FLORIDA WEEKLY CUISINE

Two new restaurants downtown

Downtown Fort Myers now offers two more dining options: La Trattoria and Café Matisse.

Michele Romano has teamed up with Marco Caparelli and Giorgio Kralicek to give new life to the First Street location that recently held Moretti's and, before that, Bacchus and several other restaurants.

The current owners opened their casual Italian spot June 15 with a voluminous menu that features lots of the usual suspects —spaghetti and meatballs, Parmesans, etc. — as well as specialties from Mr. Romano's home region, Basilicata, in southern Italy. These would include arancini (Sicilian rice balls), broccoli rabe with fava bean puree, stuffed calamari livornese and panna cotta. Entrée prices start at about $10. The restaurant also offers a full bar, outdoor seating and catering.

Mr. Romano and company all have extensive restaurant experience and chose to open La Trattoria because "we decided it was time to work for ourselves," he says.

They've done a lovely job of freshening up the space, adding sunny yellow walls and other touches while keeping the glassenclosed wine vault/private dining room in the center of the restaurant.

Café Matisse owners Paul . Pitre and Astrid Kluck KAREN FELDMAN / FLORIDA WEEKLY La Trattoria is at 2226 First St. It's open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Call 337-9014.

On the corner of the same block, Café Matisse is up and running, serving breakfast and lunch, coffee and free WiFi in what used to be Liquid Café.

Owners Paul Pitre and his wife, Astrid Kluck, bring an international flair to their new endeavor. He's from Canada; she's from Germany.

Like their neighbors, the couple have spruced up and lightened the décor at their new enterprise, removing that dark gothic look that made the place seem somewhat cave-like and replacing it with lovely blue and yellow hues. Besides the café tables inside, there are quite a few situated along the sidewalk as well.

The café is at 2236 First St., Call 362- 1831.

Chefs mix it up at Beach fest

They came. They cooked. They sweated. About 16 restaurants cooked up their specialties for a panel of judges and festivalgoers hardy enough to brave Sunday's intense heat and humidity at Taste of the Beach on Fort Myers Beach.

When the feeding frenzy was over, there were winners in each of nine categories as determined by a panel of judges that included Drew Sterwald and Hayden Pigott of The News-Press; Ivan Seligman of Gulfshore Life, Kelly Hendry of The Sandpaper and me.

They are:

Best soup/chowder: Dixie Fish Company, seafood bisque Best shrimp: Jo-Jo's at Pink Shell Resort, margarita shrimp

Best crab: The Fish house and its

crab cakes tied with

the Sandy Parrot's tiki rolls.

Best pork: The Sandy Butler, pork

tenderloin Best beef: Bayfront Bistro, marinated beef satay

Best pizza/flatbread: Parrot Key, beef flatbread

Best chicken/gator: Yucatan Beach Stand, tiki tortellini

Best fish: Bayfront Bistro, Asian seared grouper

Best sweet: The Sandy Butler, flourless chocolate cake

Timbers branches out with sushi

The Timbers has long been synonymous with seafood, including an extensive raw bar. Now it offers another variation — sushi — on Saturday and Sunday nights.

Chef Teh Peng is offering a selection of about six rolls each weekend. Among the possibilities: the Timbers Roll, with salmon, hamachi, tuna, eel, flying fish roe, cucumbers and scallions; and the classic California, with crab stick, avocado and cucumber. Another option is a sashimi sampler. Premium sake is available as well.

The Timbers Restaurant and Fish Market is at 703 Tarpon Bay Road, Sanibel. Call 472-3128 for more information.

Get happy at Bayfront Bistro

Bayfront Bistro now supplies a variety of free appetizers during happy hour, 5 to 7 p.m., daily. Sample complimentary sweetfire shrimp, flatbread, quesadillas and other goodies when you order a drink at the bar.

The restaurant offers lots of parking for boats and cars. Bayfront Bistro is behind the Publix at 4761 Estero Blvd., Fort Myers Beach. For those coming by boat, it's at Marker 27 on the Back Bay. Call 463-3663.

Artistic Deli hosts wine dinner

From the look of the menu, you'd think

Artistic Deli's been holding wine dinners for ages, but the one set for Thursday, June 25, is only its second.

The five-course menu is as follows: shrimp and scallop, seaweed and miso served with Terrazze della Luna pinot grigio; heirloom tomato, feta, balsamic reduction and cracked pepper with Brancott sauvignon blanc; seared black grouper cheeks with white bean ragout and Erath pinot noir; lamb and duck, Maxine potatoes and cranberry demi with Santi amarone; and raspberry crisp with Jackson Triggs vidal icewine.

It's $65 per person. The restaurant is at 4391 Colonial Blvd., Fort Myers. Call 939-3354.

Slow Food goes Persian

An Afternoon of Persian Delights is the theme of Slow Food Southwest Florida's first Naples event, set for 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 28, at Bha! Bha! A Persian Bistro in North Naples. Members and other interested foodies from throughout the region are invited to the soiree, which will include an array of chef/owner Michael Mir's signature dishes, stories about his homeland and the important role food played in family life.

The event is $40 for Slow Food members, $45 for non-member. A selection of wines will be available for $6 per glass. The event is at 847 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Naples. Make reservations at slowfoodsouthwestflorida@ gmail.com or call Rose at 437-4237 or Karen at 851-9214.

Vapiano gets new management

Vapiano, the German-based innovative Italian restaurant in Gulf Coast Town Center, has a new manager. Martin Luible, former chief operating officer of Vapiano International LLC, has become managing partner for the Florida franchise and general manager of the Gulf Coast Town Center location.

The restaurant, which won a Hot Concept Award from Nation's Restaurant News in 2008, offers a stylish fast-casual ambience, in which diners receive chip cards to charge items at pasta, salad and pizza stations, then pay for everything when they are done. Call 454-1066.

Transitions

Clancey's on McGregor Boulevard is reportedly closed for a few weeks. A check of the front door yielded no clues and the phone message doesn't even identify the number as Clancey's, simply saying, "We aren't available to take your call right now." In Naples, establishments that have recently shut their doors include: Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Trilogy, Gabriello's of New York, Tre Fratelli, Dino's, Pewter Mug, Mr. G's and Blu Sushi. Chardonnay and Alexander's have closed for the summer and plan to reopen in September.

Talk of the Town in San Carlos Park remains open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. It's not serving dinner right now while things are so slow, but expects to reopen for evening meals as business picks up.

Perrico's on Hancock Bridge Parkway in Cape Coral has closed.