Island Gypsy Cafe, Isles of Capri/Marco Island, Florida

Once again, we went to Florida for the girls’ Spring Break. Up hours before the sun, we flew from BWI to Fort Myers, landed, got a rental van, and drove straight down to the Isles of Capri.

The Isles of Capri are a handful of islands just north of Marco Island. Mostly residential, one island contains a few offices, marinas, and, best of all, relaxed waterside restaurants, such as Pelican Bend and, best of all, The Island Gypsy at 292 Capri Boulevard.

You can read some background and the tale of our first trip to The Island Gypsy here. At that time, the place was mobbed from opening and there was a long wait for a table. Now, they take reservations, so I went on their website a few months before our trip and reserved a spot for our lunch.

We drove up, and after Ella and Lily changed from pajamas to Florida wear and the rest of us at least switched from shoes to flip flops, we were able to saunter right to our table for six under that peaked roof, open to the Florida breeze,

and looking out over the water.

Michael and I each had an Islamorada IPA, and we were officially in Florida.

What a great welcome to Florida. The weather was beautiful, the server laughed at my jokes, and I was with the best company in the world. Our attitudes adjusted, we proceeded to order.

I started off with an order of their smoked mahi-mahi dip for the table.

This actually is a photo from our last trip, but it shows what you get — a big mound of terrific smoked fish dip hidden by walls of jalapeños, cherry peppers, gherkins, and “everything” flatbread. Smoked fish is a real Florida treat, and I like the presentation, as it’s important to have plenty of vegetables, and vinegar is very healthy. When we were through, there was half a pickle left.

First the girls. Ella, ordered the kids’ sliders.

She was delighted with the burgers, which she described as almost as good as The Avenue’s.

Lily ordered the kids’ shrimp basket.

That’s a whole lot of shrimp. I can pick out eight large shrimp in there! Lily was well pleased, as were Liza, Michael, and I, as we each poached a shrimp from Lily. These shrimp were remarkable — fresh, well cooked, and well seasoned. This was superb, maybe the best kids’ menu dish of all time. If you can think of a better, please let me know.

Nancy ordered the mahi-mahi tacos and substituted fruit for fries.

Isn’t that a lot of fish in those tacos, and isn’t that fruit impressive? The fruit actually was fresh — it’s Florida after all. Later on, we bought some strawberries at Publix — two packages of gorgeous red strawberries, not a speck of green or white, for $5. And notice the colors of the tomatoes. They actually had some tomato flavor!

Liza ordered the blackened grouper sandwich, and also substituted fruit for fries.

Michael went with a fried grouper sandwich, with no substitutions, as he did throughout the trip,

while I took charge of the blackened side of the grouper reseach.

Michael later said that this was the best grouper of the trip, and I’m inclined to agree with him. It was fresh, seasoned and cooked superbly, and generously portioned. Here’s a view showing just how thick my slab of grouper was.

As you can imagine with such good fried fish, the French fries also were top notch.

The Island Gypsy is a delight. It’s a sprawling place, built around a central bar that’s always busy, and that spreads a relaxed conviviality throughout. Best of all is the food. The Island Gypsy is a wonderful way to start a Florida vacation. Or to cap off a vacation before leaving, or any other time. Go ahead and make a reservation.

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