A Taste of The Place

When you sit down to table at the 'Tween Waters Old Captiva House in the all-white dining room with its walls of French doors that open to the sand, sun and gently shaded terraces, you understand the essence of vacationing on a Florida barrier island. There aren't many places left on Captiva Island that have a timeless sense of place, but 'Tween Waters is certainly one. The Old Florida spirit has been preserved, despite obvious surrenders to modern conveniences.

Be sure to spend a few moments studying the photographic history lesson on one wall of the restaurant. It starts in 1914, when 'Tween Waters was a schoolhouse-cottage built by the sons of Dr. John Dickey, who bought the property in 1904. Later 'Tween Waters was a rustic lodge owned by Bowman Price. His wife ran the restaurant while he took guests fishing. In the years since, the property has evolved into a genteel family getaway for folks who want to stay in small cabins near the Gulf.

Some of the drawings on the history wall were contributed by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and noted conservationist Jay "Ding" Darling, who with his wife, Penny, stayed at 'Tween Waters 10 winters. One of the cottages is named for him. Darling had a habit of doodling in the guest book, and some of those illustrations have been framed. His caricatures of guests fending off enormous flying insects or stooped over in a parade of shell seekers will make you smile. What a nice man he must have been. A kindly humor winks through his artwork, and you can tell he adored 'Tween Waters.

The dining room's 21st-century ambience includes live piano music at night. Frank Arrigo has entertained at the restaurant for 12 years, and he has quite a following of returning guests as well as locals. The Old Captiva House, with its faux pressed-tin white ceiling and white farmhouse chairs, is comfortable in a lodge-cottage kind of way, not a bit formal or pretentious. But the round pedestal tables are draped with white cloths, and the service from the white-clad waitstaff is prompt and accomplished.

The meals you'll enjoy here are imaginative, with a tropical, upmarket flair. The Old Captiva House is a seven-time winner of Florida's prestigious Golden Spoon award. Chef Tom O'Brien changes the bill of fare weekly to capitalize on seasonal finds and to keep long-term guests interested in what's going on in his kitchen. His reach is global, so with the day's catch of seafood he whips up sauces that include papaya salsa, red curry, macadamia-nut butter, salsa verde or roasted red-pepper coulis. Or you could always ask for lemon wedges and melted butter, because plain and simple works here, too.

For appetizers, you're likely to find cashew spring rolls with Thai peanut sauce next to baked brie strudel, margarita-cured salmon gravlax or Bahamian conch chowder. O'Brien's fish menu usually includes grouper, shrimp and red snapper-fin favorites you'd expect from a Southwest Florida restaurant. But he also does a terrific turn with a grilled rosemary-skewered swordfish. And I'm totally sold on his pan-broiled steelhead trout. He tenderly handles the mild pink flesh and doesn't overwhelm it with competing flavors. The resulting meal at $24 couldn't be better.

Entrées are served with a seasonal vegetable and a choice of tropical rice, Cuban black beans, cheddar whipped potato or mushroom risotto. This creative line-up of starches allows a diner to compose an international fusion meal or go for one that is authentic to one country or region.

For meats, the kitchen does a rich and fragrant garlic- and herb-encrusted veal. But you can't go wrong with the rosemary lamb chop loin, either. The onion gnocchi is paired with Gulf crayfish and prosciutto in a Gorgonzola oregano sauce for a Mediterranean potato dumpling concoction that is so rich you won't need dessert. Beef lovers should be enticed by twin medallions of tenderloin (with Stilton bleu cheese) at $35, the New York strip or a rib eye au poivre. A grilled portobello on a bed of tomato-basil penne, the concession to vegetarians, is $20.

The respectable wine list is mostly Californian, with a few Australian, Italian, French and Chilean choices added for variety. Wines by the glass (and there are more than 20) average $7, and most bottles are in the $25 to $40 range. If you're a big spender, you might spring for the Joseph Phelps Insignia 2000 at $200.

Desserts at $6 demonstrate a pleasing range, from créme brûlée and cheesecake to the ubiquitous key lime pie, a tropical carrot cake and one called tuxedo (a three-layer chocolate cake filled with white chocolate cream). Let me confidently testify to the decadent flavorfulness of this diet terminator. And while it's quite large enough to share, I wouldn't dream of it.

Old Captiva House 'Tween Waters Inn 15951 Captiva Drive, Captiva Island. 472-5161. Breakfast: daily 7:30-11 a.m. Dinner: daily 5:30-10 p.m. Credit cards. Reservations suggested. Wheelchair accessible.

Bice is a modern Italian café new to Naples but not to the rest of the wide world. Started in 1926 in Milan by the same family that owns it today, Bice restaurants are currently located in 20 locations, including Luxembourg, Curitiba, Dubai and Santiago. The next one is scheduled to open in Tahiti. I was told that the company researches a location for up to three years before making a commitment to a community. Naples apparently made the grade, and the Bice here certainly occupies a fabulous piece of real estate: the corner of Fifth Avenue South and Third Street.

The restaurant offers inside service, at swanky cream-clothed tables with waiters in semiformal attire. The décor is sophisticated and pared down in that cosmopolitan manner of contemporary European hotels. There's a bar that opens to the terrace, which can accommodate a few patrons, especially those interested in the plasma TV. The handsome wood flooring is worth noticing-dark planks laid on the diagonal, accented every so often with a blond stripe. Outside, you can dine on an L-shaped brick terrace that is completely pleasant.

The name Bice is a shortened form for Beatrice, an appellation made forever romantic by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri-and the name of the mother of Roberto and Remo Ruggeri, who founded Bice New York in 1987. Although the name may be classic, the menu at Bice the restaurant is eclectic and modern. Salads, pastas and open-face paninis are what's for lunch. Medallions of grilled sirloin and eggplant with a smear of soft goat cheese on fresh bread is pretty hard to beat if you crave something substantial. Lunch is in the $12 to $15 range. At night, expect to pay about $22, although the beef tenderloin with foie gras and porcini mushroom sauce is $30. A great budget-minded choice would be the seafood risotto at $19. Osso buco, pasta with prawns, chicken piccata, gnocchi with mushroom ragout, ravioli and linguine with clam sauce will appeal to the traditional. A less cautious choice would be the sautéed swordfish with spring onions, artichokes and potatoes in a lemon-butter sauce.

The Bice menu follows the European way of eating, which is several smallish courses. This means your entrée is just what it says it is, no sides. Those have to be ordered separately at about $6 and include spinach, garlic mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables and such. The wine list is impressive, especially for high-end offerings that climb to $450 a bottle. Most are from Italian vineyards, but there's a respectable sampling of wines from France, the United States, Spain and South America. The Australians are under-represented. Wines by the glass range from $6 to $9, and it's possible to find a fine and flavorful Italian wine such as a Nobilo for $30.

Desserts, which cost $7, are what you'd expect given the nationality of the menu-tiramisu, panna cotta with espresso sauce and warm apple pie with vanilla drizzle.

The menu at Bice isn't constructed for radical cuisine thrill seekers. It's user friendly and nonthreatening, and the offerings are well prepared and attractively presented. It's a menu for vacationers wanting Italian food that conforms to their expectations or something only mildly different. You may not remember what you ate at Bice, but you'll remember the whole experience, because Bice is the sum of its parts, and ambience is a big part of its culinary appeal.

Bice 300 Fifth Ave. S., Naples. 262-4044. Credit cards. Reservations suggested (especially for dinner inside). Wheelchair access.

Ask Marsha

Q. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I like it big and flavorful and I'm not averse to trying something different. Feed me a suggestion?

A. It's gimmicky but fun, and you surely won't leave the table hungry.

It's McCabe's Irish Pub breakfast menu, a panoply of Irish specialties such as porridge with maple syrup, bangers, scones, Irish toast, Irish bacon and such. Mostly, the offerings are familiar, hearty American morning favorites given an Irish name. You're not going to experience anything exotic, just good-tasting. For instance, County Cork ($6.50) consists of two eggs, Irish bacon or bangers (link sausage), toast and potatoes O'Brien. The Ploughman is a three-egg omelet with Irish cheese. The jellies for your fresh and tasty scones are from Dickinson, and there's Irish music playing in the background. The best part is that you can eat outside at a green umbrella table while enjoying the sunshine, sights and sounds of Fifth Avenue. The last time I had breakfast at McCabe's, a genuine Irish family (of three generations) was seated next to me. They requested American ketchup for their breakfast potatoes and they had coffee, not tea. Go figure.