Brunos of Brooklyn – Ft. Myers

Took some guests to Brunos in downtown Ft Myers. This is the first time for me at the new location. Its much bigger than the old location. We went on a Saturday night at 5pm, which is exactly when they open. By the time we left, the place was packed and there was a line outside! Our waitress was very nice, lots of smiles. Our busboy was very attentive getting us all the water and bread we wanted. So it was a very good start to the evening.

We went right in to ordering our entrees. The other couple we were with ordered the Lamb Shank and the Seafood Risotto. The person that ordered the Seafood Risotto didn’t want any onions or garlic. My wife and I were in the restaurant biz for 25 years. I’ve made lots of risotto. You can’t make risotto to order because it takes a good 30 minutes from scratch, so if you did, you wouldn’t be able to get food out in a timely fashion. So you make a big batch and don’t cook it all the way. When you get an order, you take what you need and finish it off. But the first thing you do is sauté the onions. So I don’t know how that was going to be accomplished. You might be able to get it garlic free, but I thought not onion free. There was a big discussion with the waitress and another restaurant person, but we were assured that they could get it done.

I happened to order the Seafood Risotto too, with no changes. My wife ordered the Bolognese. When we got our food, the other person who ordered the Seafood Risotto kept pulling bits of onion to the side. I plowed through mine like there was no tomorrow! My wife loved the Bolognese and the Lamb Shank was also devoured. Really good food! The only downside is the prices. I’m still in sticker shock at the prices we’re paying nowadays. And that’s at all restaurants, not just Brunos. We sold our last restaurant in 2018. I was making Bouillabaisse with shrimp, fish, lobster, a piece of crab leg and large mussels for $39.50. This Seafood Risotto was $52 and was mostly rice! It had three 20-25 shrimp, small clams, maybe four or five small mussels and some tiny calamari tentacles. I should have taken a picture of the plate with the shells on it to give you an idea of the amount of seafood, but I forgot. Sorry.

I would have liked a pinch more salt on mine, but there are no salt shakers on the table. So we’re all finished and we get our leftover risottos in doggie bags. So the next day our visitors leave and they forget their leftovers! Later, I take the risotto and reheat it in the microwave. As I’m eating it I don’t remember it being so garlicky and oniony. Then my wife tells me that wasn’t mine. Mine was in the other refrigerator. I then eat that one too and its as bland as bland can be! Are you following?! We got the wrong risottos served to us at the restaurant! I got the one with no onions and garlic. The other person got the one with garlic and onions! Hah! Crazy! When we were served, we were asked who had the ones with no garlic and onions, so we thought we got the right ones, but we didn’t. So, who screwed up, we don’t know. It could have been the kitchen or the food runners. Oh well.

My wife and I got the Limoncello Cake for dessert and it was kind of dry. But it looked good! Here’s their website if you want to take a closer look. I have a pic of the dessert menu down below. Can you imagine? A piece of Carrot Cake for $20. Holy cow! Keep the economy going! Get out there!