Deep Lagoon is one of my favorite spots along the 41 strip here in Naples. My usual MO is to stop here for lunch, but tonight I decided to go for dinner and I made up my mind to Try Something New. I had a reservation although at 7:00 on a Tuesday in September there were not a lot of full tables. I enjoy being seated in the cozy Taproom and they easily accommodated my need for a booth as the cast on my foot makes sitting on high tops very difficult.
Although I usually go for the Captain's Platter blackened, I just couldn't commit to a single entree for trying something new. I decided to order multiple appetizers one by one until I was full. I ordered a Bulleit bourbon and started with the Lobster Bisque. I was kind of surprised at the almost 20-minute wait for a cup of soup and was glad I had already ordered my second choice, the ceviche. The bisque arrived in a slanted, oblong dish, topped with a sprinkle of diced lobster meat, black caviar, and chopped parsley. It was a bit too salty instead of rich and creamy, possibly from the caviar, which made interesting tiny black swirls in the orange soup with each spoonful.
About the time I finished my bisque, the Shrimp, Scallop & Hogfish Ceviche arrived. It was a good-sized portion and definitely would be a nice dish to share. But it was *all mine. The seafood pieces were large and meaty. The diced peppers, onions, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and sliced avocado made a delicious salsa-seafood combo. However, I cannot say enough about the "blackened crisps" that accompanied it. I never knew flash-fried tortilla chips could puff up into flaky layers that melt in your mouth. The crisps were dusted with blackening seasonings and were positively addicting. Warm and light, they were a star on the plate and the perfect accompaniment to the ceviche.
My server was training a new server and I guess that might explain why they were a tad inattentive. I asked them to check back in five minutes to take my next (final) order and I didn't see them for twenty. I had to get up and get water from the bartender. So I finished the ceviche and twiddled my thumbs waiting for the last order, Oysters Rockefeller. I would have ordered a glass of wine while I waited, but I did not see my servers again until time for the check. I had already had to go to the bartender for a glass of water, I didn't want to pester him for wine as well. All of my food was served by a food runner and my servers did not check back to see how things were for long periods of time. The restaurant was NOT busy. There were no more than 10 occupied tables and multiple servers. I had a straight sight-line into the kitchen and could see my server and the trainee standing and talking but I could not get their attention.
The Oysters Rockefeller were disappointing. The oysters themselves, under all the spinach and cheese, were quite small - maybe the size of a nickel. Honestly, I think a dinner of three appetizers could have been accomplished in under 90 minutes, but such was not the case.
Overall, the only dish I would re-order was the ceviche. Those crisps, man, I'll be thinking about those all the way back to Minneapolis.... read more