Monday, February 16, 2009

Monday Taste Test

Today was sunny, breezy and 75 degrees. It was also Presidents Day, which made it possible for a friend, Ms Tink to come to the island on a shopping spree. She said she was out to help stimulate the economy, but I think she simply needed some palm trees, sunshine and the island breeze.

When she arrived, we decided to have lunch somewhere we hadn't been. We picked the Twilight Cafe on West Gulf Drive. I had not been there yet because I heard that it was mostly gourmet type foods and a little pricey. WRONG!! You must keep in mind that I was raised as a country girl, and I prefer meat and potatoes without much of anything piled on top of it. :-) My food was going to be prepared by an award winning chef.....I didn't know if I would like it.

The menu had a large variety of foods, it offered something for every one's taste. One of us simply had a side order of two pancakes, which they happily provided. Another chose a salad of greens topped with a large piece of blackened salmon, which she said was excellent. I had a cheese burger slider, fries, and a salad of greens with the house dressing that is to die for! To drink, I had iced tea, which I laughingly say, would have been better with a slice of lemon which was missing. It's not bad when that is the only thing you would change about your lunch order. :-)

The service was excellent as well as the food. The cafe has a very nice atmosphere; depending upon the occasion, I think you could say it is cozy, as well as romantic. The price for the three of us today, was around $30. In my opinion, this place could easily become a favorite!








Cozy area to sit, if there is a wait.

Maybe a drink at the bar, if there is a wait?
I love the deco! (My photos don't do it justice.)








This was just the right amount of food for me. :-)



Cute painting on the door.

Loved this little bench!

A perfectly cute rug in the entry way.



This evening I drove over the causeway to do grocery shopping. Those two for one sales were calling me. :-)

The water looked a little choppy, but I was able to see a couple of dolphin swimming. There were lots of gulls flying around on the air currents along side the traffic. On the first island there was a man trying to take a photo and gulls were flying all around him. There was a large group of people enjoying a picnic.

Just before getting to the next island, I noticed a couple of kite surfers. When on the highest point of the last bridge, I happened to see the sun in my rear view mirror. After coming off the causeway, I made a left turn on a street that would take me back toward the water so I could see the sun going down.

This area is Punta Rassa, which is only four and a half square miles and a little over two of that is water. Punta Rassa was an important cattle town in the 1800's, and was the point where cattle were taken by ship to Cuba. The Sanibel Resort and Spa (which isn't in Sanibel, they say Sanibel Harbour....confusing, isn't it?) is in this area along with an area of private condominiums, and homes. The Caloosahatchee River runs on the north side of Punta Rassa. This is some interesting, history trivia, if you're interested.

After taking a couple photos of the late evening sun, I headed back past the parking area for the Punta Rassa Boat Ramp. It was then that I noticed lots of new palm trees planted along the approach to the toll plaza, and on each side of the causeway. I had been wondering when the planned landscaping would be finished.

Back onto McGregor once again, then Summerlin Road to San Carlos and a stop at Publix and a WinnDixie to take care of that grocery shopping! Yes, I almost forgot what mission I was on. :-)















5 comments:

Gayle said...

How nice for you and Tink to be able to enjoy lunch! They do such a nice job landscaping with trees in all the new develpment. I wish we had more landscaping here. My kids spent the day at the beach near Miami (?). Apparently, it was 70, breezy and cold according to them. Apparently, jackets had to be worn. Amazing, how quickly one adjusts to temperature change. They'll come home to our +20 and wear shorts to school and say they aren't cold. Figure that one out!! :) (It's all in the humidity baby!)

Shionge said...

Hey...I googled Sanibel Island and gosh I was so close to you when I visit Florida back in Year 2005 :)

What a nice cafe and yes cozy place to have a meal and feel so at home too.

Amy said...

Hey Tootie -- Thanks for stopping by the 4th Frog Blog. Yep -- we hit our two fave Captiva spots while we were there. The Bubble Room (forget the Red Velvet, the Orange Crunch cake was by far the best!) and the Mucky Duck, though they weren't quite up to the silliness I remember. My dh asked for mustard and actually got mustard.

DH and I ate lunch at the Twilight Cafe on Sunday. It was excellent. I had the roasted veggie sandwich, he had the buffalo grouper sandwich. We each cut our lunch in half and shared. The sweet potato fries were very good, though I wanted something to dip them in.

If you go back and get the waitress from New England, please tell her that the couple from Indiana took the kids to Periwinkle Park and had a blast! Thanks for the tip!

Amy said...

Oh, forgot to add that we saw the kite surfers yesterday too on our way to the airport. My 9yo son was quite jealous!

George said...

Isn't it great to try a new restaurant and find it to be wonderful? I'm envious that you can have such a scenic drive to the grocery store.