Heaven on the Half Shell

If you're a seafood zealot who savors the fruits of the sea for every course at dinner and dismisses dessert to leave room for raw oysters at the start of the meal, then you have found your culinary paradise at Blue Pointe. This is an Eden of raw oysters shucked to order, served iced on the half shell by the half dozen for $9.95. Order all of one kind (such as the New York Blue Point variety for which this restaurant is named) or mix and match your Wellfleet, Moonstone, Pepper Cove or Malepeque slippery beauties.

Two dipping sauces are provided, but the purist wants only a squirt of fresh lemon-the optimum way to enjoy a sampler tray or flight of oysters. You'll be able to detect subtle differences in flavor and texture of the oysters without the intense masking flavors of sauces. You can always order a dozen more and have sauce the second time around.

Some people sit at the curved oyster bar and just keep eating as the oysters are shucked and pushed in front of them. Very little talking among this bunch. Other more sociable types choose a roomy booth in the comfortable, casually sophisticated main dining room, a high-top table or a regular table either inside or on the covered patio. It's a lot less noisy outside. Servers rush around madly, but the personal attention is good enough so that guests feel neither harried nor ignored.

This restaurant always seems crowded, the bustle and buzz accepted as part of the fun for many patrons, especially the regulars who come to drink beer or wine and nibble many different kinds of seafood from the appetizer menu, which includes traditional calamari, Chesapeake Bay crab cake, coconut-crusted fried shrimp, wild blue mussels, even steamed clams served with cilantro and red pepper.

The Chesapeake Bay crab cake, $9.95 as an appetizer, is also available on the entrée side of the menu for $19.95. You get two (they're large) and with the meal come house-baked hot bread and the restaurant's signature blue cheese and vinaigrette coleslaw, which is tangy and memorable. The crab cakes are virtually all lump crab, with just enough crumbs and liquid to hold them together during frying. Absolutely first-rate. These rich rounds are also available in sandwich form for $10.95 and come on an English muffin with Havarti cheese. I'd skip the cheese even though the crab flavor can stand up to it.

Fish abounds at Blue Pointe and the catch is global, from Shanghai North Atlantic salmon (with ginger and scallions) to Lake Superior whitefish, Arctic char, Block Island swordfish, Florida yellowfin tuna, Georges Bank lemon sole and Lake Erie walleye pike-just to list some. The average entrée price is about $19. There's even an "Atkins-friendly" section of the menu, which suggests 11 kinds of fish to enjoy grilled or broiled, with steamed broccoli as the side dish. Burgers, steaks and chops are available for those who have seafood allergies or would just rather chew meat.

Desserts include crème brûlée, key lime pie, a chocolate lava cake, orange tart or bread pudding. Our party of four didn't have any of it since we were far too seafood stuffed by the end of the meal. Another time, perhaps, because the desserts looked quite enticing en route from the kitchen to booths and tables near ours. The bar offers wine by the glass or bottle, mostly California selections. There is also a full assortment of mixed drinks, imported beers and fancy martinis ($7), including a truffle one that doesn't sound tempting at all, and a pineapple cosmopolitan that surely does. And that's about all you need to know to experience a primo restaurant where seafood is properly prepared to satisfy your fin, shell or claw craving du jour.

Blue Pointe Oyster Bar & Seafood Grill 13499 Southeast Cleveland Ave. (Bell Tower Shops), Fort Myers. 433-0924 or (888) 456-DINE. Hours: Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday, noon-9 p.m. Credit cards. Reservations suggested. Parking in mall lot. Wheelchair accessible.

Some of the staffers at the registry Resort & Club claim it's the wildly patterned and sensuously colored carpet in the newly refurbished Café Chablis that makes all the difference in the ambience. Other says it's those fabulous floor-to-ceiling tangerine plaid drapes that frame the view to the outdoor dining terrace and the swimming pool. Could it be the yellow walls, the white lattice, the single bright gerbera daisy in a white vase on each table or the brightly hued and thoroughly modern acrylic salt and pepper shakers (they're for sale in the gift shop) that make the space so fresh, cheerful but yet grown-up sophisticated? Who knows for sure. The bamboo armchairs are comfy enough to encourage a second cup of coffee or an extra glass of wine. The service is prompt and gracious. Best of all, the menu is varied and the presentations as eye pleasing as the food is tasty.

Café Chablis is the Registry Resort's casual eating alternative to the haute gourmet and luxury-priced Lafite, where the elegant evening repasts are lavish and exquisitely staged. Chablis is for when you don't feel up to a glamorous and formal dinner. It can be your destination for a breakfast omelet, individual pizza ($12 at night), a lovely sirloin burger with imported cheese ($11 at lunch), bouillabaisse, a piece of fresh black grouper or red snapper, grilled and simply garnished, or a tempting salad that is a whole meal that just happens to be nestled in fresh greenery. Additionally, there's a hot/cold buffet option for $13.95 that allows one to browse and choose and compose a distinctive and highly personal meal. The champagne brunch on Sunday mornings is one of Naples' little secrets.

This restaurant is always a choice for Registry Resort guests, usually several times during their stay. But with the renovation of the space has come a new determination on the part of the management to position Café Chablis as a quality informal destination restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner for locals who want to meet over a meal.

I think it will work. The Registry is so easy to get to, there's free parking in its spacious garage and the atmosphere and menu are inviting. Resort guests already know what a pleasant little oasis the Café Chablis can be. Now, more and more year-round and seasonal residents are realizing they can access this delightful culinary experience, too. Chablis for everyone!

Café Chablis at the Registry Resort & Club 475 Seagate Drive, Naples. 597-3232. Reservations accepted. Breakfast: Mon-day-Saturday, 7-11 a.m. and Sunday 7-10 a.m. Sunday brunch, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Lunch: Monday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Dinner: nightly, 5:30-10 p.m. Credit cards. Parking in garage. Wheelchair accessible.

Ask Marsha

Q. There's no fear of mad cow in me; I'm a confident hamburger groupie. If it's on a menu, I'll be ordering it. Got a new place and a new burger for me?

A. I do indeed. Citron's Grill & Bistro in Fort Myers (near the Iona and Bal Harbour neighborhoods) is a converted Burger King that's been cleverly transformed and creatively elevated by owner/chef Daniel Cotto. Besides preparing reliably tasty pastas, steaks, ribs, Caribbean grouper, and garlic herb quesadillas, chef Cotto offers a Citron burger on a Kaiser roll that includes melted blue cheese, bacon and a healthy drizzle of aioli. His fat, juicy beef patty will entertain your tongue with a chorus line of flavors dancing around on that bun. You want to add this burger to your repertoire. Citron is open for lunch and dinner. 15291 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers. 476-9535.