FLORIDA WEEKLY CUISINE

Welcome to the dining segment of Fort Myers Florida Weekly.

Over the coming months, I hope my restaurant reviews will help you ferret out some of the best dining available in the area.

So, you might be asking, what makes her (me) worthy of this much-envied gig?

Well, here's the basic resume:

Experience: From 1997 until last fall, I wrote under the nom de plume Jean Le Boeuf at The News-Press, reviewing some 500 restaurants. I also wrote about food and dining for much of the 28 years I worked there.

Training: While earning a master's degree at Columbia University, I spent two semesters learning the art of critical writing under the exacting tutelage of Judith Crist, long-time arts and movie critic for the New York Herald Tribune, New York Magazine and NBC's "Today" show.

Taste: I learned early on what good food was about, first in the fragrant and well-used kitchen of my Jewish grandmother and through extensive experimentation with my food-loving parents at restaurants near and far. I continued exploring on my own in the smorgasbord that was Manhattan, and in my travels around the United States, Europe and Asia.

Courtsey photo Cru at Bell Tower Shops Continuing education: I've interviewed and written about scores of chefs, covered the Pillsbury Bake-Off, canned mango chutney and taken cooking classes with several terrific and generous chefs. My husband - and my most frequent dining companion - spent more than a decade in the food and beverage industry and has taught me a great deal about how restaurants work and why things go wrong.

To those who insist that a restaurant critic should have a culinary degree, I maintain that the best court reporters I've known weren't lawyers, the top sports writers weren't professional athletes and gifted education writers need not have been teachers.

I write from a customer's perspective. I'll tell you whether a restaurant delivers what it promises, what was great and what wasn't. I don't take cheap shots. When I criticize something, it's with the hope that the restaurateur will fix the problem and everyone will be happier.

As for whether I get preferential treatment, particularly since I now write under my own name, I won't say it's impossible, but it doesn't happen often. I'm not recognized in the majority of places and, even when I am, I assess what's happening throughout the room, not just what takes place at my table.

I hope you'll join me in exploring and enjoying the growing number of first-rate restaurants doing business in our community. n