From time to time, a place comes along where dessert really just might as well come first. Because, not only is it what the place is famous for, it's also what the place does best. The Bubble Room (watch out, there's audio) on Captiva Island, Florida is just such a place.
So, in honor of that, I'm going to tell you about our dinner there with C's parents backwards -- starting with dessert and ending with bread service.
Bubble Room's Red Velvet Cake is C's favorite cake in the world--so much so that I ordered a whole one to be FedEx'd for his birthday a couple of years ago. Its faintly cocoa flavor and moist buttermilk base are the perfect "delivery system" for the luscious cream cheese frosting and pecans.
Dad ordered the family's other favorite, Orange Crunch Cake. This one has almonds, cinnamon & brown sugar between its dense yellow layers, and a thick layer of orange cream cheese frosting. You can see here that Dad was so excited that he had to get a tiny bite in before C could wield his camera!
Finally, I had to go for Very Moist Chocolate Cake. A bundt cake ("Iza Buunt!"*) layered with fudge toffee and pecan crunch icing, this thing is seriously super-strength. It was enough to keep me awake until nearly 3am!
The Bubble Room puts a cute, kitchy twist on all the names for their entrees. It's pretty entertaining, actually.
C and Dad both had The Eddie Fisherman, local grouper topped with herbs, Ritz crackers and other goodies, then baked in a brown paper bag. The waitron opens the bag tableside with much pomp and circumstance. The fish was totally moist and buttery, and the topping was amazingly delicious.
Mom had The Great One, a bacon-wrapped filet with bearnaise butter and mushrooms. I got a little bite of this, and it was very tasty, and cooked perfectly.
I couldn't help myself when I ordered the Prime Rib Weissmuller, Jane Cut, cooked rare and serve au jus. Prime rib is one of my favorite indulgences, and this was a great version. Just a little bit of gristle around the edges, but the meat was perfectly rare and juicy.
The entrees were all served with standard forgettable vegetables and freaking awesome twice-baked potatoes. Simple starter salads were fine, with pretty good dressings.
We only ordered a couple of appetizers since we knew how much food would be coming. We couldn't pass up the Flaming SocraCheese, which as you might guess is basically Saganaki--Kasseri cheese flambeed with brandy tableside. That there is our Bubble Scout (ya, I know, gag) doing the big "O-pa!" The guy behind her looks pretty terrified, but that's because he didn't get one of these oozy, gooey, tasty slabs of cheese on his table. His loss.
Last, but certainly, most definitely not least is the Bubble Bread & Sticky Buns. Yes, my friends. In a wacky twist of fate, we actually finish our post (and started our meal) with sticky buns. Didn't I say this was my kind of place??
The Bubble Room
15001 Captiva Drive
Captiva, FL 33924
239.472.5558
*My Big Fat Greek Wedding reference here... couldn't resist
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