Lobster Crawl Bar and Grill has all the ingredients of a local hotspot

Lobster Crawl Bar and Grill has all the ingredients of a local hotspot - American lobster

Lobster Crawl Bar and Grill has all the ingredients of a local hotspot — off the beaten path, but on the water; good food; cold drinks; cool friends; and live music.

Leah and Tom Gordon of Islamorada Boat Works have already picked a perch: on some stools just steps away from the bar’s open window shaded by an enormous tiki hut.

“We come for the cocktails and views,” Gordon said.

“They’re just the best people,” Leah said.

Lobster Crawl is located on Fiesta Key in the RV park at MM 70, about halfway between Marathon and Islamorada. It opened five months ago and is a collaboration between Michelle Abramoff and Mike Forrester of Mangrove Mike’s Café (she’s the catering director, he’s the owner) and Michelle’s brother on the mainland. So far, the reaction has been fantastic Michelle said.

“We want to be a locals hangout. We have fans from Lower Matecumbe and Layton, as well as Marathon, Islamorada and Key Largo,” she said.

The restaurant is open from Thursday to Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Right now, locals are devouring the bluecrabs cooked Maryland style — drowned in Old Bay.

It’s right on the gulf protected by a seawall and the nearby marina makes it handy for those topping off a Sunday Funday at the nearby sandbars.

Sara Matthis thinks community journalism is important, but not serious; likes weird and wonderful children (she has two); and occasionally tortures herself with sprint-distance triathlons, but only if she has a good chance of beating her sister.