Buttonwood Cafe in Flamingo, FL

While visiting South Florida, I ventured deep within Everglades National Park and found myself in the former town of Flamingo. Flamingo is the furthest south that you can travel in the park by road. Flamingo was an actual town at one point which was occupied in the late 19th and early 20th century. Eventually Flamingo became a ghost town and was incorporated into the national park. The ruins of the former ghost town are apparently still present, but today Flamingo consists of a visitors center, marina, campsite, and an abundance of alligators and crocodiles.

Behind the bright pink Flamingo Visitor Center, there is a screened in area that houses a restaurant called the Buttonwood Cafe. The location provides a very nice view of Florida Bay.

The restaurant itself was essentially a food truck with table service. There was a trailer attached to the screen enclosure where all of the cooking was done. Servers took orders and delivered food. Apparently there was a more permanent restaurant here in the past which was destroyed by hurricanes and was never fully rebuilt.

I ordered the grouper sandwich. This consisted of a fried filet of fish on a bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, and tartar sauce included alongside the sandwich. I assembled all of the sandwich components together and this ended up being a tasty sandwich. The large piece of grouper was freshly breaded and fried. The breading had a very nice peppery flavor. The bun was a step above a standard hamburger roll. Coleslaw and fries were served on the side.

I enjoyed my meal at Buttonwood Cafe. It was my first experience dining in one of Florida's National Parks. It was also the furthest south I've ever eaten in peninsular Florida. I'd gladly return to the Everglades to eat here again!

Charlie Horse in Ormond Beach

Charlie Horse Restaurant is located along A1A in Ormond Beach. I recently ate there on a rainy evening, arriving at the busy restaurant just before customers had to start waiting for tables.

All-you-can-eat crab legs seemed to be the big seller here, but I wasn't in the mood for cracking open crab shells. I went with the Cajun Fish Pasta. This dish consisted of two huge pieces of spicy grouper, served over rotini and vegetables in alfredo sauce. I liked my dinner, although the pasta did remind me of something I could easily make at home. It was basically a box of tri-color rotini and a microwaved vegetable medley. The delicious Cajun seasoning on the fish was great, and was actually pretty spicy. Overall, this was an okay pasta dish. Nothing I'd go out of my way to get again, especially since I could easily cook something similar at home, but it was good for what it was...

Kook Sports Bar

I was doing something at the Buena Vista Palace Hotel just outside of Downtown Disney. It was dinner time, so I ate food from Kook Sports Bar inside of the hotel. I really don't like sports bars all that much, with the TVs all over, and food that's generally not all that good. The only other option inside of the hotel was a restaurant called The Outback (not connected to the steakhouse chain) which charged far too much for what I saw on the menu. Kook Sports Bar also was really overpriced, but was far less than the Outback. Going by the location, the high price has to be somewhat expected.


I ordered the Blackened Grouper Sandwich. The waitress told me it was the best thing on the menu, but it tasted average to me. Nothing was wrong with the sandwich, but it was nothing special either, and definitely not worth the $14.95 price tag. It consisted of a piece of blackened grouper on a sesame bun with lettuce, onions, and tomatoes. Fries, ketchup, and tarter sauce came on the side.

Besides from the high prices, I had no major complaints about the food, but there was nothing special about the place that would get me to return to Kook Sports Bar any time soon. They will do fine without me with all of the Disney tourists...