2013 Spring Training Guide to Fort Myers Part III: The Food

This is my second annual food guide to Fort Myers and the third and last in the series of the 2013 Guides to Fort Myers that include the logistics guide and the baseball guide.  The first was more of a culinary guide, pointing out what are the local foods, and pointing out places you can sample them.  That guide is still very relevant and you can find it here.  This one is a little different than last year's.  It is a more traditional restaurant guide. La Velle Neal has been publishing restaurant guides to Fort Myers on pretty much annual basis now (you can find his 2012 guide here)

This guide by no means try to compete with La Velle's.  And LEN3 and I come from different food perspectives and biases:  I do not eat red meat or fowl, so you shall not see any barbeque places, steakhouses or smokehouses here because I do not go to those places usually.  I do eat seafood, so there is a lot of this listed here.  The other thing I am doing, is trying to keep the list to places that are close to Hammond Stadium and the Twins' training complex.   Usually, when I am there, I have breakfast at my hotel, then at the ballparks until after the game is done and then out for dinner.  I usually have "lunch" at the ballpark.  And at the end, if you care to read that long, I will list the Twins' players 2 favorite hangouts.  This guide is broken down by restaurant type.

American:

Clancy's 11481 McGregor Blvd - Ft. Myers, FL (http://www.clanceysrestaurant.com/) Typical american fair. Solid food and good prices. Lots of sandwiches as well.  One of the few places you can actually have Triggerfish (by name). Try it, you'd like it. Lots of big burgers as well.

Fancy's Southern Cafe  8890 Salrose Lane, Fort Myers, FL (http://fancyssoutherncafe.com/)  True southern comfort food.  Excellent shrimp and grits, fried okra, fried green tomatoes and deep fried cheese grits.  And a slew of other Southern comfort food specials.  This place has something for everyone and really worth a visit.  Good prices too.

The Veranda. 2122 2nd St, Fort Myers, FL  (http://www.verandarestaurant.com/). Exactly what you will expect from an American/Continental dinning place with southern influences in Florida.  Great cuisine, huge entrees, semi-formal atmosphere and prices in the $30s unless you go the tapas way, chosing from a variety of their apperizers.  Blue Crab Cake, Southern Grit Cakes, Pan seared Scallops and Artichoke Fritters (all around $10) highly recommended from the appetizer menu.  You cannot go wrong with any entree item, but it is a lot of food.


Latin American:

El Patio Restaurant 4444 Cleveland Ave Fort Myers, FL  Peruvian.  And if you have never had Peruvian food, this restaurant will be a good exuse to try.  Awesome variety and prices (most entrees are under $10) and great flavor.  This is the real deal.  Try the seafood ceviche or one of the surf and turf mixes.


El Gaucho Inca 4391 Colonial Blvd, Fort Myers, FL (http://www.elgauchoinca.com/) "Peruvian, Argentinan and Italian" food.  Fancy Tango and dancing shows during dinner, the food is pretty interesting, if you like meat.  If you don't there are better choices.  The "Italian" part is because they serve pasta dishes.  Nothing Italian to them. Stay away from those.  The Argentinean dishes are pretty authentic, but the Peruvian derived...

Super Tacos 535 Pine Island Road, (North) Fort Myers, FL (http://supertacos.net/)  This is kind of far from the ballpark, but it is the best Mexican food place in Fort Myers, and this is why it is here.  Fresh fresh ingredients, large portions and great prices.  Their fish tacos are some of the best and at $2.99 per, an incredible value.  A variety of fairly authentic Mexican fare.


Asian:

Daruma Japanese Steak House (http://www.darumarestaurant.com/) 13499 S Cleveland Ave  Fort Myers, FL . Pretty solid but expensive Japanese fare.  On the Teppanyaki side of the house there is a great variety and great flavor.  Sushi is good, if overimaginative.  Kind of americanized flavors, but this is true of most asian places these days.  A ton of Teppan combinations, something for everyone.  Large wine and cocktail list.  Try the Oysters Tempura appetizer.  Total Japanese/Southern fusion.

Mr. Mees 5100 S. Cleveland Ave. Ft. Myers, FL (http://www.mrmees.com/index.htm).  Pan-Asian food (Japanese, Korean, Thai) and sushi.  By far my favorite Asian food place in Fort Myers.  Authentic Thai and Korean dishes and excellent sushi.  Try the Bi Bim Bop (they make it vegetarian or with a fried egg, if you ask) or any of the Yum dishes. Both of the Bin Daduk dishes (pork & kimchee or seafood) are excellent appetizers.

Osaka 16078 San Carlos Blvd. For Myers, FL (http://osakafortmyers.com/index.html)  The name is kind of misleading. It in a Thai place that also offers Japanese and Sushi (because Japanese and sushi are popular these days.)  Their Thai food is excellent.  Try any of the Yum or the noodle dishes.  Sushi and soups are good also.  A vast list of appetizers, can make this a good tapas/dim sum dinner place.


European/Mediterranean/French:


Blue Windows French Bistro. 15250 S. Tamiami Trail, Fort Myers, FL (http://www.mybluewindows.com/)  Fine French Bistro Food.  Four course Prix Fixe menu that changes nightly based on best available local foods for about $50 a person.  Also offers a variety of tasting menus and wine pairings.  Traditional a la carte continental French courses as well.  Extensive wine list.  Best place to burn $200 for a dinner for 2 in Fort Myers. On the other hand, that $200 is about 8 Twins' tickets.  Priorities.


Cibo  12901 Mcgregor Blvd, Ste 17, Fort Myers, FL  (http://cibofortmyers.com/)  Upscale Italian.  Extensive Wine list. Extensive Antipasto list. You can potentially have a great traditional Italian meal or an excellent Tapas dinner.

Sasse's 3651 Evans Avenue  Fort Myers, FL (http://www.sassesfortmyers.com/) Italian with continental flair.  Menu changes based on seasonal availability.  Mid-priced, even offers things like Pizza.  Gluten-free menu on request.  Their fish/seafood soup is awesome, if you like fish of course.


Seafood:


Pawnbroker 13451 - 16 McGregor Blvd, Fort Myers, FL  (http://www.prawnbroker.com/)  Same Strip Mall as Blu Sushi (which will be listed later).  Fresh seafood and a seafood counter selling fresh seafood next to it.  Bit old fashion but good traditional seafood. This is the kind of place that your grandma will take you and your significant other out.  And that happens a lot in that place.  Food is really really fresh, so enjoy.  You might have to overlook the fact that you are the youngest person in the place. Even if you are in your 40s.

Maria's Old Florida Restaurant; 17979 San Carlos Boulevard, Fort Myers, FL Listed as seafood here, but it really is a Creole (and some Cajun) fusion restaurant that incorporates a lot of seafood in their dishes. Interesting dishes like Cajun Shepard's Pie and Crawfish Enchiladas.

Clam Bake 16520 S Tamiami Trl Ste 10, Fort Myers, FL   (http://clambakefortmyers.com/)  "Authentic New England Seafood".  Hole in the wall place, family operated by former Rhode Islanders.  They feature a variety of New England seafood like Stuffed Quahog, Clam Bakes, fried Oysters, Clams, Scallops and Shrimp, Clam Chowder, Steamed Lobster and a whole bunch of seafood sandwiches including Lobster Roll.  Informal, inexpensive and great food.

Blue Pointe Oyster Bar & Seafood Grill, 13499 SE Cleveland Ave Suite 141, Fort Myers, FL  (http://www.bluepointerestaurant.com/).  Traditional upscale great seafood place.  Fresh seafood, great preparations.  Grab one of the fish in the fish of the day list and get it prepared your way and you will do no wrong.  Extensive wine and raw bar list. You know those seafood places that have that "steakhouse feel"?  This is one of them.  If this is your style, this one is a winner.  My only complaint (and this is nitpicking) is that they do not use lots of local fish, but prefer northern fish.

3 Fishermen Seafood 5100 S. Cleveland Ave. Ft. Myers, FL (same strip mall as Mr. Mees - actually a couple doors down.) (http://www.threefishermenseafood.com/) casual, inexpensive and great food.  A Tip: Even if there is not in the menu (they have it as one of their rotating specials), ask for grilled grouper tacos.  You will not regret it.  Big enough to fit two or a hungry teenager.  Great shimp dishes and their signature is the Captain Paul’s Grouper. Great smoked fish dip as well.  I really like this place.
 
Local Hangouts:

CRaVE: 12901 McGregor Boulevard, Fort Myers, FL (http://cravemenu.com/) not to be confused with the American Bistro chain with the same name.  Fresh, local and organic food.  Bistro feel.  Great appetizers and well known for their sandwiches and salads.  Lots of interesting takes on confort food like Meatloaf, Shepherd's Pie, Pot Roast and Pot Pie.  Great Omelets for breakfast.

Two Meatballs in the Kitchen. 8890 Salrose Ln Fort Myers, FL (http://www.2meatballs.com/)  Typical Northeast Italian Food and Pizza. Plentiful sizes, huge variety, usually packed.  Part of a local trifecto of restaurants that includes Taste of New York and Bella Rosa, the Two Meatballs is the most casual and busy of the 3. If you crave Northeast italian-american food, this is your place.

Pincher's Crab Shack  15271 McGregor Boulevard Fort Myers, FL (http://www.pincherscrabshack.com/)  Seafood but I am listing it here because this place rocks on happy hour.  Indoor-outdoor seating, great fresh food, very good beer list and lots of mixed drinks.  Grouper tacos are really awesome here.  Very close to the ballpark as well.






Chains of note:

Bahama Breeze: 14701 S Tamiami Trl, Fort Myers, FL  (http://www.bahamabreeze.com/)
Caribbean-inspired food.  Large variety of appetizers and small plates.  Go for the fresh fish and make sure that it is something that exists in FL, like Grouper or Snapper, otherwise pass on the Mahi and farmed Salmon.  Bunch of cocktails too.  It's ok, nothing spectacular, but interesting variety of food.  Lots of rum-based drinks, if you are into that kind of thing.



Cantina Laredo 5200 Big Pine Way, Fort Myers, FL (http://www.cantinalaredo.com/) Their Motto is "Modern Mexican" and that it is.  And it has solid food.  But expensive food.  Tex Mex and flavorful.  Lots of people love it.  For me it is to Mexican what PF Chang's (which is also in Fort Myers, I think) is to Chinese.

Grimaldi's Coal Brick-Oven Pizzeria. 13499 S Cleveland Ave Fort Myers, FL (http://www.grimaldispizzeria.com/) As close to authentic New York style pizza as you can get in Florida because it started in Brooklyn.  Small chain. Definitely worth a look if you are into pizza. Simple, traditional, nothing fusion here. 

Sweet Tomatoes: 14080 South Tamiami Trail, Fort Myers, FL (http://www.souplantation.com/)
Soup, Pasta and Salad bar.  Fresh budget food with a lot of choices.

Pizza Fusion 12901 McGregor Blvd. Fort Myers, FL (http://pizzafusion.com/)  This is the exact opposite of Grimaldi's.  Organic crusts, organic toppings, interesting varieties and pizzas that look like flat breads (long and skinny.)  Great flavors.  Try the pear and gorgonzola, if you look for something different.


The best places to rub shoulders with Twins' major and minor leaguers:

As far as young single major leaguers and AAA players (like Luke Hughes, Danny Valencia, Drew Butera etc last season) and bonus-babies go, it is Blu Sushi 13451 McGregor Blvd Fort Myers, FL  (http://www.blusushi.com/).  Overimaginitive Sushi and Martini menu, really caters to the 20-something crowd.  Fresh and flavorful.  And Hip Crowd.

As far as older players with families and younger minor leaguers go, it is Patinella's Chicken Grill  6810 Shoppes At Plantation Dr Fort Myers, FL (http://www.patinellaschickengrill.com/) or "The Chicken Grill" on Plantation Shoppes Drive. They offer grilled cut chicken on rice bowls with a bunch of veggies in different flavors or flatbread sandwiches. Pretty healthy fare for ballplayers.

A note about beer and wine:

In Florida beer and wine can be sold in places like gas stations and grocery stores.  Most drug stores have adjunct liquer stores that sell the aforementioned plus liquor.  The best beer variety is in grocery stores, and from those Publix tends to have more microbrews than the others.  Because of the competition, the prices are fairly good, on the $7-10 range for a microbrew six pack.

Fort Myers Culinary Guide (with a curve)

This is the second of the guides to Fort Myers I promised that I will post this season before fans go to the Spring Training. The first one can be found here and it is a general guide to the City, the Twins' training Complex and Hammond Stadium. This one is a food guide. But it is different. It is not a list of restaurants (with a couple of exceptions, for good reasons.) If you are looking at the best places to dine in Fort Myers, La Velle Neal will publish his annual guide in his blog (rumor has it this weekend) and it is a must read.

Here is the premise of my guide: When I go to a new place, I like to try local cuisine and flavors and search for things that I cannot readily find where I live. Another bonus about this is that local specialties are always fresh and prepared fresh, and do not come in frozen bags in the back of a container truck. So if you want to read about unique foods local in the area (and where to eat them and the preparation variations) read on (and I promise that there is a bonus entry at the end, which will worth your time - If you really want to create some of those delicacies at home, you can also check out preparation tips from online culinary classes) :

Fish:

There are 3 fish local to the area, two of them you can find aplenty and in a variety of preparations and a third one that is for the adventure loving crowd.

Grouper
Grouper is to South and South Central Florida as Cod and Scrod is to Massachusettes, Lobster to Maine and Pacific Salmon to Seattle. A mild fish with buttery flavor is prepared in many ways in Fort Myers.

For traditional preparations, Clancey's, on McGregor Blvd (closed on Sundays and Mondays), offers a grouper sandwich with the grouper either blackened, grilled or fried for $12.95. You can also add the fish prepared in any of those ways on top of any of their salads, opt for the dinner entree for $24.95 or get their "Famous stuffed Grouper" (stuffed with lump crab meat, peppers and onion and finished with a lobster sauce for $26.95. A little further away on Fort Myers Beach, the Beached Whale, in addition to a grouper sandwich ($13.95) and grouper entree ($22.95), offers grouper tacos for $12.95. Pincher's Crab Shack in several locations, offers a grouper basket for $12.99 as well as a sandwich at the same price, in addition to grouper nuggets, grouper tacos and grouper reuben. Grouper Paradise. 3 Fishermen Seafood at South Cleveland Ave, offers their lunch grouper filet or sandwich for $10.99 and has a special "Captain Paul's Grouper" for dinner, which is stuffed with crab meat and topped with Monterrey Jack cheese, for $14.99. Another place that offer grouper and grouper sandwiches in the $10-13 range are Skip One Seafood Market at South Tamiami Trail.

If these prices are high for your budget, the best bargain for grouper is Red Bones Bar and Grill on Palm Beach Blvd. You can get grouper fingers for $4.75 and a grouper sandwich basket for $5.50. Probably the most interesting grouper preparation is at the Prawnbrocker at McGregor Blvd. They serve grouper matanzas, which are filets of grouper dipped in egg, sauteed in lemon butter and topped with lump crab meat. Those will set you back $24.95.

Red Snapper
Red Snapper is another mild fish with a bit of a firmer texture than grouper. Almost like sole/flounder firmness but thicker. You can find snapper filets in many of the aforementioned places, but for a treat, you have to look into Asian preparations.

Thai Gardens on College Pkwy and Welcome To Bangkok on S. Cleveland Ave, both offer four traditional Thai snapper preparations (all at market prices) which involved whole de-boned fish that is steamed or deep fried and prepare in a variety of sauces or curries that range from mild pepper and garlic, sweet and sour and spicy green Thai Curry. If you prefer Japanese flavors, Mr Mees on S Cleveland Ave, offers Snapper teriyaki, snapper tempura or Korean spicy snapper steamed with vegetables for $15.95 each.

Mr Mees also is a sushi bar and one of the few places where you can eat snapper sushi. They brilliantly use it to substitute for yellowtail in several rolls. Mr. Mee Roll (spicy tuna and cucumber inside topped with red snapper and avocado) for $9.95, Yami Yami Roll (with imitation crab, red snapper, carrot and green onion, all deep fried and served with eel sauce) for $6.95 and Puerto Rico Roll (tempura snapper, cream cheese, eel and cucumber topped with avocado) for $9.95. Snapper Nigiri sushi is $3.95, and other than the Puerto Rico Roll, snapper is raw. Blu Sushi, on McGregor Blvd and Town Center Drive, has only one snapper offering, snapper sashimi (or Nigiri) for $4.50. The third Sushi place in Fort Myers, Osaka Steak House on San Carlos Blvd does not have any snapper offerings, but we will talk about them in the next session.

Escolar
I bet you have not heard of Escolar before and there is a good reason (other than the fact that you can only find around Florida and the Caribbean) : Its consumption has been banned in Italy and Japan and in the US FDA does not allow it to be traded interstate. The reason is that its meat, other than the tail meat can cause severe food poison and diarrhea (rumors that it causes bilateral leg weakness have not been substantiated.) Escolar also goes with the trade name of "white tuna". It is a mackerel relative and thus fairly oily.

And the only way to eat escolar is raw, as in Sushi. Blu Sushi serves Escolar sashimi for $4.95, their It's All Good Roll (escolar, asparagus and avocado, topped with roe) for $8.95, their Blue Lightning Roll (eel, cream cheese, cucumber and tempura flakes inside, escolar and avocado with eel sauce and spicy mayo outside) for $11.95 and what they call "No Soup For You", a ponzu soaked raw escolar salad with sliced cucumber and daicon raddish for $9.95. Osaka Steak House also has escolar sashimi or Nigiri sushi priced at $5 for two pieces.

Feel Lucky?

Shellfish:

I will focus only on two shellfish, one that you can only pretty much find in Florida in the US (conch), and the other that is omni-present, but it is fresh on the Gulf Coast of Florida (shrimp)

Conch

Conch is a Caribbean delicacy that is rarely found in a menu outside south Florida, unless you happen to be in a Caribbean restaurant. It is a clam-like shellfish that can get pretty large and tastes a lot like clam.

The most common preparation (and there are as many variations of this as there are variations of crab cakes) and the one that you at least have to have a bite of, is conch fritters. Usually on the appetizer menu, you can find them on pretty much all of the places mentioned in the grouper section and cost from $5-9. Usually served with Remoulade. If you are looking for the raw variety, Blu serves Conch sashimi for $5.25 and their Bahama Roll (Spicy conch, cucuber and lemon) for $9.95 and Osaka serves conch sashimi and nigiri sushi for $5 for 2 pieces.

Shrimp

As I said, shrimp is omnipresent. One thing that it is not, is local Gulf Shrimp. If you are looking for Shrimp, look for dishes that mention gulf shrimp on the menu or ask your server whether the shrimp is gulf shrimp. Worth to try in any of your favorite preparations, but make sure you are not get Chinese frozen shrimp. For a southern variation try shrimp with grits.

Amphibians

This might not settle well with some, but 2 kinds are common in Fort Myers' menus: alligators and frogs. As far as gator goes, it is always fried and it is always an appetizer, unless you go to the best place in town to have gator, the Gatorbites Tail & Ale on Summerlin Rd. They offer gator bites in five ways (blackened, breaded, buffalo, grilled and bloody mary) for $7.95 any way, gator tail (blackened or grilled) for $12.95, gator roll for $10.95, Gator quesadillas for $9.95, gator nachos for $11.95 and a variety plate. They also have other food, but they are famous for Gator, so your non-gator eating friends will survive.

Frog leg appear in the Thai restaurants' and the Osaka steak house menu serves with a couple of different sauces over rice and usually for $15-17. Some places around town have deep fried frog legs. Eat at your own risk.

Southern/Soul food

You can find grits (and cheese grits) for breakfast or sides pretty much in every place and it is worth a try and some southern staples, like fried okra and collard greens are in a lot of the diners in the area. But if you are looking to experience an authentic southern dinner or lunch, you have to go to Farmer's Market Restaurant. It is a real Southern chain (not like Cracker Barrel) that offers pretty unique southern/soul food, including Fish and Eggs for Breakfast, Fried Pork Chops, Fried Chicken Gizzards and the such at reasonable prices.

Bonus Entry:

Here is the price that the patient readers who have been reading this long list get:

The best place to rub shoulders with Twins' major and minor leaguers. It has been a little secret, but now it is out in the open, and it is close to the Lee County Sports complex: Patinella's Chicken Grill or "The Chicken Grill" on Plantation Shoppes Drive. They offer grilled cut chicken on rice bowls with a bunch of veggies in different flavors or flatbread sandwiches. Pretty healthy fare for ballplayers. If you go to the web site, there is a buy one get one coupon for their sandwiches that can be printed and downloaded on a daily basis.

If anyone has any suggestions about food in Fort Myers, please add them in the comments section. I would super appreciate it!

If you are interested in all the 2012 Spring Training content in this site, you can find it here