PAST REPAST

Jayne's Victorian Garden, 12901-13 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers; 482-2466. Lunches here are healthy and tasteful affairs of organic brown rice and fresh vegetables, flavorful made-from-scratch soups and creative salads. And, of course, there are those house-made cookies that aren't just delicious but generally wheat free. For dinner, however, Jayne and Brian Baker explore a larger culinary plane with dishes such as pan-seared scallops with white chocolate caper dill butter sauce, yellowtail on cilantro rice and pulled de-boned duck. The menu is small but each dish is artfully prepared and presented. Save room for one of Jayne's rich, decadent wheat-free cakes, which can include brownies, lavender cake with lemon glaze and almond cake with coconut icing. Open for lunch Monday through Friday, dinner Thursday through Saturday. No alcohol served, but guests may bring their own for a small corkage fee.

P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Gulf Coast Town Center, south Fort Myers; 590-9197. Lush, lovely décor, exemplary service and praiseworthy food make Chang's an immediate hit wherever it opens. It's usually crowded and, as a result, a touch on the noisy side, but worth it to feast on Chang's vegetarian (or chicken) lettuce wraps, crisp crab wontons, mu shu pork, Cantonese roasted duck (Chang's version of Peking duck), and orange peel shrimp. Chocolate lovers should save room for the Great Wall of Chocolate, which is exactly what the name implies, but also worthy of mention are the banana spring rolls with coconut-pineapple ice cream. Full bar.

PHOTO KAREN FELDMAN Chief Brian Baker provides the inspiration behind the creative menu while his wife, Jayne, focuses on wheat-free but luscious desserts.

Yabo, 16681 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers; 225-YABO (225-9226). When multiple professional chefs and restaurateurs sing the praises of someone else's establishment, it's worth checking out. Yabo is one of these, a little throwback to the flower-child-style cafes of the '60s, with live acoustic music, walls full of musical memorabilia, a mere handful of tables and a blacked-out front window. In this nostalgic setting, chef/owner Ryan Kida conjures up classic Italian fare - lasagna Bolognese, linguine with clam sauce, gnocchi - as well as contemporary favorites such as blackened jumbo scallops and filet medallions with spinach, portobellos and gorgonzola demi-glace. Beer and wine served.

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 balance by a sauce that tasted of both ginger and caramel without overwhelming the delicate shellfish. 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 dishes came with fuchsia orchids, 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. Full bar.

COURTESY PHOTO Michael David plays guitar at Yabo on McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers.

PHOTO JERRY SMITH The management at the Sandy Butler has done an expert job of creating cozy sections by strategically placing paneled room dividers and plants throughout the space.