Ichiban performs masterful transformation of North Fort Myers restaurant

It must be the month for fresh starts at familiar venues.

Last week I reported on my most recent experience with the most recent incarnation of the Fort Myers Country Club, The Edison. This week we head north to an unlikely locale - the turreted structure previously inhabited by the Double Dragon and, more recently, Keeler's on U.S. 41 just south of Pine Island Road in North Fort Myers.

Ichiban, a restaurant that's defied the odds and succeeded in downtown Fort Myers, has opened a second location a few miles north. Never mind the kitschy, castlelike exterior. Ichiban II comes with a roomy parking lot and a gracefully revamped dining room.

Gone is any semblance of a motor head bar. In its place is a tasteful Asian restaurant, with crisp linen tablecloths and napkins, delicate paper-shaded lanterns shedding gentle light upon the tables, and a lattice-style room divider that separates the dining room from the sushi bar. The staff is friendly and there's a full bar.

And the food? Both the sushi and the cooked Japanese fare made for an enjoyable dinner. The extensive Chinese menu will have to wait for a return visit.

While the exterior of Ichiban II is a bit kitschy, it serves to attract notice from passersby. Once inside, it's peaceful and pretty.  PHOTOS KAREN FELDMAN

From a two-sided list of sushi offerings, we began with a couple of rolls. One was the Alaska roll, a fairly standard offering that consists of smoked salmon, avocado, cucumber and cream cheese enveloped in a layer of seaweed and rice. A second, the volcano eruption, was a nightly special that turned out to be different from what our server had told us was a roll with two kinds of crab. It actually contained cream cheese, salmon (raw, not smoked) and avocado topped with a mix of crabmeat and a spicy mayonnaise.

The Alaska roll was good, the ingredients fresh and nicely assembled, complemented by a lively wasabi-soy sauce blend. Had we known the nightly special contained salmon and cream cheese, we'd probably have picked something else. Nonetheless, the warm crab mixture on top served to add texture and flavor to otherwise mild ingredients.

Because we'd started with two substantial rolls, we skipped other appetizers and headed straight to entrees.

A bento box holds chicken teriyaki, rice and a mix of tempura items at Ichiban II.

My companion opted for the shrimp and vegetable tempura while I tried the chicken teriyaki. The tempura was exactly what we'd expected - a generous mound of veggies and shrimp fried to a golden hue served alongside a slightly sweet soy-based dipping sauce. The shrimp had what looked like a panko bread crumb crust while the vegetables - a mix of white potato, sweet potato, green pepper, onion and broccoli - had a thicker coating that adhered well and was satisfyingly crunchy. 

My dinner came bento-box fashion - in a segmented dish that held the teriyaki, a mound of rice and various

tempura items. Sliced chicken, onions, carrots and more than enough peppers possessed a lightly grilled flavor that paired well with the traditional sweet soy sauce that had a hint of vinegar.

I, too, enjoyed the tempura, which was a smaller version of the entrée.

Our server offered red bean ice cream for dessert, but it didn't tempt us. Even if there had been several dessert offerings, we were too full to try one. Unlike Italian and French cuisines, neither Japanese nor Chinese food seems to conjure up visions of decadent desserts.

An Alaska roll, top, and a volcano eruption are two of the rolls available on the sushi menu at Ichiban II in North Fort Myers.

Given how new the place is, it's not surprising that it wasn't packed the night we went. Even so, a couple who came in after us happily greeted a party of four that was already seated. They exchanged pleasantries and talked about previous meals at Ichiban, indicating the place is already attracting a regular clientele.

Our server was extremely pleasant and worked hard at taking care of us. She confessed to not liking fish, which may hamper her ability to grasp the menu in its entirety. Even if she enjoyed seafood, it would be tough to know all the dishes on such a wide-ranging menu in such a short time, but it wouldn't be expecting too much for her to be able to accurately describe a nightly special. In that regard, there's room for improvement.

Overall, it was a pleasant and moderately priced dinner. The restaurant is easy to get to and parking is close to the entrance, a big plus during the rainy season.

If the menu offers no surprises, it does provide the full retinue of Chinese and Japanese classics in a lovely dining room in which you can converse quietly with your companions rather than having to out shout a blaring sound system.

Innovation has its place, but so does a reliable purveyor of the tried and true. Ichiban does a good job of it in a locale that sorely needs more such enterprises.