Marco Island: The Dolphin Tiki Bar and Cafe

This wonderful spot was originally discovered a couple of years ago on a bike ride with Mike and Bob.  (Unfortunately, Jess wasn't with us during this find because her vacation schedule didn't coincide with week 52.)  The Dolphin Tiki Bar and Café is the quintessential Marco Island joint.  It is right on the water, super casual, has great food and entertainment.  This place is a good choice for lunch or dinner.  There is always a crowd here, primarily locals, it seems.  Because of its "off the beaten path" location, the newbie tourists wouldn't even know about it.  Of course, the menu always includes various presentations of Grouper, from a Grouper sandwich to a Grouper Platter to a Grouper Picatta, if you feel like going fancy.  One can always get some delicious shrimp meal, as an alternative.  For the carnivores in the crowd, a good burger or chicken sandwich or wrap is available, and, I am sure would be delish.  Personally, if Grouper is on the menu, then I always have the compulsion to order it.  They have an adequate selection of beer, without the typical Hoppy IPAs they we have grown to love.  The wait staff is very fun and friendly.  Dolphin Tiki is a must do for wonderful Marco Island fare.

Naples: Alberto's

Our wonderful week in Marco Island (and I do mean wonderful on many fronts, including the perfect weather) was very slightly curtailed by Mike’s travel schedule, which required him to leave Friday night vs. the usual Saturday afternoon.  That being the case, we decided to dine in Naples before dropping him off at the airport. 

Dining in Naples is a real treat.  There are loads of top notch restaurants, many of which are Italian (Naples attracts a European crowd).  Due in large part to the competitive nature of the market and to the older clientele, most downtown Naples restaurants offer “too good to be true” early bird specials.  Although we almost always opt for late vs early dinners, we decided to take advantage of the numerous great options available to us.

After checking out a few places, all of which looked excellent, we opted for Alberto's on Fifth, a classy place with lovely outdoor seating. We were able to get one of the last outdoor tables, and, believe it or not, enjoyed a first class meal and excellent service for $20 per person.  Too good to be true, as the dinner included two courses and a glass of wine.

Mike, Jess and I each had burrata as our appetizer, and wow, was it good.  Instead of seafood, I opted for homemade pasta (when in Rome, I guess); the others had shrimp and scallops skewers.  Everyone raved about their meal.  We'll definitely go back, and check out other Naples early bird specials next year.

After dinner, Jess treated us to ice cream at Marble Slab (using one of her gift cards).  It was en route to the airport.  

 

(*photo taken from Trip Advisor)

Marco Island, FL: Verdi's

 

 

After another two year blogging break (and returning from a recent trip to Florida) , we are back! Our first real dinner out in Marco was at Verdi's. This is a family owned restaurant near the bagel store and Italian deli. It was Jess' first time there but the others had been before. The food was absolutely outstanding. Unfortunately, we came on an "off" night and we waited forever to get our food. (Side note: every other table seemed to get their food in a timely manner. Maybe we have bad luck?) Jess mentioned our really long wait to our waitress and she did end up giving us free desserts and a glass of wine. She should have compensated us without needing to be told to do so. Oh well.

 

As far as our meals, we hit the jackpot! Mike had the chipotle scallops with bacon. Bob enjoyed swordfish which was prepared perfectly he said. Nan has the Chilean Sea Bass which had an Asian glaze (hoisin sauce). Jess decided to go "all out" and get crab-topped flounder over a big portion of melt-in-your-mouth gnocchi. The meals all came with a standard house salad. For dessert, we had a decedent flourless chocolate cake and crème brulee. At this point, we were all full but had a hard time resisting free dessert.

 

Luckily, we left happy campers since the  food quality and taste made up for the lackluster service. We will most definitely return!