Note to readers: The News-Press and Naples Daily News are providing special coverage of food and dining this week. We will have interesting and unique Southwest Florida food and dining stories published on our websites from Sunday, April 28 to Sunday, May 5. Bon Appetit and Bottoms Up!
The bread piques your interest first.
It looks like (and is) thin, crisp pizza dough with petite air pockets adding a wonderful, slightly charred texture and a familiarity that we love.
It cradles layers of salty sweet prosciutto di parma (aged for 24 months), silky stracciatella, a schmear of sun-dried tomato spread and fresh arugula. You’re one mouthwatering bite in when you realize hot honey is the source of this creation’s warmth.
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“It’s a panuozzo from Gragnano in Naples, Italy,” said Giuseppe Manco, co-owner of San Matteo Italian Restaurant & Bar in University Village Shops in south Fort Myers. “It’s the kind of sandwich we do there. Fabio (Casella) brought it here and came up with these ingredients to put inside.”
Armed with his panuozzo, Casella — a two-time Burger Bash champion and co-founder of San Matteo in New York City — was crowned world champion in the International Italian Sandwich division at the 2024 Pizza Expo in Las Vegas in March.
“It is on our menu now,” said Manco, a three-time world champion pizza maker at the event. “Come in and try it.”
But wait. San Matteo is more than the award-winning panuozzo.
On May 1, Manco was invited to the Gambero Russo Top Italian Wine Road Show in Miami’s historic Alfred I. DuPont building. His restaurant, one of 19 in Florida recognized by the Italian magazine and publishing group, was honored for being one of the world's top Italian restaurants for its pizza slices.
“They told us it is not the first time they sent inspectors to the area,” Manco said. “And they really think we’re doing an exceptional job.”
San Matteo and Osteria 500 in Sarasota were the only restaurants on the west coast to be awarded. All the others were located in Miami.
Try the award-winning sandwich, pizzas and more at 19810 Village Center Drive, Suite 145A. Call (239) 234-2536 or go to sanmatteorestaurant.com or Instagram
Manco, Casella and San Matteo aren’t the only ones in Southwest Florida earning accolades and gaining attention. Chefs and restaurants from Captiva and Sanibel to Naples and Marco Island have been in the national spotlight in 2024. A foodie road trip to the following may be in order:
The Mucky Duck
This iconic Captiva restaurant was named one of Southern Living’s best beach bars in the south. With cold drinks, good food and spectacular sunset views for 50-plus years, we can see why it was selected among just 17 others in Southern states, including Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and, of course, Florida. “Everything about this tiny pub on Captiva Island is surprising,” Southern Living’s writeup says.
That includes the menu which “combines a bit of everything — fried seafood platters you’d expect from a place on the water, favorite appetizers you’d expect from a pub, and even a few white-tablecloth additions like duck a l’orange,” the article continued.
Go early, grab a seat at an umbrella-covered table, dig your feet in the sand and enjoy. Mucky Duck, 11546 Andy Rosse Lane on Captiva; (239) 472-3434; muckyduck.com or find it on Facebook .
You’ll find another of Southern Living’s favorite beach bars in the south at the JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort. As colleague Diana Biederman points out, Kane — which takes its name from the Polynesian god of creation and growth — is a must-stop for locals and visitors with its idyllic sunsets and gorgeous Gulf views.
On one of the widest area beaches, Kane draws “inspiration from Hawaii for a creative menu of fusion street food and an idyllic thatched-roof outdoor tiki bar,” according to the Southern Living team, which also liked the coconut shrimp, rum collection and cigar bar menu. Kane Tiki Bar & Grill, 400 S. Collier Blvd., Marco Island; 239-394-2511; kanetikibarandgrill.com
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Fort Myers Brewing
Cheers to this award-winning brewery in Gateway for again medaling at the World Beer Cup . In a ceremony at The Venetian in Las Vegas on April 24, its Chocolate Stout won silver in the 2024 global competition in the chocolate beer category.
In March, Chocolate Stout won a bronze medal at the 2024 Best Florida Beer Brewer’s Ball in Tampa. The brewery, which recently celebrated its 11 th anniversary, was also named Florida’s Best Large Brewery at the time.
Fort Myers Brewing’s Chocolate Stout — a blend of lovely chocolate flavor and subtle hints of dark roasted coffee — took gold at the 2022 World Beer Cup event and silver at last year's awards ceremony.
It’s one of our favorite brews around. Fort Myers Brewing, 12811 Commerce Lakes Drive, Suite 28, Fort Myers; (239) 313-6576; fmbrew.com or on Facebook .
Chef Melissa Donahue
The owner of Sweet Melissa’s Café and Island Pizza on Sanibel hit the national spotlight when she appeared in a recent episode of “Beat Bobby Flay” called “Don’t Muck My Yuck.” Although she didn’t advance to the final round to face Flay, she did get to meet him.
“He was very nice,” Donahue said. “I got to talk to him a little bit. He came over (to her first-round dish) and said ‘I like this.’”
Had she reached the final round, Donahue — the first Lee County chef to earn a James Beard Awards nomination in 2019 — would have gone with “her blackened redfish dish with pickled collard greens, grits and pecan brown butter.”
While Sweet Melissa’s Café is still being rebuilt after being severely damaged in Hurricane Ian, Donahue has been doing pop-ups at her Island Pizza from 4-8 p.m. Thursdays and all day on Fridays.
And that blackened redfish is on that menu along with other “greatest hits.”
“We really do call it greatest hits,” she said. “It’s a small menu with the best items. The fish stew, shrimp and grits, a scallop dish, watermelon salad.”
Reservations are strongly recommended for the pop-ups. Island Pizza Company and Sweet Melissa pop-ups, 1619 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel; (239) 472-1581 for Island Pizza orders (open daily) and Sweet Melissa’s Café pop-ups (Thursdays and Fridays); islandpizzasanibel.com
Cape Cod Fish Co.
This New England seafood-shack-flavored restaurant tucked away off Old McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers landed on Yelp’s Top 100 U.S. Seafood Spots 2024 list.
With an impressive 4.6 of 5 rating from 790 reviews, it claimed No. 38 in early March.
Locals and visitors are drawn to the menu chock-full of New England favorites, from Rhode Island clam cakes and chowder to Atlantic cod fish & chips, “whole belly” clams and four different lobster rolls (classic, Connecticut, naked and monstah).
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There are also clam rolls, salads, seafood baskets and tacos, and lobster dishes to name a few.
As a native Rhode Islander, it’s on my list of favorites too. Cape Cod Fish Co., 15501 Old McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers; (239) 313-6462; capecodfishfl.com or follow on Facebook
Angelina’s Ristorante
This fine-dining destination earned a new distinction earlier this year. The Bonita Springs restaurant with modern, upscale Italian cuisine was listed on OpenTable’s top 100 romantic restaurants in America for 2024 list. It was one of seven in the state to earn the honor and the only one in Southwest Florida.
Don and Angela Smith opened this gem in 2008. If you haven't been, this could be your sign to go. Make a reservation and visit on a Sunday through May 12 (Mother's Day!) for an elevated brunch experience from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Angelina’s Ristorante, 24041 S Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs; (239) 390-3187; angelinasofbonitasprings.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram
Chef Kayla Pfeiffer
Southwest Florida earned a “Chopped” champion this year. The partner and executive chef of Bicyclette Cookshop off Vanderbilt Beach Road won the title and $10,000 on a January episode of the popular Food Network show.
During three rounds, she made a za'atar-crusted alligator heart with snow pea chimichurri, roasted squab with beet and puntarella puree and monkey bread with balsamic-candied kumquat and licorice cream.
As for the latter, Bicyclette Cookshop’s desserts are terrific and simple. Pfeiffer said she doesn’t “necessarily like pastry, but I can wing it.”
Catch her creating locally sourced small-plate wonders in North Naples. Bicyclette Cookshop, 819 Vanderbilt Road, Naples; (239) 54-3333; bicyclettecookshop.com or on Facebook and Instagram
Robyn George is a food and dining reporter for The News-Press. Connect at rhgeorge@fortmyers.gannett
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Want award-winning seafood, sandwiches and more? Here's where to go from Sanibel to Naples
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