Blaze Bistro

Blaze Bistro - It's worth your while to go to this fine-dining gem of a restaurant, located in the heart of Cape Coral!

UPDATE April 2016: Blaze Bistro is now TK BBQ, same owner, new BBQ menu.

For New Year's Eve, we wanted to go somewhere special for dinner, and had heard great reviews of the bistro.

I wasn't expecting such a fabulous restaurant in a strip mall surrounded by fast food joints, but Blaze is just that and quite the delightful surprise.

It's in the same spot on Santa Barbara and Veterans as the previous restaurant, Chef J Bistro, but with a new owner and menu, and the similar cozy and comfortable, yet romantic atmosphere.

Sit inside at tables, high tops or at the bar, and there are some cafe tables outside in front of the restaurant.

Well, you are definitely in for some taste treats ...... fresh ingredients, creative combinations of flavors, and artful displays on the plate. Chef Todd Scheffield has created comfort foods with artistic flair along with internationally-inspired dishes. This is one of my favorite kinds of restaurants!

For starters, we were served some focaccia bread with seasoned olive oil for dipping and roasted garlic puree for spreading ......... a delicious way to start our meal.

On the menu, my eyes were immediately drawn to the "Catch of the Day" selections.

You can get your fish cooked in several ways: crispy-fried tempura-style, encrusted, blackened, pan-seared, or with a Thai barbeque glaze.

Each selection comes with its own particular sauce and sides. I finally went with the Pistachio Parmesan Lemongrass Encrusted, Salmon was the day's catch.

It was served with a lemongrass beurre blanc sauce on coconut-infused brown rice, perfectly cooked veggies and was out-of-this-world!

My daughter had the Fire Roasted Meatloaf and I had a taste ........ it was also heavenly.

For dinner, you'll also find on the menu: appetizers, salads ...... chef's creations such as rack of lamb, filet mignon, duck, venison chops, and pork chops ...... and comfort food such as bang-bang chicken, langostino mac and cheese, lasagna, and gnocchi.

The lunch menu features: salads, pasta, and sandwiches that are variations of some of the Chef's Creations on the dinner menu.

Then there's dessert ...... everything looked delicious: Tiramisu, Chef's choice Cheesecake, The Blazing Mudslide and what I had a hard time choosing between ....... the Key Lime Pie, which was in the shape of a tart .......... and the Chocolate Flourless Souffle. I went with the chocolate and it was so melt-in-your-mouth good .......... mmmmmmmmmm.