PAST REPASTS

Blue Pepper Gourmet Market & Café, College Parkway Center, 7091-14 College Parkway, Fort Myers; 939-4700. Blue Pepper originally was more market than restaurant. Over the years, the balance has shifted and now a full menu and sit-down service are the norm. The menu features a mix of fare, some classics, some with an Asian touch to them. Vietnamesestyle veggie rolls - delicate rice paper stuffed with crunchy vegetables and a spicy sauce - were cold and flavorful. Rare tuna over noodles, julienned vegetables and a mango salad in soy-ginger glaze was a refreshing meal starter as well. Pan-buttered Gulf shrimp and herb-dusted scallops over Parmesan mashed potatoes with asparagus and white wine lemon-butter sauce featured large shrimp and plump scallops looked almost too beautiful to eat. (Not the almost.) An 8-ounce beef tenderloin was tender, juicy and richly flavored, finished with a red wine demi-glaze and trimmed with an assortment of colorful sprouts neatly positioned along the edge of the plate. Service was efficient and friendly, the atmosphere contemporary and casual.

PHOTO JIM MCCRACKEN Harold's on Bay's Brie au deux is a popular appetizer at Harold's on Bay. It features Brie and elephant garlic wrapped in phyllo and another wedge of the creamy cheese in a slightly sweet and fruity sauce. Harold's on Bay, 2224 Bay St., Fort Myers; 226-1686. Harold's on Bay remains a cozy and welcoming spot for a wellexecuted meal. The warm wild mushroom salad serves as a shining example of the New American cuisine found here: an imaginative melding of textures, flavors and temperatures combining spinach, gorgonzola, warm woodsy mushrooms and a well-balanced sherry vinaigrette. Thinly sliced and fried sweet potatoes added just enough crunch. Appetizers of prawns with creamy cheddar grits and an apricot Jalapeno glaze featured perfectly cooked shellfish, rich-tasting grits and a sweetly spicy glaze. The blue crab and banana crab roll comes cut in three pieces set at intervals in an oblong dish over crunchy-spicy kimchee vegetables tempered by a slightly sweet creamy coconut sauce. Baked black sea bass with a teriyaki and brown sugar glaze, coconut jasmine rice, sweet and sour veggies and a passion fruit reduction is a long-time menu staple. A cowboy steak with a sea salt crust possessed a satisfyingly crisp exterior, while the interior was juicy and tender. For dessert, consider the rich banana cream pie that generally satisfies two. An attentive staff and intriguing wine list are yet two more of Harold's many charms. Ratings:

Origami, Cypress Trace Shopping Center, 13300-41 S. Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers; 482-2126. Origami's Korean and Japanese fare remains as good as ever. Sushi and sashimi share space with cooked Japanese standards and Korean classics. A hot mango roll - spicy tuna with sliced yellowtail and mango on the outside, served with mango and eel sauces - was refreshing with its blend of fish and mango with sweet notes from the eel and mango sauces and a fiery finish from the spicy sauce tucked inside with the tuna. Pan-seared Chilean sea bass with roasted sweet pepper sauce and pineapple rice was expertly prepared and the jop chae, a Korean version of lo mein, was hearty and well seasoned. All the little side dishes - miso soup, seaweed and kimchee, among them - were tasty, too. Banana spring rolls with coconut ice cream and chocolate sauce finished the meal nicely. Service was friendly, if a little inconsistent.

PHOTO JIM MCCRACKEN Origami's Pan-seared Chilean sea bass with pepper sauce and pineapple rice gets elegant treatment in Origami's kitchen. The Sandy Butler, 17650 San Carlos Blvd., Fort Myers Beach; 482-6765. It's a restaurant. It's a bar. It's a produce market, deli and bakery. The Sandy Butler is all of those things and a welcome addition to the Fort Myers Beach dining scene. An appetizer of blackened sea scallops over a ginger caramel sauce proved delicious, the large scallops cooked just enough and balanced out by a sauce that tasted of both ginger and caramel without overwhelming the delicate shellfish and its savory seasoning. A crab cake billed as sweet and spicy was also quite large, laden with big chunks of crab. I suppose that was the sweet part because the pink-hued sauce was fiery hot. Both came with lovely fuchsia orchids on the plate, creating a colorful contrast to the white plates and black granite tabletops. The rack of lamb crusted with hazelnuts and Dijon mustard consisted of five chops, delicately seasoned and cooked just to a blushing medium. Grouper topped with a sweet red pepper and balsamic sauce was good, although the wild mushrooms beneath were a bit chewy. From the hostess to the server to the manager, everyone was warm and hospitable.