A guide through the food scene of Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, Bonita Springs

The clouds part. The birds are singing. The vaccine lines have disbanded.

This “new normal” everyone is talking about? It is here.

This sense of normalcy came to our area earlier than most, especially in the restaurant business. Our beautiful winter weather contributed to this. Just as for better or for worse, the lack of capacity regulations by state or local officials. If you wanted to huddle in a crowded restaurant in December – they could.

Even so, many of us chose the cautious path. I’ve heard from dozens of readers who stayed on takeout and home cooking until they were fully vaccinated. Now the fully vaccinated make up nearly 40% of the state, while 50% of Floridians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Take in the 2.29 million Floridians who survived the coronavirus and that’s a lot of immunity.

Enough for the new normal to begin.

Connected:Hello from JLB: I eat like it’s my job

Last inspections:6 ace reports from Lee restaurants; Pizzeria North Fort Myers temporarily closed

Whether you were out and about or having another slice of masterfully baked banana bread at home, this is your guide to the post-pandemic restaurant world. From staff shortages and abusive customers to the best restaurants for burgers, sushi and dim sum, everything is there. Some bitter, many sweet.

– Annabelle Tometich, food writer and restaurant critic

But first: Do you subscribe? Subscribers get a huge hodgepodge of local news, reviews, and food and feature stories. Start here.

Where shall we eat

Open session: 2021 started with a bang – dozens of them. A number of new restaurants opened at the beginning of the year. From alcohol-free lounges in Fort Myers to the nuanced flavors of Uzbek cuisine in Naples, here’s a look at 26 new restaurants and bars that couldn’t be stopped by the pandemic.

In Estero, restaurants find room for growth: The village of Estero is growing and with it its restaurant scene. Once a bastion for national chains, Estero’s gastronomic landscape is changing. Check out three local restaurants that have expanded into Estero in the past few months through the eyes of food critics Andrew Atkins and me.

Sunset restaurants: What’s better than a good meal? Great meal with a sunset view. From waterfront restaurants on the Gulf of Mexico to bars high in the air, these 48 restaurants from Marco Island to Pine Island offer food, drinks and breathtaking sunset views.

Burger in summer: Burgers and summer barbecues go hand in hand. Unless you live in southwest Florida which is REALLY HOT in the summer. I say, ditch the charcoal and lighter and check out these local burger restaurants instead.

Unusual reasons: Forget the extra whip for mocha frappuccino, the Southwest Floridians get serious about their coffee. Craft cafes dedicated to refining the rich flavors of these complex beans are on the rise in Naples, Bonita Springs, and Cape Coral.

Burger Day 2021:11 gorgeous burgers from Fort Myers to Naples – JLB picks

Coffee talk:Master Roaster wants to teach Fort Myers how to make better coffee

How are restaurants and their employees doing?

The other front lines: In interviews and conversations with more than two dozen restaurant employees in 2020, one of the central themes was the immense pressure they were exposed to. Waiters and cooks were overworked and in many cases underpaid. They were dealing with screaming, cursing customers who were also under immense stress. And they did so with smiles on their masked faces. Read more here.

Short run: While restaurants in the area have been able to operate at 100% capacity since September, many cannot. Personnel shortages have hit the hotel industry in the pit of its stomach. Many factors play a role – anemic wages, pandemic stimulus checks, lack of benefits, better than usual unemployment benefits. Experts say this restaurant business escape began before the pandemic, but restaurant owners are hoping it will get better.

Restaurants find independents: Earlier this year, oversupply of restaurant space in Naples and Fort Myers enabled dozens of locally owned, independent concepts to open their doors amid the pandemic. While COVID has hit the chains hard, some local restaurants have seen this as a boost.

Diversify your food

Black restaurant owners do it “on their own”: After interviews with more than a dozen black restaurant owners from across Southwest Florida in 2020, a common theme emerged: They’re often alone, before, during, and after the pandemic. Here’s a look at 30 black owned restaurants worth finding from LaBelle to Naples.

Food across Asia: Raised a half-Filipino in southwest Florida, I only ate Asian food at home and in the only Chinese place my mother somehow liked. Fast forward 30 (ish) years and the selection of Asian restaurants in the area has grown immensely: Korean BBQ; Laotian jerky; Bangladeshi Seafood; Vietnamese clay pot rice. Follow me on a food tour of this vast and delicious continent without leaving the SWFL.

And, oh yes, our food critics have been revealed

Unveiling of JLB: “It took me a decade and a half to figure out myself that I had enough confidence in my references and my skin to shed the ‘Jean Le Boeuf’ veil that I held onto for more than a third of my life. Allow me to introduce myself: My name is Annabelle Tometich. I’m Jean Le Boeuf. “Read More

Questions and answers with JLB: The last 15 years of restaurant critic News-Press and Naples Daily News revealed. We sat down with Madame JLB to talk about ratings, identity, and almost the birth on the job.

See similar https://www.news-press.com/story/life/food/2021/06/04/fort-myers-cape-coral-naples-bonita-springs-southwest-florida-restaurants-dining-food-guide/5289219001/

The post A guide through the food scene of Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, Bonita Springs first appeared on Daily Florida Press.

from Daily Florida Press https://dailyfloridapress.com/a-guide-through-the-food-scene-of-fort-myers-cape-coral-naples-bonita-springs/