Jean Le Boeuf is the pseudonym used by a local food lover who dines at restaurants anonymously and without warning, with meals paid for by The News-Press and Naples Daily News. Follow the critic at facebook.com/jeanleboeufswfl or @JeanLeBoeuf on Twitter and Instagram.
dining out »
TRAVEL WITH FOOD These six SWFL restaurants transport diners to faraway locales.
C
oronavirus. Just the word makes me angry. I’m tired of hearing it and sick of thinking about it. Sometimes you just want to get away, you know? Jump in a car, head to an airport, board a ship and wave bon voyage to the world you’re leaving behind. But all my trips and adventures have been canceled or delayed due to — you guessed it — coronavirus. On a serious note, I get it. These restrictions are protecting our communities, our health care workers and our first responders. Whatever it takes to eliminate this disease, I’m more than happy to comply. Even though I can’t walk along the Seine at dawn or catch a lucha libre match on a muggy May evening in Mexico City, I can enjoy food that will transport me to far-off destinations. Here are six Southwest Florida restaurants to ease your wanderlust.
Ginger Bistro This Hong Kong-style dim sum restaurant reopened, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. There’s nothing like a steamy dumpling or chewy-crisp scallion pancake to help you forget about a pandemic for a bite or two. Tack on some duck noodle soup, some shumai, some glutinous rice and it’s a party. Coronavirus who? (4650 S. Cleveland Ave. No. 8, Fort Myers; 239-689-3113; and 2366 Surfside Blvd. C-101, Cape Coral; 239-558-8865; gingerbistrousa.com)
India’s Grill
Restaurant Bonjour
India’s Grill lost its chef to a competing restaurant last year. I worried this might change things, and I believe it has — for the better. Chef-owner Suman Chaniyil has returned to India’s kitchen, keeping these curries and masalas as soothing (and as optionally fiery) as ever. This is a cuisine that does well as takeout and it’s one I love through good times and bad.
This quaint bistro sits in a small strip mall off Pine Ridge Road. Its menu includes French classics such as poitrine de poule cordon bleu, coq au vin de Bourgogne, and tender escargot swimming in garlic-butter sauce. Is there anything more decadent to make a normal Thursday feel like a Parisian get away? I think not. Each order comes with a warm baguette, good butter and dessert.
(724 S. Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers; 239-931-6751; indiasgrillfortmyers.com)
(2099 Pine Ridge Road, Naples; 239-566-2275; restaurantbonjournaplesfla.com)
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