[sallybowron]

Originally Posted by Arctic Fox

If you want a good meal in nice surroundings, and it doesn't have to be in The Villages, then try The Rose Plantation in Fruitland Park:

The Rose Plantation - Home

Dress code and you need to book, so do check the website

Rose Plantation is a lovely place to lunch. Make reservations for a table overlooking the lake.

[Chatbrat]

The question as for a country club, the rose plantation is not a country club

[JSR22]

Originally Posted by Chatbrat

The question as for a country club, the rose plantation is not a country club

None of them are Country Clubs.

[eweissenbach]

I don't care if my company is from Naples, Fl, Naples Italy, or Paris, France, If I have to impress them with my dining choices we are going to have a tense visit. I think most people just want a good, not great, dinner with their friends with a nice bottle of wine and great conversation and memories. If you are very worried about impressing them with your dining choice, IMO you are off to a bad start.

[600th Photo Sq]

Originally Posted by BK001

My sister is coming today for an overnight visit. She wants to go out for dinner. We have not yet made it to any of the clubs. Which do you think would be the most impressive to take her?

(Hint, she lives in Naples and is used to the better things in life).

Help! (Thanks.)

Havana......Nice View, Terrific Food ,....On the plus side they take a reservation..Wine List....even better.

[Chatbrat]

I must disagree the Havana food is ok, the food is far from terrific, their wine list is very basic-honestly the can't hold a candle to Palmers

[JSR22]

Originally Posted by 600th Photo Sq

Havana......Nice View, Terrific Food ,....On the plus side they take a reservation..Wine List....even better.

I like Havana food and the wine list is fine.

[Aloha1]

A Tale of Two Sisters. One moves to the southern seaside in Naples. An upscale area with great restaurants, very little golf, high prices, and loads of traffic, and larger hurricane threat. The other moves to TV. A laid back community with tons of golf, traffic that would never pass for rush hour in any mid level northern city, Lots of restaurants if you like hamburgers, and real estate and food prices well below Naples.

So, what to do? Make no apologies. Go to Palmer or Bluefish for a very good meal. Head to LSL for the nightly entertainment. Definitely take her Eisenhower, and by all means drive her around in a golf cart even if you have to rent one. It's what TV is all about. Above all, have a great visit.

[tagjr1]

Villages Country Club dining is not the way to impress your sister! She will take pity on You and question your decision to move to the Villages! Take her off campus and live a little!

[tophcfa]

Palmer or Cane Garden, both good options. There is also the Bonefish. If someone can not be satisfied with these options then they need to take a deep breath and reflect on what is really important in life. I am guessing that the Naples crowd might be able to go out to a better restaurant, but they can't get there in a golf cart and then go to a town square and enjoy some excellent entertainment after dinner? Hope you have a wonderful visit with your sister.

[Chi-Town]

I really like Palmer Legends for its atmosphere but cannot recommend it due to its food inconsistency. I've been burned once too much taking out of town guests there. Hopefully Lopez Legacy will be the country club that will fill the bill.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

[Carla B]

BK: We're ready for the rest of the story...where did you end up taking your sister?

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by tagjr1

Villages Country Club dining is not the way to impress your sister! She will take pity on You and question your decision to move to the Villages! Take her off campus and live a little!

I don't know why someone would want to impress a sibling, or anyone else for that matter. But, it doesn't seem appropriate to take a one day visitor outside of The Villages. I would go to a country club.

[BK001]

Originally Posted by Aloha1

A Tale of Two Sisters. One moves to the southern seaside in Naples. An upscale area with great restaurants, very little golf, high prices, and loads of traffic, and larger hurricane threat. The other moves to TV. A laid back community with tons of golf, traffic that would never pass for rush hour in any mid level northern city, Lots of restaurants if you like hamburgers, and real estate and food prices well below Naples.

So, what to do? Make no apologies. Go to Palmer or Bluefish for a very good meal. Head to LSL for the nightly entertainment. Definitely take her Eisenhower, and by all means drive her around in a golf cart even if you have to rent one. It's what TV is all about. Above all, have a great visit.

So true! She and I are so different in so many ways. She loves Naples, I don't. I love The Villages, she doesn't. But we love each other and that's what counts!

[BK001]

Originally Posted by Carla B

BK: We're ready for the rest of the story...where did you end up taking your sister?

Arnold Palmer.

We split two appetizers. The first was clams. The menu description is: One pound of Prince Edward Island mussels and clams sautéed in white wine, fresh garlic cloves and basil butter. My sister does not like mussels so they graciously agreed to make it with just clams. Although definitely not the best I’ve had -- the clams were pretty skimpy -- but the broth was quite tasty.

The second appetizer, in our opinion, was a showstopper! ARTICHOKES FRANCESE Egg-battered artichoke hearts sautéed until golden brown, garnished with fire roasted red peppers and fresh Italian parsley, then finished with a sweet Madeira wine sauce. Absolutely delicious with an indescribable taste. Highly recommend if you want a new taste sensation. This dish alone would bring me back.

Sis had the steak described as DELMONICO RIBEYE The true steak lover’s steak, 14 ounces, well marbled for flavor, rubbed with our own blend of seasonings. At medium rare, she said it was cooked perfectly. Alongside the steak were garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. Both were tasty and the green beans were large and succulent.

I went with the BONE IN PORK CHOP Twelve ounce chop marinated in olive oil and fresh herbs then grilled to perfection accompanied by a warm peach cobbler. Again, cooked perfectly and the peach cobbler was an interesting and delicious accompaniment. I was not feeling well so I did not have a cocktail nor wine and I took half my dinner home. I am looking forward to eating it today. We skipped dessert since I planned on serving my own at home later in the evening.

Service was extremely attentive and the food arrived relatively quickly.

I liked the atmosphere at the Palmer but it looks like it needs some sprucing up – the barstools and the chairs all need to be redone, the carpet should be replaced and maybe a paint job here and there. But overall, I felt it was a comfortable room although, if examined in the light I don’t know if it would pass my “cleanliness” standard but that may just be because everything is so old. We non-golfers enjoyed the view of the course. Did not visit the ladies room.

I would go back but that is unlikely in the near future since there are many other places I want to try first like Nancy Lopez, Cane Gardens and some of the others you recommended. But overall, I consider the dinner a success. Thank you all.

PS
When we got home, I was feeling better. Although we never got to the dessert we did manage to polish off two bottles of Merlot while we talked, laughed, bonded and she taught me Canasta. It was a fun evening.

Thanks again.