten path essentials. Grab a seat on the restaurant side, or at the counter.
“It’s not a traditional menu,” said Outpost’s head chef Heather MacDonald, who has been in the culinary field for the past eight years. “It’s Asian-Caribbean, and not one style. It makes it easy to accommodate everyone’s taste buds.”
Locals Evelyn Norton and Susan Sorensen love Grassy Key Outpost and eat lunch there often. “The Brussel sprout chips are to die for,” said Sorensen, while Norton held up a Bud Light saying it is the perfect topper to her fried green tomato BLT served with truffle fries. The two shared mahi fish fingers as an appetizer.
The salad offerings, like wedge and mixed greens, and brothy corn and tomato soup with basil and Parmesan also make for the perfect light meal during a lunch break.
For dinner, specials like grilled swordfish with a ginger soy glaze served with Asian inspired sprouts and black grouper in a sweet soy reduction steal the show. In the morning, guava cream cheese challah French toast and chorizo black bean burritos are the perfect way to start a day before heading out for a long day of fishing.
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Meladie, a server at the Outpost for two years, brings out a mixed greens salad with blueberries, dried cranberries, hazelnuts, goat cheese, and a homemade balsamic glaze, and the fried green tomatoes and lobster salad appetizer.
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Grassy Key Outpost
grassykeyoutpost.com
MM 58, Overseas Highway
305.743.7373
Open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.