Review (Restaurant) - Bayshore Landing Cafe - CLOSED

I'll be completely honest with you, I have no idea how to write a review on a restaurant, so I'm just going to start rambling and see what comes out.


Bayshore Landing Cafe is in the Naples, FL area. It is a family owned and operated restaurant open from 11-11 every day but Sunday (closed). They feature live music and/or other entertainment nightly (one of the owners are in the "house" band), and are located at 2727 Bayshore Drive [Naples, FL 34112] in the plaza just southeast of Tamiami/U.S. 41 and Bayshore. They currently (2/13) do not have a large sign over the establishment, just on the doors and windows. They are located between the Amvets and the Spanish church Cristo Reina in units 107 and 108.

The serving style is similar to Panera Bread - seat yourself, come up to the counter to order and take a number back to your table (if they're busy). The only words I can think to describe their menu are interesting and different. If you're looking for french fries, they don't serve them. They do, however, have a selection of hummus and other vegetarian foods. Not to worry, they have plenty of other non-vegetarian dishes. I haven't tried the entire menu, but here's what I can say:

• I don't like coffee. In fact, I pretty much hate it. The only thing I ever get from Starbucks is a Mocha Frappuccino with three extra pumps of chocolate and whipped cream. However, if you order the mocha latte at Bayshore and ask for extra chocolate and milk, their drink is easily as good as Starbucks'.
• The salsa with the chips and salsa is made fresh. As far as I can tell it's made out of tomatoes, cilantro, and onions, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was something else in it that made it so tasty. The salsa is very flavorful, yet not spicy, which in my opinion is what makes it great.
• I highly recommend the pulled pork sandwich...or at least order the barbecue sauce they use with whatever dish you get. I really like barbecue sauce and the kind they use (I forget the name, but it is on their menu) is the best I've had. Ever.
• Speaking of the barbecue sauce, their brisket sandwich is really good too. I recommend getting the barbecue sauce to put on it. The bread dipped in the juices the brisket is cooked in was surprisingly yummy and added extra flavor. 
• I'm certainly not a vegetarian or big on all-vegetable dishes, but the veggie wrap they just re-created is actually pretty tasty as long as you like the vegetables that are in it.
• They have "Disney" chicken nuggets on the kids menu, and oh my gosh they're shaped like Mickey heads! If you're literate, you know I love Disney. I almost feel bad biting into Mickey's head (the same goes for the Mickey ice cream at Disney World), but still...it's Mickey! The nuggets are deep fried which I makes them extra crispy and yummy. I think I'll try making them at home some time.
• I could eat the cheesecake with homemade strawberry preserves for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.

If you go in the restaurant during the day, they have comfortable couches and a library of books for you to read while sipping some coffee or other beverage. Obviously, it's all still there at night, I'm just not sure how easy it would be to read with that much noise from the live music. They also have a small selection of games in said "library".

The only criticisms I have are that they didn't get a plain and more professional ".com" web address. Also, if you go in grumpy and not in the mood to talk to anyone, you might have your ear talked off anyway. *For those of you friendly people who enjoy talking and/or listening, this won't be an issue; everyone is very pleasant to speak to.

***Unfortunately, Bayshore Landing closed in mid 2010***