Roadhouse Café's down-home name belies what lies within

Roadhouse Café's down-home name belies what lies within

At first blush, The Roadhouse Café sounds like a casual eatery you'd happen upon on a back road in the country's heartland. You know the sort of place I mean: country fried steak, an ever-present aroma of stale beer and big-haired waitresses who call everyone "hon."

Such is not the stuff of which Fort Myers' version is made. The restaurant, which opened just after Christmas, is the latest incarnation of what was once La Brasserie, the stylish creation of its talented owners Gerard Pinault, Jean- Claude Roge and Stephen Hyde, who made virtually everything inside from the welded iron room dividers to the wooden wine racks to the funky wine buckets and art deco sconces.

They sold the place a few months before Pinault died of cancer in April 2006. The current owners - Marc Neeley, Sherri Colombo Neeley, Lynda and David Colombo - bought it last December and changed it to the The Roadhouse Café, which also happens to be the name of David Colombo's popular restaurant in Cape Cod.

So I suppose the name makes some sense, even if the place isn't close to the road (it's the most distant storefront from San Carlos Boulevard in a strip center) and serves a level of cuisine not normally associated with a café.

Tuna sashimi comes with traditional accompaniments of soy sauce, wasabi, pickled ginger and chopsticks.

I was relieved to see that neither the previous nor current proprietors have dismantled the unique, hand-crafted décor, although the placement of three huge paintings - two of flowers and one that appeared to be a dragon - seemed out of place amidst the muted beige, brown and black hues of the dining room.

The menu boasts New England standards as lobster bisque and broiled scrod, along with a variety of steaks, pasta, poultry and more southerly seafood selections.

The wine list isn't vast, but there's a respectable assortment of styles and prices, with 18 offerings available by the glass. A Napa Cellars cabernet sauvignon had ripe black cherry, vanilla and oak notes that paired well with the warm ciabatta served with roasted garlic-infused olive oil and shredded Parmesan cheese, as well as the steak that followed.

PHOTOS KAREN FELDMAN The proprietors of The Roadhouse Cafe have made the entrance more noticeable with decorative urns and a couple of tables.

In between were an appetizer and a salad. My companion started with tuna sashimi served with pickled ginger, wasabi and oriental slaw. Sashimi is, by definition, raw, which this tuna didn't happen to be. Instead, it was lightly seared and thinly sliced, with a fresh taste and texture. The usual soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger served it well, as did the slaw, which had a light peanut flavored dressing.

I began with the roasted beet salad. Our server wisely recommended that I order the half portion, which turned out to be just the right size for an appetizer. The red and gold beets were accompanied by greens, walnuts, asparagus and just a sprinkling of goat cheese and balsamic reduction. I'd have liked a bit more cheese and dressing, but all the ingredients were fresh and it was a lovely, light start to the meal.

Entrees came from land and sea: one 16-ounce grilled rib eye with wild mushroom demi-glace and a nightly special of snapper with a crabmeat beurre blanc. The fish was perfectly done, moist yet flaky, with big chunks of succulent crab and a sauce that was creamy without being overly rich.

The steak, ordered medium, came out rare and had to return to the kitchen. Nonetheless, the staff handled the problem well, getting the steak cooked to the proper temperature in short order and returning with it well before my companion had finished his entrée. Once it was cooked to the proper temperature, it was a satisfying piece of meat, richly flavored, enhanced by the light demi-glace that contained slices of woodsy mushrooms and complemented by a mound of well-executed garlic mashed potatoes and al dente stalks of asparagus.

We shared a warm apple crisp with vanilla ice cream made locally by Biscotti's. It came in an oval bowl, the apples and coconut-studded topping warm, the ice cream melting gently on top. While it was a well-executed dessert, although a little pricey at $9.

The staff here works hard at making customers feel welcome and well tended to. Our server was well versed on both the menu and the wine list. Sherri Neeley, who was serving as manager on this night, stopped at each table to make sure all was going well.

Its unlikely name and slightly obscure location notwithstanding, The Roadhouse Café offers good food and attentive service in a lovely setting and, I'm happy to report, no one's likely to call you "hon."