Log In / Sign Up
HOME > Chowhound > Florida >
x
xsivjosh Dec 8, 2010 08:58 AM

Short report on places in/around Naples

Inca's Kitchen- great food, very pleasant and informative servers, strip center, but niceambiance. Not fond of Peruvian wines. Our waiter should have told us we ordered too much food and steered us to ordering excessively. Everything we had was amazingly delicious and the portions were very large. (I am no lightweight, and still had to take home food.) The ceviche was one of the best I've ever had. The 1/2 chicken a la brasa was juicy and delicious. The scallops with melted cheese were great. The Inca Wari fish was somehow delicately prepared and juicy with a little crispiness at the edges. The dessert of fried donuts and Incan fruit ice cream kicked butt.

Bleu Province - Superb food and ambiance. Casual and unintimidating French food at reasonable prices. Our waiter directed us to great choices: Tuna tartar and Chicken Tagine (special) for my wife and Tomato Salad and Loup de Mer for me. Cheese plate dessert was well chosen and accompaniments were perfect matches. Most impressive was that the owner acts as sommelier. When I told him I'd like a bottle of wine under $40, he chose a Languedoc white for $32 which perfectly complemented our meals. He prided himself on having plenty of wines in all price ranges and being able to make good wine choices for all of his clientelle.

Crazy Flamingo in Marco Island - looks like a dump. We had dinner there the first night, just as we did 2 years ago. A chowhound recommendation. The oysters are really fresh and shucked to order by the "bartender" (wine and beer only). Served cold and no "questionable" oysters. Mussels in red were very good. The grouper was just okay. Caesar salad was very good. Sushi chef was great last visit, didn't order any this time around. We will be returning for sushi and oysters.

Little Bar in Goodland - very pleasant servers. The Stone Crabs, which we went for, were a bit small (about 6 or 7 to the lb), truly super conch chowder, frogs legs were pan fried with way too much garlic, steamed veggies were way overcooked. Wines by the glass were fair: good jug wines.

Bha Bha in north Naples: strip center location. Recommended by our waiter in Bleu Province. We both had the $12.50 luch special: thick Persian peasant soup and duo of small Persian salads, Lamb stew with excellent eggplant and portobello open faced pita sandwich for my veggie-deprived wife. A very decent place that I'd recommend for a simple lunch on a shopping day.

-----
Crazy Flamingo
1035 N Collier Blvd Ste 313, Marco Island, FL 34145

Bha!
847 Vanderbilt Beach Rd, Naples, FL 34108

  1. z
    Zeits Dec 24, 2010 12:26 PM

    many of us go to Inca's and order several plates in order to taste/bring home later. sorry it was the waiter's fault that they served generous portions that you can't finish at the table.

    1. LilMsFoodie Dec 9, 2010 02:28 AM

      thanks for your very nice report. We often go for short weekends to Marco. Always go to Little Bar but haven't tried Crazy Flamingo, although it may be an old Lazy Flamingo that was bought out or closed. They have a good supplier from Appalachicola.

      -----
      Lazy Flamingo
      6520 Pine Ave Ste C, Sanibel, FL 33957

      Crazy Flamingo
      1035 N Collier Blvd Ste 313, Marco Island, FL 34145

      1 Reply
      1. re: LilMsFoodie
        x
        xsivjosh Dec 9, 2010 01:56 PM

        Got a very nice tout from a shop lady in Naples for dinner last night: I'm surprised it hasn't been posted by chowhounds.
        Island Cafe in Marco island: Had a great prix fixe for $36 last night which changes weekly. Wife ordered ala carte Lobster Cake ($10) which was very good. Her entree included a nice house salad. Her Grouper Island style was topped with blue crab and lemon caper butter sauce, very fresh and really nicely prepared. My price fix was 4 courses: Seared Sea scallops , spinach salad, Rack of Veal and Flourless chocolate torte. Every dish was delicious. A bottle of Fess Parker pinot noir was $49. A glass of Cab was very generous. The chef was a charming German gentleman who loves working with the local seafood.

        Returned for a quick lunch today to Inca's Kitchen. Again it was exceptional. Tried a chicken soup with ground chorizo which was wonderful and ceviche kicked butt again. Wine list leaves much to be desired.

      Share with your friendsX