Where to Find The Best Pizza in Bonita Springs Fl

1. Luna Pizza – Miromar Outlet in Estero, Florida
2. Ristorante Enrico on West Terry Street in the Publix Plaza in Bonita Springs Florida.
3. Brooklyn Oven on US 41 near the north gate to Bonita Bay in Bonita springs, Florida.
4. Pino’s Italian Pizzeria in the Publix Plaza at US 41/Old 41 Road Intersection in Bonita Springs, Florida.
5. Grampa’s Pizza on the corner of West Terry Street and Old 41 Road in Bonita Springs, Florida.
6. Marsala – Grande Oakes Shoppes, Estero, Florida.  There is also a Marsala on Bonita Beach Road at Bonita Grande Road in the Publix Plaza.
7. Napoli on the Bay – by the city dock, Naples, Florida
8. Enzo’s on Bonita Beach Road at West Avenue.
9. Fortuno’s on Bonita Beach Road just west of Vanderbilt.
10. Tony Sacco – Coconut Pointe Mall, Estero, Florida.

Dine outside of the franchise!  There are many local Bonita Springs families running local mom and pop establishments who appreciate your business.  Feel free to use this handy map to find each of these Bonita Springs Pizza Restaurants. Pizza Map

Buffalo Chips Restaurant ~ An Upscale Dive

No trip to Bonita Springs, Florida is complete without dining at Buffalo Chips Restaurant on Old 41 Road in Old Bonita. Back in the day … when I first moved here Buffalo Chips was a mandatory Friday or Saturday night pit stop.  Home of the Buffalo Chicken Wing!

If you’re looking for a fun place to dine and soak up some of the local color, Buffalo Chips is the place. It’s the local mom and pop that boasts “The hottest wings and the coldest beer”. 

Buffalo Chips is certainly a casual experience.  Buffalo Chips is the sort of laid back restaurant with picnic tables and rolls of paper towels on the table tops.

There is a smoking section outside on a screened lanai and ample air conditioned seating indoors. 

Besides the local yokels, there is some form of entertainment almost every day at Buffalo Chips, whether it’s Karaoke or strolling musicians going from table to table.  The night we last visited “Chips” a guitar and fiddle player were playing classic country favorites and making their way around the restaurant.  They were actually really good, too!

Buffalo Chips offers a variety of food that isn’t chicken or buffalo chicken wings, there are burgers, chili, fish, shrimp, salads and a kids menu, too.

Buffalo Chips also offers a web cam for your home viewing pleasure.  To see the Buffalo Chip cam and their full menu visit their official website at www.buffalochipsrestaurant.tv

Buffalo Chips is located at: 26620 Old 41 Road N., Bonita Springs, Fl 34135 Phone (239)947-1000

Buffalo Chips, Home of The Wing King!

Fresh Seafood Dine-In, Take-Out or By The Pound

The latest and absolutely greatest place to grab dinner or fresh seafood is at Randy’s Paradise Shrimp Company in Bonita Springs, Florida.  It’s the sister restaurant of Randy’s Fish Market Restaurant which is located in North Naples, Florida.

Since inventing the Southwest Florida Summer Restaurant Crawl we’ve visited a wide variety of restaurants but this is one of the first restaurants which was brand spanking new.  [If you happen to be reading this in the summer of 2011 and you’re interested in joining us on Sundays for dinner visit www.SWFLcrawl.com and it will redirect you to the Facebook group.  Who knows, we may do it again next year, so email me.]

Our visit to Randy’s Paradise Shrimp Company was a great opportunity to try local seafood favorites from their absolutely huge menu.  The fresh seafood visible in the case is usually available on the menu.  I had my favorite, blackened grouper.  It was the third meal I’ve had since Randy’s Paradise Shrimp Company opened.  Every meal I’ve had has been cooked and seasoned perfectly.

In a sea of local Bonita Springs restaurants I’d share that Randy’s offers a superb level of quality seafood, cooked on level of perfection that isn’t available at most restaurants.   You can taste the care and consistency that comes out of the kitchen. 

Randy’s Paradise Shrimp Company is a great lunch stop, also.  I’ve been in and out in less than thirty minutes, which is perfect for those on the go and working.  By the way, Randy’s is also open for breakfast, also.

In addition to dining in, Randy’s Paradise Shrimp Company offers take home seafood, a full deli section featuring dips, sauces, pasta and more, plus shipping. Order those Key Lime Pies to be delivered to friends and family up north. 

Randy’s Paradise Shrimp Company is located at the North end of Old 41 Road in the Bernwood Plaza.

The official website: www.paradiseshrimponline.com

25010 Bernwood Ave

Bonita Springs, Florida 34135

239-949-6001

Southwest Florida Summer Restaurant Crawl 2011

In an effort to update and reorganize the  Bonita Springs/Estero Top Ten restaurants on this blog, I invented a little group on Facebook and Meetup to organize a way for a few local Bonitians and Esteroans (sp?) to join me.  We have about one hundred – forty members now and we’re growing. 

The first restaurant to host us was Hemingway’s Island Grille at Coconut Pointe in Estero Florida.  We had about twenty participants join us and we immediately started scheduling the rest of the summer restaurant meet-up tweet-up Facebook-up locations. 

The next is at Bamboo Cafe in Naples, Florida.  You can find more info about it on the Facebook and Meet up group links above.  It’s not too far of a drive from Bonita Springs and down by the docks and the pier so you can find something else fun to do when you go, also.

What can I tell you about Hemingway’s that would benefit you as a local or even a visitor?  To begin with the decor is fun, relaxed, tropical and there really is something on the menu for everyone.  Some of the guests had mojitos … and it looked like they were going down easy! 

By the way, there is a children’s menu. While I don’t have little people around the house anymore, I do check for you moms and mommy bloggers.

I can attest that Hemingway’s does have the best bottled water in town, and the lobster ravioli was absolutely delicious.  Sunday, will officially be my “cheat day” while the Southwest Florida Restaurant Crawl is in progress. 

By the way, there were so many people that showed up at Hemingway’s that I barely had time to eat and actually didn’t realize everyone had placed their orders until their dinners came.  That actually presented a unique opportunity to poach some onion rings and salmon spinach salad from a few other members … and their orders were delicious, also.

Hemingway’s turned out to be an excellent venue for a group, a noisy group at that.  We stayed in the bar area which had high top tables, room to walk and room too skoooch tables and chairs together to make groups bigger and smaller. 

With the help of the great servers at Hemingway’s, we eventually we owned every table and had them all in a row, peppered with the debris resulting from consumed dinners and appetizers.

As we left Hemingway’s, the live music in the courtyard between Pagelli’s and Hemingway’s was just beginning. The performers are always fantastic and the music styles and bands changes frequently.  On this particular evening there was a tenor singing and it was just beautiful.  Even the weather cooperates in evening.  Once the sun goes down the weather is just gorgeous.  It’s a beautiful way to spend the evening in Florida.

If you’re thinking of trying Hemingway’s Island Grille, feel free to visit their official site, here:  Hemingway’s Island Grille.  Their address is Coconut Point at 8001 Plaza Del Lago, #113, Estero, FL 33928  Phone: 239-495-7240.

So, it all started with a search that someone made on Google. They searched “Top 10 Restaurants in Bonita Springs, Florida” and found a post on Life in Bonita Springs, titled the same.  When I went to the post, which I had written years earlier, I realized that more than a few of the restaurants were no longer in business. 

I started questioning locals on Facebook … where’s your favorite place to eat?  Everyone had an opinion and I went to one of the restaurants the following Sunday afternoon.  It then occurred to me that maybe I should invite a few of those Facebook people to join me.  I mean, we’re all friends online and we all like to eat so maybe we should get together tweet-up style for dining and socializing.

The Facebook Group, Southwest Florida Summer Restaurant Crawl was born.  You can click that link to go join the page, by the way.

Anywho, the group grew quickly and then I started to scramble looking for places to get on schedule and formulate some sort of a plan.  We officially have our first event scheduled at Hemingway’s at Coconut Point June 5th.  Go to the group to find more info about that event or upcoming events because we’re doing it all summer.

Also, if you happen to know a restaurateur, restaurant manager or someone who does public relations for local restaurants, let them know about the summer event.  We’re still looking for hosts!

You don’t have to be a Facebook member to join in the fun.  Feel free to contact me directly for more information.

Living in Southwest Florida means that many of the local Bonitians live seasonally.  We wait for tourist season to be over before we start venturing out to try new restaurants and dining establishments that have hit the scene.  Extreme Riders Cruisin’ Cafe isn’t exactly new, but I’ve not exactly been there, yet.

When tourist season wrapped up this year I made it a mission to do a restaurant crawl for Life in Bonita Springs to update the new restaurants and start weeding out some of the fallen soldiers that didn’t survive the weak economy. 

To that end, I grabbed a guest and hit Extreme Riders Cruisin’ Cafe on a sunny Saturday evening in May 2011.   The original plan was to visit Parmesan Pete’s but to our disappointment we found that they were closed on Saturday.

Extreme Riders and the Cruisin’ Cafe, first and foremost, is the home of Bike Night. If you’ve found this post by searching Bike Night in Bonita Springs, this is the place on Thursday night.  You should always the calendar here:  Extreme Rider’s Official Website.  Back to the restaurant …

We ordered the Extreme Riders Cruisin’ Cafe special which was the double angus burger and “The Ducati” (off the Extreme Riders Cruisin’ Cafe menu) a fresh mozzarella and tomato sandwich with an olive tapenade and “The Tricycle” which was a grilled cheese sandwich and a “side car” of potato salad.  That Tricycle and The Big Wheel (PB & J) are from the kids menu.  So there are provisions for children at Extreme Riders Cruisin’ Cafe.

Extreme Riders Cruisin’ Cafe

Everything served to us at Extreme Riders Cruisin’ Cafe was delicious, hearty and fresh.  The prices seemed fair and the decor is interesting.  The Extreme Riders Cruisin’ Cafe is a restaurant within a biker store.  There is nothing else like it in the area.

While you’re waiting for your order you can shop for unique riding apparel, specialty riding equipment and unique take home souvenir apparel, if you’re not a local of Bonita Springs.

We’ll certainly go back to Extreme Riders Cruisin’ Cafe. They’re open for lunch and dinner, by the way. The menu consists of home made classic sandwiches with a twist.  The full menu is here: Cruisin’ Cafe Menu.

You don’t necessarily have to have a bike to enjoy the store or the restaurant. You can stop by for other events like karaoke, usually on Wednesday nights – check the calendar for exact event schedules.

Extreme Riders Cruisin’ Cafe is located on Bonita Beach Road, west of 41.  Their address and phone:

Extreme Riders Cruisin’ Cafe ~ Home of Bike Night

3600 Bonita Beach Road

Bonita Springs, Florida 34134

239-495-3911 Phone

Local Restaurants Which Permit Pets on The Patio

Floridians love their dogs and many local Bonita Springs and Estero Florida restaurants offer outside dining or patio pet friendly dining.  Since I’ve managed to locate a good portion of pet friendly restaurants to take my own beloved, old timer, dog I thought I’d share the list. 

If you are looking for a pet friendly restaurant to take your dog out for breakfast, lunch or dinner enjoy this list but know this:  An amateur pet owner prepared the pet friendly dining list so individual restaurants may change their rules at any time.

1. 
   Pet Friendly Dining Map

   Silver Spoon at The Promenade near Bonita Bay, Bonita Springs, Florida

2. Tijuana Flats of Bonita Springs
3. Big Hickory Grille and Marina at the north end of Bonita Beach (Bay Side)
4. Moe’s at Coconut Point Mall
5. Rail Head Cafe at Village Walk of Bonita Springs, Florida
6. Crispers at The Prado (Beside Big Al’s Sports Bar) in Bonita Springs, Florida.
7. Luna Pizza at Miromar Outlets in Estero, Florida.
8. Survey Cafe of Bonita Springs, Florida

In addition to the list above, there are many restaurants at Coconut Point may that may be pet friendly.  If you’re a fan of pet friendly dining and you’d like to add favorite pet friendly restaurants not on the list, just add a comment with the restaurant name. We’ll do our best to add them to the pet friendly restaurant list and pin them on the map.

Fresh Pastry and Bread in Estero Florida

Real estate can lead to bakeries?  I was recently previewing homes for sale in Bonita Springs and ran into a lovely woman who told me she was opening a bakery in Estero, Florida … a German Bakery to be exact.  It was only a few weeks before I was driving in the area and stopped into visit the bakery and see what was available.

Besides cakes, strudel and the delicious Linzer cookies above the bakery offers a variety of breads including pretzel bread.  If you haven’t had pretzel bread I’d highly recommend you try it.  You can buy by the piece instead of buying a huge package of buns.

If you’re looking for the best in home made baked goods which offers delicious old world recipes stop into Bread and More in Estero or call in an order at 239-390-2774.

Bread and More is located at 20461 S. Tamiami Trail, Estero, Florida 33928 just a couple hundred feet north of Broadway, follow this map:

Rail Head Cafe at Village Walk 

Updated July 2010 – Rail Head Cafe is now in Village Walk and open to the general public.  Why not dine in a club atmosphere in a gorgeous community?  Village Walk is located off of Bonita Beach Road, East of I-75. 

In case you’re wondering, Rail Head still makes everything from scratch and is reasonably priced, too.  If you’re not a resident of Village Walk call ahead to have your name given to security at the gate so you’ll get in easily.  239-221-7093

Just last week I had an opportunity to dine at Rail Head Cafe in Village Walk.  The Arizona Wrap was actually improved, they toasted the wrap first and it made it even tastier.  The original review of the restaurant is below the new, improved map to Village Walk and The Rail Head Cafe. 

Recently when “my” Albertson’s Grocery store closed I was not only saddened but left without a local, handy grocery store. Today, I swooped into the Albertson’s on the corner of Bonita Beach Road and Livingston Road to pick up some shrimp to make stir fry with “Japanese Secret Sauce”.

FYI: It turns out that that “Japanese Secret Sauce” that gets major play at the steakhouses and franchises, isn’t really all that “traditional”. Email me directly for the “top secret mayonnaise based recipe”….and the clever story how I lost my vision by getting the secret ingredient in my eye accidentally. Seriously, I wouldn’t believe it myself unless I was the one with black, drippy, mascara running down my face.

This wasn’t the first time I visited this plaza where my “new” grocery store is. I’ve been making a nuisance of myself at the Railhead Café. Rail Head has only been in this plaza for a few short weeks. Back in the day they were in Rail Head Park, hence the name Rail Head.

Several weeks ago, long after “my” Albertson’s closed I had to go to “the other” Albertson’s. I saw Rail Head Café was there and decided to try something new.

My first trial was with @AlGorithm and he had a blackened chicken sammy and I had a breakfast burrito; egg with *home made* salsa in a wrap. I’m not wild about eggs and hadn’t befriended/blackmailed the staff to special order stuff for me yet, so I made do and lived to tell the tale.

Since then I’ve been a tough customer. I’m a picky Patty I asked for the Arizona wrap (which traditionally comes with turkey) with no meat. It has all sorts of veggies, avocado, maybe a chipotle mayo and a few other fixin’s.

It’s affordable to dine, per person at $7 or less and it’s all home cooked, as in home made. Tasty sides of pasta, slaw, fries, what have you. First time I was in with a friend the tab was $11 for two. You can’t beat that value with a stick.

Rail Head also caters, corporate catering, weddings, parties, graduations, you name it. If you need more info or to contact Matt from Rail Head: http://railheadtogo.com/

Royal Scoop Ice Cream off of Vanderbilt

What are you doing after dinner tonight?  If you haven’t made a plan you should go visit one of Bonita Springs’ original favorites – Royal Scoop.  In case you didn’t know, Royal Scoop has the most delicious, freshly made ice cream in Bonita Springs.

Treats aren’t limited to ice cream, Royal Scoop serves other goodies and even lunch.  The last trip I took to Royal Scoop I had home made butter pecan ice cream. I was going to take a picture for the blog, but it just didn’t last long enough.  So, enjoy the neon image instead.

If you’re thinking of taking a trip to Royal Scoop here’s a map and directions.  You might want to follow them on Facebook, too. Royal Scoop is located at 15 8th Street, Bonita Springs, Florida.  That’s in Bonita Shores by the number streets.