Where Locals Go In Crystal River - The Crab Plant

Once we finished a morning of kayaking on Kings Bay, we were famished! We asked our guide, Matt, where to find good seafood and he recommended "The Crab Plant". We could see it from the kayak launch - right across the harbor on the dock where the fishing boats came in. That was a pretty good indication we would be in for fresh seafood. 

After a quick change in our RV, we headed out on foot to walk the four blocks to the restaurant. On the way, Jim marveled at the Spanish moss hanging from the trees. Each huge oak was festooned with clumps and ribbons of the stuff. We walked several streets that were framed by big, old oaks draped in Spanish moss - kind of like an entrance to some special place.

Finally, the trees stepped back to reveal the harbor entrance, a rough dirt and rock strewn driveway. As we walked towards the docks, we saw the Crab Plant market where you could purchase fresh seafood and right next door was the restaurant..

Inside was not fancy, but welcoming and relaxed. Simple concrete floors ran from the entrance to wall-sized windows overlooking the harbor. We found our table near the windows and were immediately entranced by the view.

menu before leaving us to ponder the boats in the harbor. A moment later she reappeared with our drinks and took our order.  Seems we arrived just in time. Right after our waitress brought our lunch, the place began to fill up with local patrons. 

Jim ordered a blackened grouper sandwich and I the grilled mahi. We shared bites and agreed the food was terrific. Our harbor view encouraged us to savor our meal slowly but it tasted so good, and we were quite hungry, that we finished up rather quickly.

Before heading back to the RV still parked at the kayak launch, we looked at a stack of crab traps on the dock. They had the same orange buoy that attracted the dolphins on our kayak trip through the bay. Maybe they figured they could spring a few crabs for lunch!