Hurricane Charley's Softly Opens This Week with a Bang

While the doors of Hurricane Charley's haven't opened to the general public yet, that's supposed to happen in a few days, they did slide open softly last night for a Chamber event.  And despite glitches to be expected in a first run through, what shined through was the outstanding food, and the friendly, cheerful staff that Dean has taken on in his new establishment on Punta Gorda's waterfront.

The old place, built to house a Holiday Inn on a prime piece of waterfront property with an intriguing history, and most recently home to  Best Western's Benedetto's, has now been scoured and improved, but still needs some cheer.  Some plants, paintings would be enough to make this difficult interior more inviting.  That said, new furnishings, paint and cleaning has already vastly improved what was Benedetto's .  And once the doors to the vast deck open up, the interior will be overshadowed anyway by ambience on Charlotte Harbor.

Even though the wait for it was exceptionally long, the food that finally arrived was worth every second spent. This is, in fact, what we have too long waited for in Punta Gorda -- delicious southern gulf-shore cuisine more delectable than what one would have expected from a restaurant with a name that suggests Sports Bar.  We tried from what was supposed to be a limited menu for the soft opening (seemed pretty extensive to us), some excellent peel and eat shrimp, delicious mini crab cakes full of crab meat, shrimp and grits which stacked up to my favorite rendition of this dish in South Carolina, and a plump steak full of flavor that was ordered accompanied by crunchy hush puppies, whipped potatoes and spinach -- yum.  And then came the desserts.  We saw a very good looking  strawberry shortcake floating by, but were seduced by the chocolate torte, which was heavenly.

Other items on the menu last night included a smoked gouda spinach artichoke dip, cajun bayou flat bread, fried clams, fried shrimp, fried oysters, Po Boys, smoked chicken mac and cheese,shrimp and crawfish, a brandied short rib, smoked fish spread, kale salad, pear and strawberry spinach salad, mahi fish tacos and much more on what was supposed to be I repeat a shortened version of their full menu.

Need I say that despite some hiccups from last night, we will return soon and again and again.