BO's

This looks like a pile of junque by the side of Caroline Street, it is in fact a well known restaurant.For all that it looks decrepit, Buddy Owen's place has some pretty strict rules:It's popular too, and when my wife and I met a visiting relative here we had to stand in a line that stretched out onto the Caroline Street sidewalk.There are tables scattered around under a bitsa roof, made of bits of this and that, and all those bits of stuff hanging off the ceiling to attract a diner's attention.I didn't spot this guy staring at me until I checked the photo later.We placed our order at the counter which didn't take long as the menu is delightfully short and to the point, the odd sandwich the odd salad and some french fries. We ordered a burger and a fish sandwich to share and our guest got a second fish sandwich. If you order them a certain way you are identified as a local and the fries are free, which takes a bit of the sting out of the sandwich price tag of around twelve bucks. The order taker was cheerful and efficient:

The cooking area is a production line, short order cooking to keep the masses happy. Those are sandwiches lined up to receive their filings:The drinks are reasonably priced, even though bottled water for two bucks is I suppose the industry standard rip-off:This was the first time I had ever been to BO's Fish Wagon. My colleague Paula who lives a restricted life within five blocks of her house, visits this place and Pepe's cafe and treats them as her main haunts and she spent much of the week before Thanksgiving encouraging me to go. She isn't alone in her appreciation of this place, I saw people concentrating hard on their food while we were there:Call me fussy but I am not terribly keen on dilapidated settings when it's time to eat. I am not overly germ phobic as people who hang out around me would tell you but there is something a bit run down about this place for my general taste. I don't think a decent fish sandwich needs nautical junque to improve it's flavor:Though clearly a lot of people don't agree with my assessment. Eating at BO's puts you practically out on the street:And check it out. the line never grew shorter. I suspect a lot of these people were paying extra for their fries so you'd end up paying $20 for a sandwich and a drink. That seems a lot to me.

They weren't insubstantial, give them that! Alcohol midday puts me to sleep so we had bottomless cups of cola to get the bread and fries down the hatch.As my wife's cousin's stepson put it, the fish was fresh and flaky as any self respecting fish should be when served in a Keys restaurant. But he had experience working in a fish place in Seattle, where he's from and he told me he learned a few of the less salubrious tricks of the trade. None of them are indulged in by BO's, which isn't surprising, when you consider the reputation they've built up over the years. Some people call them rats with wings, others are more charitable, but these pigeons were practically domesticated, bobbing between diner's legs chasing crumbs...Tim says he wants to settle in Key West for a while. At 24 he's lived an exemplary life (by my standards!) crossing the Pacific under sail ("New Zealand and Fiji are my favorite countries") and learning several trades that might be very useful for him in Key West. He came across as responsible, smart and capable and I hope Key West doesn't derail him, as it has a habit of doing for some people of less character than he. On the other hand he's talking about going to the dive school at the College so he's come to town with plans, and he seems to know where he's going. I shall watch with interest.
So, my verdict on BO's? We all three thought the fish could use some spice or something, and my wife and I felt the sandwich was overpriced, though the hamburger did get a thumbs up for flavor.As we left I met a colleague in her patrol car and she wrinkled her nose when we told her of our first time adventure at BO's. "I grew up here and I never ate there," she said, confirming this is not a Conch hang out. At least not in her family. I don't think the legions of tourists who flock there will care.