this restaurant has piqued a lot of local intrigue and as much as we have read about how great this place is, we finally mustered up the time to go to a table apart. the restaurant is situated in the old bonita shores neighborhood in a land of old strip malls that line bonita beach road on everyone’s journey to the beach. there are a few popular local hot spots in the area, but you might miss this place if you sneeze or get distracted by the beautiful sunset of southwest florida.
we sat at the bar, and took advantage of their lovely prix fixe menu. they also had a special running with a free bottle of house wine or 50% for bottles under $100. the prix fixe menu is 3 courses: a shared appetizer, a soup or salad and then a choice 6 different sumptuous entrées. our server did a great job of using descriptors to entice us with a ton of choices. even after studying the menu for quite some time and wanted to come in guns-a-blazing like we were regulars, we knew that we had to go off the beaten path and get the tripletail and sample their loco moco poutine.
i wasn’t sure whether to gobble it up because it was so good or to savor every little bite. we started off with their hawaiian kalua pig quesadilla – tea leaf braised pork, provolone & queso fresco served with a balsamic onion confit and chipotle tomato jam. we thought it the quesadilla was very rich and it worked incredibly well with the confit and jam. the shredded pork had some really nice earthy flavors. however, the loco moco poutine was my favorite out of the apps. the gravy had some complexity going on which really means that it was made with love. also, i find any dish sexy with an egg on it. the spicy tomato bisque was the soup of the day and that was heaven. rich and creamy, but not super heavy either.
my entrée choice was the house-cured kurobuta pork ribeye served with a caramelized onion “soublise”, watercress and shaved green apple and red onion salad. the play on the hearty with freshness and acidity was a lovely balance. the texture was surprisingly unfamiliar. i thought what have might been dry pork, was a lovely cured texture and taste reminiscent to cured ham or bacon. and it’s just perfect when you get a bite with some nutty fresh watercress or green apple. my husband had the tripletail as his entrée served with asparagus and rice. he said that it was the best fish dish he ever tasted, and that says a lot for a picky palate.
our wonderful foodie journey ended on a high note with some kona french pressed coffee and a filipino-inspired sweet potato pie. the texture was spot on…not too dense, and not too sweet.
so, for an unassuming place, this local hot spot is quite the hidden gem. i even have reports from other friends that had incredible meals and incredible service. kudos to the owners and his whole culinary team! i’ll definitely be back!