Bahama Village Before the Duval Crowd Wakes Up

Bahama Village Before the Duval Crowd Wakes Up

Bahama Village sits west of Duval, and the difference is the difference between a performance and a conversation. Duval is Key West's stage — loud, bright, entertaining if you're into it. Bahama Village was here first.

The roosters. They're everywhere, crossing Petronia Street with the entitled strut of animals protected by city ordinance, crowing at hours that have nothing to do with dawn. You'll find them charming or maddening. Reliable personality test.

Blue Heaven on Thomas Street is the anchor — open-air restaurant in a former bordello where Hemingway refereed boxing matches. Chickens wander between the tables. The banana bread French toast is outstanding and the Key lime pie is the standard by which all others are measured. The wait on weekends is genuinely painful though — forty-five minutes to an hour with no shade. Show up at opening or plan to suffer.

Walk Fort Street past clapboard cottages painted coral, seafoam, egg yolk, lavender. Studios of Key West on Eaton Street hosts rotating exhibits and takes itself seriously in a town that usually doesn't. Before nine, the village belongs to residents and roosters. After noon, Duval leaks west and it's shared territory.