SHADE-O-METER RATING

5 OUTTA 5 WERKS: “10s ACROSS THE BOARD – LEGENDARY STATUS”

What is Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen? It’s a seafood restaurant in Key Largo. There are two locations, but both of them are on US 1. The original location is on the southbound side of US 1, and the second one is on the northbound side. According to restaurant’s website, the original location is the longest-running restaurant in Key Largo.

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Was there an age restriction? No. Would you really expect Mrs. Mac to dare discriminate against children? What time did we go? At about 1:00 p.m. How was the maître d’? Pleasant. What was the décor like? Nautical-inspired, but with a flair of island artistry.

What was the seating like? They had a fair amount of counter seating. However, most of the seating was tables and booths. What was the atmosphere like? Low-key (no pun intended). What was the crowd like? Who knows what they’re like at night, but at this time of the day, people were there to dine, not to socialize.

How was the cruising? In this area, the only cruising that can be found is the kind that a boat does when it’s in the water. When’s happy hour? They don’t have one. What libations were ordered? Two “House Specialty” drinks. A Bloody “Mac” Mary for $7.50, and a “Macs” Muddled Margarita for $6.50.

Were they served timely? Yes. How were the drinks? The bloody Mary had a celery-salted rim. The margarita was muddled with lemon, lime and orange. They were both pretty good, but neither was excellent. Of the two, the bloody Mary was better.

What was ordered? A cup of Award-Winning Conch Chowder (it came with the entre for $2 more), a bowl of World-Famous Homemade Chili for $5.99, Caribbean-Style Grilled Crab Cakes for $12.99, A Fresh Fish of the Day for $12.99, a Seafood Pasta for $18.99, and a slice of Famous Key Lime Pie for $4.99. Was the food served timely? Yes.

How was the food? The conch chowder was superb and earned its title as “award winning,” spicy and with an aroma of fresh oregano. It was also served with sherry on the side. The chili was also excellent, thick and zingy, but it was a notch below the conch. The crab cakes were made of blue crab that came from a fishing pier that’s right around the corner from the restaurant, and I defy anyone to find crab cakes that have less filling than these ones did (everyone knows how restaurants love to pad them out with filling). The honey-mustard aioli that was served on top of them was excellent as well. The only comment is that the crust on the outside of the crab cakes could have been a bit crispier. The “fresh catch” entre, which is served how you like it (I opted for “blackened), was off-the-boat fresh. With fish of this quality—flounder, I believe—there was no need to pretty it up with a bunch of seasoning. It speaks for itself. The tartar sauce that is came with was also exceptional. Regarding the seafood pasta, the sherry-tinged alfredo sauce was decadent and delicious, and the copious amounts of seafood in it were cooked to perfection. As if all this wasn’t enough, the server said that the Key lime pie was the best he ever had (a woman comes into the restaurant every night and makes 70 of them). With a perfect amalgamate of ingredients, the pie itself was great, but the Cool Whip on top of it must be replaced with real whipped cream.

How was the service? Excellent. And the servers are locals, so they’ll chat with you, if you get them going. What stands out about the restaurant? The quality of the food! What could be improved? Other than that the drinks could be better, and the minor comments about the food, hardly any improvement is needed.

What was surprising? Although not quite surprising, it was certainly interesting to hear the server reminisce that his family would vacation in Key Largo every year, and his mother would “smuggle” 20 lbs. of blue crab back to Buffalo and ration it over the year.

Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen is located at 99020 Overseas Hwy., in Key Largo, Florida. They’re open from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. They’re closed on Sunday.

At over 35 years, Vickie Bennett is—by all accounts—the most-tenured female bartender in the gay bars in Broward County. But it wasn’t always pretty. She had to learn how to survive in the male-dominate world of them—a world which she saw ravished by AIDS.

Where did you grow up? In Akron, Ohio. How long have you lived in South Florida? Since 1978. Why did you move here? Well, it snows in Ohio, and I love palm trees much better than snow. And I was young. Me and my girlfriend-at-the-time were on our way to California. She eventually went on to California, and I just stayed. What part of South Florida do you live in? In Davie. What do you like most about living here? I like the ocean and the palm trees. I just like it—I don’t know. What South Florida venue do you miss that’s gone? Backstreet. Where do you hang out in South Florida, and why? I mostly stay at home with the puppies and my girlfriend. But when I do go out, I go to a straight bar. I want to go where no one knows my name and I can just be a fly on the wall. What’s your claim–to–fame? I’m the longest-running female bartender in the gay bars in Broward County. That, and my cocktails—people tell me about them all the time. They like to drink them because they don’t taste like pure alcohol. What’s the first place that you worked at in South Florida? Backstreet, in 1982.

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What’s the best place that you worked at in South Florida? Once again, Backstreet. It was in the space where Revolution is now. It took up the whole block; it was a big venue. It had a pool in the back, too. The early eighties was a very magical time to grow up and be gay. Particularly, in that club. At first, I did everything there—bar backing, taking care of the entertainment, etc. They eventually made me a bartender, but they put me on the second floor, in the back, figuring that I would quit. But I ended up making more than the boys, so they moved me to the first floor. Me and my girlfriend were the only female bartenders there. I never made so much money in all my life. What’s the biggest tip that you ever got? Nine hundred dollars. I only made one drink for this guy, and then he walked away. He left nine $100 bills under the ashtray. I tried to find him, in case he left the money by accident, but he was gone. What do you think about the gay bars today? Bars are getting more integrated, and young gays don’t give a fuck if you’re gay or not. I can’t imagine that young bartenders have a following, because people don’t go out like they used to. But I’m lucky because I’ve been here a long time, so I have a following.

What’s your best celebrity encounter? Andy Warhol. I was at the bar-area in Backstreet, and all these queens were like, “Who’s that ugly guy?” None of them knew who he was, if you can believe that. I had Warhol sign a napkin, and he drew a heart. I still have it. What celebrity are you closest with? Grace Jones. I used to hang around with her all the time. She’s fucking wild. I haven’t seen her for a while, though. Who’s your best industry friend? “Pooch.” I’ve known him for years. He’s a great guy. He used to work at Scandals, but I’m not sure if he’s there anymore. How would you like to be remembered? I really don’t know. I’ll leave that up to the public. I’ve introduced people who are still together years later, and I run into so many who tell me that I made their first drink when they just turned 21, or when they just moved into town. I feel like I’ve grown up with everyone here. Will you ever retire? Probably not. What’s the last thing that you looked at online? Probably Facebook. What’s the best place that you’ve visited, and why? The keys, but not Key West. It’s not artsy there anymore, and it has too many cruise ships. And working at The Copa for all those years in Key West kind-of ruined it for me. What’s your favorite band? The Pretenders. And on a side note, Chrissie Hynde grew up in Dayton, too, and my aunt—who had a beauty salon—did her mother’s hair.

What are you superstitious about? Black cats. Do you believe in aliens? Yes. And I think I’ve met a few of them. What’s something that you learned in life only when you got older? To save more money. What did you learn from your parents? Not much. I didn’t really have a childhood, because I had to bring up my brothers and sisters since I was 10 years old. What’s your best characteristic? I’m a good listener (laughs). How do you enjoy spending your time? Me and my girlfriend [of 28 years] go to Key Largo every-other weekend. That’s my getaway. What celebrity do you have a crush on? I used to love Suzanne Pleshette. Where would you go in a time machine, and why? Back to the early 80s. That was the best. But it was bittersweet, because the late 80s and early 90s were a very sad time because of AIDS—it was horrible. I mean, I would be serving someone, knowing that it would be their last drink. I was losing friends and customers left and right, and every time you opened up David Magazine, you saw another friend’s obituary. After a while, I got numb to it. I just couldn’t go to anymore funerals. And at that age, I had gone to more funerals than my parents ever did.

What would your last meal be? Probably Jets Pizza. The pizza is amazing—I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like it. What do you worry about? Money, money, money. If you were a musical instrument, what would you be, and why? Probably a trumpet, so people would listen to me (laughs). Are you more like a sheep or a wolf? Most of the time, I’m a lamb. But it depends on the day, because sometimes I have to be a wolf. I’m a woman in a man’s world, so I always have—and had—to be better than the boys and the beautiful men just to stay alive. Who depends on you? My puppies… and my girlfriend. Who are you closest with? Tommy, my cook. What would your autobiography be called? Behind Bars. What music do you listen to when you’re upset? I don’t listen to that much music. I listen to talk radio and sports radio to unwind. What’s your greatest regret in life? That I didn’t save more money. I made millions, but we all did back then. You always thought, “Oh, why bother saving? I’m gonna make another $1,000 tonight.” If we only knew… Where can we see you? At Beefcake’s on Wednesday and Thursday, from 3:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., and on Friday and Saturday, from 6:00 p.m. to close.