dining out

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.

TRAVEL WITH FOOD These six SWFL restaurants transport diners to faraway locales.

Coronavirus. 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

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. (724 S. Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers; 239-931-6751; indiasgrillfortmyers.com)

Restaurant Bonjour

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. (2099 Pine Ridge Road, Naples; 239-566-2275; restaurantbonjournaplesfla.com)

Gaucho Inca

I’ve learned a few things while social distancing, including how shockingly good El Gaucho Inca’s ceviche is as takeout. The platter arrived jumbled but refreshingly cold. The slivers of fish and curls of shrimp were tender and tangy, bright with lime and salt. El Gaucho’s picanha traveled well, too, as did its arroz chaufa. It was a Peruvian-Argentinean feast, minus the long trip south. (4383 Colonial Blvd., Fort Myers; 239-275-7504; elgauchoinca. com)

Maria’s Mexican Restaurant

Maria’s never fails to impress me. The restaurant has a location off Old 41 in Bonita Springs that serves a wide range of entrees, and another smaller taqueria off U.S. 41 in North Naples. Both serve glorious Mexican food that transports the taste buds.

Just the thought of Maria’s chorizo tacos, dripping with smoky, orange grease and topped with simple cilantro and onions, is enough to make my mouth water.

Then there’s Maria’s chicken enchiladas, smothered in sour cream, cheese and halfmoon sliced white onions. The enchiladas come with a spicy red sauce or a mild, lime-y green sauce. Both are good, but the latter takes me to another plane of existence, one where I’m walking the streets of Mexico City as the sun sets over the tiled rooftops in the distance. (27080 Old U.S. 41, Bonita Springs; 239-495-1868; mariasrestaurantbonita.com)

PHOTOS SPECIAL TO SW FL PARENT & CHILD

PHOTOS SPECIAL TO SWFL PARENT & CHILD

Straight from New York Bagels

New York City is one of my favorite places in the world, and I’m missing it more than ever during this crisis. If I can’t fly to the Big Apple for bagels and schmear, I’m heading to Straight from New York Bagels.

This shop serves breakfast and lunch, with a host of pastries and bagels — I tend to navigate toward the French toast and Asiago bagels — and classic New York deli sandwiches piled high with pastrami and dressed with tangy mustard.

Coronavirus? Fuggedahboudit. (4550 Executive Drive, Naples; 239-596-9933; www.straightfromny.com)