Vietnamese fare, Doc Ford's make debut

Vietnamese comfort food finds home in Cape Coral

Unless you're from a good-sized city, you may not have discovered the joys of Vietnamese food. If you are from one of those cities and moved here, no doubt you've discovered that good pho is hard to find.

That's one reason Joseph Vu headed north to Cape Coral from Naples and recently opened Pho Vinh (Noodle Soup) a couple of blocks south of Pine Island Road on Del Prado Boulevard.

KAREN FELDMAN/FLORIDA WEEKLY

"I wanted to offer another option and see how the market was," he says.

What was forspring

merly Quizno's is now Mr. Vu's cozy little restaurant serving a dozen variations of pho, the classic Vietnamese beef soup filled with meat and noodles served with fresh basil, bean sprouts, lime and jalapeno. He

also offers fresh spring rolls, eggrolls, plus a few rice and rice noodle dishes. Even the prices are comforting — $3.50 for eggrolls or rolls, $6.50 for pho.

He plans to add bubble tea to the lineup this week.

I made a preliminary foray into Pho Vinh last week and feasted on perfectly done eggrolls, a vast bowl of pho and a creamy avocado shake.

KAREN FELDMAN/FLORIDA WEEKLY A fellow diner summed it up best when he called out to Mr. Vu, "These eggrolls are righteous!"

I would concur, and say that sentiment applied equally well to the rest of the meal.

Pho Vinh is at North Cape Crossing, 601 Del Prado Blvd. It's open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Starting in June, there will be happy hour specials from 2 to 6 p.m. daily including half-priced beer and bubble tea and 99-cent eggrolls and spring rolls. Call 829-0343.

Doc Ford's opens on Fort Myers Beach

Doc Ford has opened a branch office. First came Doc Ford's Sanibel Rum Bar & Grille. Now there's also Doc Ford's Fort Myers Beach Rum Bar & Grille in the building that previously held The Bridge restaurant, smack on the water next to the Matanzas Pass Bridge.

Named for the baseball-loving marine scientist and reluctant hero of Sanibel author Randy Wayne White's series of novels, the original Sanibel location has thrived by combining elements of Ford's — and, not coincidentally, White's — passions with the talents of Chef Greg Nelson and business partners Marty and Brenda Harrity, Mark and Heidi Marinello and Jean Baer.

Joseph Phovinh The Fort Myers Beach location is an even better fit for this concept considering Ford's affinity for water. The restaurant has a fresh, contemporary look with lots of wood, flat-screen TVs showing sporting events and large posters of the covers of the Doc Ford novels sharing wall space with trophy fish. With indoor dining and two outdoor decks, the restaurant affords customers a great view of the bay along with fare such as Caribbean jerk tenders, Heat Island chicken wings, Southern style shrimp and grits, ceviche and banana-wrapped snapper.

A multitude of rums, beers and other beverages are available, too. It's open from 11 a.m. well into the evening seven days a week. Doc Ford's is at 708 Fishermans Wharf. Call 765-9666.

Green Market debuts at Alliance

The Lee County Alliance of the Arts will host a weekly Green Market starting Saturday, June 6.

The market, which runs from 8 a.m. to noon at the corner of Colonial and McGregor boulevards, will feature vendors selling local, fresh, sustainable and organic foods and other products.

Participants include Andy's Island Seafood selling fresh fish, 55 Degrees Cool Wine & Cheese offering artisanal cheese, Rabbit Run Farm with organically grown produce, Bread Basket selling artisanal bread, Paradise Gardens with honey, tropical fruit, preserves and salsas, Cowgirl Kitchen with homemade granola and chef Brooke Wagenheim with vegetarian fare.

For details, go to www.artinlee.org.

Norman Love holds summer classes

It's time for summer school at Norman Love Confections. Through September, there are classes most Wednesdays designed to help home cooks upgrade their baking and candy-making skills.

Classes included: molded candies (June 3 and 17, July 22, Aug. 5, 19 and 26 and Sept. 16 and 23), truffles (June 24), cookies (July 29 and Sept. 2) and fondue (June 10 and Sept. 30) as well as a July 15 grand cru tasting, in which participants sample the five dark chocolate couvertures used in Mr. Love's BLACK line, taste pastries, tarts and creams made with them and learn about the various flavor characteristics of chocolates from around the world. Each class is $95.

Norman Love Confections is at 11380 Lindbergh Blvd., Fort Myers. Call Lisa Mariani at 561-7215 to reserve a spot.

Savor sushi, cigars and steak at the Oasis in Fort Myers

The Holiday Inn Fort Myers Airport's restaurant, The Oasis, launches a monthly dinner starting Thursday, June 4.

The five-course meal features sushi, steak (or fish upon request), wine and cigars at the restaurant, which has indoor and outdoor seating. Blu Sushi, The Oasis, The Cigar Bar and Republic National Distributing Company are teaming up for the event.

The price is $110 per person and reservations are required. The hotel is at 9931 Interstate Commerce Drive, near Interstate 75 across from Gulf Coast Town Center south of Fort Myers. Call 561-1550 to reserve a spot.

Taste wine at Bannett's

Bennett's Fresh Roast is running a summer wine-tasting series. Purchase five ounces of any of the feature wines for $5. To accompany the wines, Bennett's also offers a warm Brie plate with grapes, walnuts and bread or artichoke pesto and cracker basket. The café continues to serve coffee made from its house-roasted beans and a decadent array of freshly made doughnuts and pastries. Bennett's is at 2011 Bayside Parkway, Fort Myers. Call 332-0077.

Herbal beverages workshop planned

Learn the art of herbal beverages with Edison & Ford Winter Estates horticulturist Debbie Hughes at 1 p.m. Sunday, June 7.

Ms. Hughes will demonstrate how to create teas, liqueurs and decoctions from specialty herbs in the Garden Glimpses room at the museum followed by a tour of the estates' heritage gardens that will include tips on how to plant a home herb garden. Organic specialty herbs will be available for purchase.

The workshop, sponsored by the Estates and Slow Food Southwest Florida, is $25. The Estates are at 2350 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers. Register by e-mailing slowfoodsouthwestflorida@gmail.com.

Eat pizza for the cure

California Pizza Kitchen at Coconut Point mall in Estero is hosting a monthlong campaign to raise money to battle breast cancer.

The restaurant will donate 20 percent of sales from 3 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday in June when customers present the appropriate flyer when paying. The flyer can be printed from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure site, www. komenswfl.org.