Revolutionary Fare

Every cosmopolitan downtown neighborhood deserves an intimate French restaurant where the staff recognizes the regulars, where you can reserve a table inside or dine streetside under sun or stars, a place where you can even ask the chef to whip up something special for you. Now the Third Street district in Naples has just such a place to call its own: Le Lafayette. It meets all the physical requirements of a friendly pocket eatery, but it also excels in pan-French cuisine, which is what will ultimately guarantee that it becomes a local fixture on the downtown Naples scene.

Just two seasons old and situated in a cottage retrofitted into two dining areas and a toy kitchen, Le Lafayette is named for the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834), a French military officer whose gallant volunteer service to the American colonists during our war for independence earned him a commission as a major general and the lifelong gratitude of George Washington and a fledgling nation.

The restaurant's illustrious name is a gesture that seems calculated to ingratiate the establishment to Americans by reminding us of a historical bond. But once you taste the food and enjoy the refined but casual ambience, you won't care what the name of the place is-beyond that you'll need to remember it for next time.

The menu does not concentrate on any specific culinary area of France, but reaches out to many parts of that country for regional specialties. You'll still find the dishes you'd expect to see on a French menu in America-French onion soup ($6), Burgundy escargots, salad Niçoise, Marseille bouillabaisse ($28) and sweetbreads in Dijon sauce ($25). But there are nice surprises, too, such as the jumbo shrimp and artichokes, sea bass in lemon sauce and the veal kidneys with morel mushrooms. The average dinner entrée is $25. Lunch is about half of that, although you can order a charcuterie tray (with a glass of wine for each of you) for $31. This is an authentic French luncheon, and if you've not tried this presentation of various sausages, pâtés and terrines, here is your opportunity.

Appetizers, which number about 10, include two goose liver preparations: a warm foie gras with sautéed apple and a maple syrup that nearly overwhelms the silky goose liver ($19) and a cold pâté with just salt and spices. The clams in a leek curry sauce make an out-of-the-ordinary choice, while the smoked salmon rosette is a reliable selection for the timid. Everything at Le Lafayette is fresh and simply arranged.

The wine list is presented in an imaginative way, in a wooden box that's like a mini file cabinet. You extract the file on sparkling whites, for example, and find that nearly all are French. Among the Burgundy and Bordeaux labels are some you may not have heard of. Your server is the sommelier, and he's knowledgeable about them all. Asking for best bets in this restaurant can lead to pleasant and informative conversations abut small vineyards in rural places of France.

Desserts are house-made, some off the menu, depending on chef Sebastien Maillard's inspiration that day. It might be an orange soufflé made with a recipe from Normandy, or a tarte Tatin, that wonderful apple and pastry dessert invented by two sisters in Lyon.

The owners of Le Lafayette are 31-year-old Sebestien Maillard, a fifth-generation chef from Nice, and 25-year-old Nicolas Birello, whose expertise is wine and running the front of the house. His home is in Toulouse. The two friends had a restaurant in Martinique before moving to Naples. And, you'll definitely want to know who the chic young woman is who helps Nicolas with the serving. She is Valerie Maillard, sister of the chef. This energetic trio moves fast and never seems to take a break. That's so you can leisurely enjoy traditional French food in a pretty setting all season long.

Le Lafayette 375 13th Ave. S., Naples. 403-7861. Lunch: Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. (no lunch on Sunday). Dinner: Daily, 6 p.m. until closing. Reservations suggested. Credit cards. Street parking. Wheelchair accessible.

Sometimes the best meals unfold in the most unlikely places. Dragonfly Bistro promises (and delivers) one of those memorable taste experiences. But you've got to suppress your first impressions when driving up to this small storefront restaurant located in a dismal strip mall just this side of the bridge that goes to Fort Myers Beach.

The chef/owner is 30-year-old Preston Dishman, a North Carolina native who grew up on a farm near Boone and then went on to work for 16 years in New York restaurants, including the esteemed Le Bernardin. He's a graduate of the French Culinary Institute.

Dishman and his high-school sweetheart wife, Nichole, had been looking to open their own restaurant in the Fort Myers area for 18 months when they happened upon their present location. While driving their VW through the strip mall, they were greeted by a swarm of dragonflies, one of which came through the car window, perched on the dashboard and stayed until the young couple got out to inspect the little storefront. The Dishmans believed they could do something with the space, and subsequently named the restaurant for the helpful dragonfly that led them to the back door. The pale-yellow walls of the 35-seat restaurant are decorated with dragonfly art, and the small space is organized as a combination of tables and banquettes, the latter used to divide the area into even more intimate eating areas. The kitchen is visible so you can see Dishman at work. When things slow down, he likes to come out into the dining room and chat with guests. The table settings are sophisticated and include a salt cellar with coarse salt. The butter you're served is unsalted.

Dishman defines his abbreviated and approachable menu articulately. "We are a small place that serves hearty food in an unpretentious atmosphere," he explains. "Our cuisine is based on fresh products and the seasons. I buy the best and do very little to it, just enough to enhance and bring out the natural flavors. Sometimes, I'll use only four ingredients." Chef Dishman buys organic vegetables and his meat comes from grass-fed animals. His fish is line caught-no nets and nothing farm raised. "Everything is edible on the plate," he says, "except the bone. I don't do stacked presentations or lots of garnish. Nothing is on the plate that doesn't belong there as food." The plates, by the way, are white and square.

His menu, printed on pale-blue paper, celebrates traditional and modern American regional recipes, which means there are accent flavors of Europe, Asia and Africa in the mix. Consequently, Dishman is as confident about serving zinfandel braised lamb and saffron risotto as he is about ladling up his creamy oyster and corn chowder. The most expensive item on the menu is Indian-spiced Colorado lamb chops served with ratatouille and tiny lentils. It's $37. Of the eight or so entrées, half are fish and include red snapper, Arctic char and a whole, grilled loup de mer (sea bass). Even the baby romaine Caesar salad comes with plump white anchovies.

Off the menu is even more fun because when you call for a reservation at Dragonfly, you'll usually get Preston Dishman on the phone and he'll ask if you have any dietary restrictions or favorite foods. When we made our reservations for four, my friend who did the phoning volunteered that she loves sweetbreads and hadn't had them in a while. Dishman's comeback was, "Wow, let's do some." He did, and they were superb, accompanied by collard greens and tomatoes with cheese grits. Entrées average $30.

The Dragonfly wine list is impressive in its boutique attitude. Dishman, who purchases through a sole distributor, is primarily interested in vineyards that produce fewer than 1,000 cases annually. This means Dragonfly is a genuine adventure for oenophiles, a chance to discover and evaluate unfamiliar labels, ones that you will never see in liquor stores or food markets. Most of his reds are from California, with a few from New Zealand and Argentina. Price range is moderate, $19 to $65, with only a few higher. Desserts are house-made and include, besides sorbets, gelato and chocolate soufflé, an amazing grande galette that you can have with crème fraîche if you request it. Also well worth investigating is the key lime curd tart, with a crust made with crushed pecans.

If the master of Dragonfly doesn't flame out, this part of Southwest Florida is in for some truly distinguished meals for a long time to come. His kitchen is so full of tempting ingredients and talent that there's a tendency on the part of regulars to keep this place a secret. But you and I know that when a chef is at the top of his game, word-of-mouth advertising spreads faster than a swarm of dragonflies. It's just as well. Preston Dishman deserves to be encouraged and supported by your patronage.

Dragonfly Bistro 19051 San Carlos Blvd., Fort Myers. 765-8200. Dinner: Monday through Saturday, 6-10 p.m. Reservations required. Credit cards. Parking readily available. Wheelchair accessible.