Dining Out: Cloyde's remains a paradise for beef and seafood lovers

Naples loves new restaurants. Right now, I know foodies around town who are counting the days until two highly touted downtown glamour spots open their doors -- Cafe Lurcat at 494 Fifth Ave. S. and Bice at 509 Third St. S.

But hot tickets aside, Naples also loves the tried-and-true and seems to hold old-fashioned steakhouses in particularly high esteem. Cloyde's is a case in point.

While it's the opposite of the aforementioned trendy, of-the-moment newcomers, this Venetian Village landmark remains the quintessential bastion to USDA prime, dry aged, corn-fed Midwestern beef as well as upscale seafood. And based on a recent midweek visit, business continues to boom.

Although my guests and I arrived early, at about 6:15, the dining room was already crowded and was almost completely filled by the time we left.

We were surrounded by groups of men in suits sipping martinis, families celebrating birthdays, business types enjoying expense account feasts and just-plain folks who probably didn't feel like cooking. But they all had one thing in common -- a taste for lavish servings of serious food (and, most likely, a comfortable bank account).

No, your plate won't be decorated with colorful whorls and swirls of fancy sauces, but that's because there's no room. Cloyde's serves big food. Even the butter pats are supersized.

Not many local restaurants offer a 20-ounce native lobster tail, for instance, and when one was delivered to a nearby table, heads turned. It looked like a contender for the Guinness Book, too large to be real. (Although I'm sure it showed up as a very real $65 item on the diner's bill.)

The nine-ounce tail, incidentally, goes for $35. I've ordered several over the years, often in the surf-and-turf combo, and always found them to be sweet and flavorful. Lobster lovers can also indulge in the kitchen's always exquisite lobster bisque or sample the Maine lobster cocktail served chilled with remoulade sauce.

Since everyone at my table was familiar with these selections, we decided to branch out and try appetizers we hadn't had before.

Not surprisingly, the savory French onion soup ($6), that perennial steakhouse favorite, was rich and satisfying. The thick, homemade New England clam chowder is wonderful here, too. And our oysters on the half shell ($11), served with a piquant red horseradish sauce, turned out to be perfection on a platter.

Unlike similar establishments who take the a la carte route, Cloyde's gives diners a choice of salad and starch with entrees. Selections include a better-than-average house medley, Caesar (with anchovies if desired), hearts of lettuce and sliced tomato and onion.

The latter was especially good because of the quality of the vine-ripened tomato. It tasted like it came from the Jersey Shore at the height of tomato season. A hefty scoop of aromatic blue cheese dressing made a good thing even better.

Of course we ordered steak -- both the 18-ounce New York strip, the restaurant's most popular car, and a 10-ounce filet mignon, which was fork-tender. Priced at $34 each, both entrees were flawlessly cooked and packed with flavor. Baked, stuffed potatoes seemed the perfect accompaniment.

In order to add a green veggie to the menu, we shared a generous serving of sauted spinach ($8). It was good but not up to the gold standard, which I consider to be jade spinach at Sign of the Vine.

Although several seafood options sounded delicious, such as fresh steamed Alaskan king crab legs (which are flown in regularly) and jumbo shrimp with lump crab meat, I decided on one of the least expensive items, coconut crusted mahi mahi with brown butter rum sauce ($24). It was one of the best fish preparations I've enjoyed in years.

The dessert menu contains no surprises. Steak emporiums always serve pie (Key lime in Florida), cheesecake and some sort of chocolate extravaganza, although the black-and-white mousse we shared was a cut above the norm.

Note: Our dining experience was definitely a delight. We ate good food and plenty of it. But I did come away with one complaint.

When a server recites the list of daily specials, I want to know prices. If they don't tell me, I ask. Sometimes, like on this occasion, I've gotten the impression the waiter didn't like the question. That's too bad, but why should the bill be a surprise?