Dining Room at Little Palm Island
You've got to drive three hours south and then hop on a boat to get to the dining room at Little Palm Island Resort, but for a special occasion, it would be worth twice the trouble. Your complimentary glass of champagne on the skiff ride over is just a prelude to your photo-op dinner right on the west-facing beach at sunset; to the exotic cocktails and the opulent wine list; to the courtly service; and to the cooking courtesy of chef Louis Pous, which changes nightly and seasonally but always draws on Pous' Cuban-Caribbean heritage and what's available from the surrounding waters. Pous has the smarts and the organizational skills to source bounty from Keys waters: blackfin tuna, stone crabs, pink shrimp, grouper, snapper, pompano, wahoo, conch, lobster. As the sky darkens, an outdoor fireplace and torches provide illumination. As romantic as it gets, and you'll pay for it.