Going South

Tourists and residents who want to pretend they're eating in the Florida Keys pick a table or booth at the Duval Street Seafood Company and tuck into all manner of tropical comfort foods such as conch chowder, Tortugas tacos, Islamorada smoked tuna dip, and mango barbecue salmon. Or maybe they order crab-stuffed chicken breast or Key West mahi-mahi served with Creole sauce and Bahamian rice for $15.95.

The restaurant is a chain, but for a franchise enterprise, Duval Street Seafood Company does an admirable job; the meals are Florida-friendly and named with exotic Key West flair. The Caribbean pork chops, for example, are emboldened with a pineapple salsa and zippy seasonings that don't say as much about Key West as they do about the modern fad of fusion cooking.

The place has atmosphere to spare, and it all contributes to an eating experience that is relaxed and entertaining. You can see why vacationing families from the Midwest would have a good time sitting in a booth crowned by a sloping tin roof and decorated with pineapple finials. The concrete floors and tables are painted in wildly tropical island hues of lime green, citrus yellow, turquoise, purple and pink. Seashell wind chimes, ceiling fans, neon signs on the wall and a tiki-hut bar strung with tiny white lights add to a carefree island motif that's borderline tacky but definitely eye-catching.

White plantation shutters frame the windows and perky music plays in the background. And the wire sculpture of a coconut-palm tree that holds the sugar, salt and pepper on each table is a design winner. If it isn't sold in the gift shop, it should be. The perky wait staff is dressed in Duval-logo T-shirts (you can buy them at the gift shop), sneakers and slacks, and while they seem laid-back, they are quite efficient. The first thing they bring you (along with ice water made extra refreshing by a lemon wedge) is a basket of honey-wheat and sourdough rolls paired with mango butter. They are excellent. The house specialty is called legendary stone-crab pie. It's a kind of bland potpie that combines Jack cheese, mushrooms and stone-crab meat within a creamy preparation. Available during stone-crab season (for $9.99), it's made fresh every day.

Of course, there's a bounty of shrimp, the number-one favorite seafood of seasonal visitors to Florida. At Duval Street you can have shrimp in pasta with lobster ($l4.99), coconut shrimp, jerked shrimp, shrimp cocktail, shrimp steamed in beer, shrimp and corn fritters, fried shrimp, baked grouper stuffed with shrimp, and shrimp on the combination seafood platter ($17.99). The Key West seafood salad includes shrimp, and you can add grilled shrimp to any entrée for an additional $3.99. That ought to be enough shrimp for everybody.

Desserts naturally include key lime pie; this one made with a graham-cracker crust and sweetened condensed milk filling for $4.99 a slice. Chocolate banana cream pie or the Duval fudge brownie sundae are alternatives. But portions of everything at Duval Street are generous, so you may wish to share a sweet treat at the end of a very filling meal.
Duval Street Seafood Company 26051 Tamiami Trail S., Bonita Springs. 949-8513. Lunch and dinner: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-midnight; Friday and Saturday until 1 a.m. Credit cards. Parking in restaurant lot. Wheelchair accessible.

Not all neighborhood joints are in neighborhoods any more because that's not the way many of us live. Today, our informal haunts tend to be located in strip shopping centers, mall food courts, hotels or fancy retail plazas. My newest reliable place to duck into for a quick bite is Luca Deli & Pizza, which is situated in the Galleria at Vanderbilt in Naples.

Next to all the aged brick, the picturesque fountain courtyard and the surrounding upmarket enterprises, Luca appears humble; and it is, with its black floors, purple and pink laminated counters and table tops set off by black chairs, which aren't comfortable enough to make you tarry beyond your allotted eating time. The ambience is cheerful and minimalist in a way that reminds me of the '70s. There are magazines thoughtfully provided for you to take to your booth or table if you're eating alone, and there's a television on with the volume down low so that you can get a sense of the current news if you aim to be depressed while you dine.

Place your order and pay at the counter and then pick up when your meal is ready. You'll eat off plastic with plastic utensils. Basically the menu is salads, sandwiches, subs, soups, pizzas (six basics plus a make-your-own with a choice of 17 toppings) and calzones. The pizzas come in three sizes. The classic margherita, for example, sells for $6, $8 and $ll. Salads come in two sizes and are priced accordingly, the chicken Caesar being either $6.95 or $4.95, depending upon your appetite.

The hot and cold sandwiches are made with Boar's Head meats; and if you don't fancy the subs already on the menu, Luca invites you to build your own. Luca is also kind to vegetarians with his veggie sub with three cheeses; and he composes a lovely portobella sub that comes in two sizes. The pepper-and-egg sub is listed under sandwiches but could easily be breakfast since it's composed of scrambled eggs, peppers, onions and grated pecorino cheese. A full one is $7.25 and the half is $4.75.

Luca does breakfast, serving up omelets, bagel sandwiches (about $4) or a simple bagel with cream cheese or peanut butter/jelly for just 75 cents.

Everything I've sampled at this unassuming pocket eatery is fresh and satisfying. The service is fast and the menu is varied enough that you can eat often at Luca Deli and still keep your palate interested and your wallet healthy.
Luca Deli & Pizza 8970 Fontana Del Sol Way (Galleria At Vanderbilt), Naples. 254-5052. Credit cards. Free delivery. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Closed Sundays. Wheelchair accessible.

CHEF CENTRAL

A 35-year-old bachelor of Indian descent who was born in Trinidad and who speaks three languages, executive chef Sean Mohammed admits that he enjoys big, bold flavors and will seek out Vietnamese, Indian or Spanish dishes on days when he's not cooking and supervising the kitchen staff at Caxambas at Fiddler's Creek in Naples. Other times, he'll just grill at home, sharing a steak or barbecued chicken with his amiable German shepherd, who is not a fussy eater but does insist on good company.

Mohammed says his crab-and-avocado gazpacho can be made a day ahead, looks great garnished with a couple of fried shrimp, and can be a filling lunch served with a crusty baguette or the fancy first course of a tropical meal.

"This cold soup has a bright, bold flavor, and I think it suits Southwest Florida," he says. "It's on the menu at Caxambas, but it's easy enough to make at home. I'd serve it with a young chardonnay, one that's light, with a lot of fruit-forward flavor."

Crabavocado Gazpacho
(serves six as an appetizer)
Gazpacho
1 small jalapeño, chopped
1/2 small red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves
4 tablespoons cilantro leaves
2 limes, juiced
5 ripe yellow tomatoes
1 English cucumber, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup ice cubes
Put all ingredients into blender and purée until smooth and liquid. Season to taste.

Guacamole
2 small, ripe avocados
1 tablespoon minced shallots
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
Dice avocado and mix all ingredients. Season to taste.

Crabmeat
1 pound fresh jumbo lump crabmeat
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Mix all ingredients together, taking care not to break up lumps of crabmeat. Season with salt and pepper. Final assembly: Put soup into bowls and garnish with quenelles of guacamole and crabmeat. Finish with a sprig of cilantro.
Caxambas Restaurant is in the Club & Spa at Fiddler's Creek, Collier Boulevard (State Road 951) in Naples on the way to Marco Island. Dinner: Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 5:30-9 p.m. Jackets required. 732-3020 for reservations.

ASK MARSHA

Q. I'll be hosting Thanksgiving Day dinner this year and I want to put out food-friendly bottles. Make me look smart and a bit adventurous.

A. Thanksgiving Day tends to be a long and leisurely event, so you'll want more than just the wine for dinner. You'll need something to serve arriving guests as they nibble on canapés. And you need a few dessert suggestions, too. David Contreras Jr., a wine expert at Bacchus of Naples, has it all figured out for you.

"Although I'd never turn down champagne for an aperitif, for this holiday gathering I'm advising the 2001 Guigal Condrieu La Doriane [$95]," says Contreras. "It offers the fragrance of incense, honeysuckle and has jammy white fruits. This is a full-bodied wine with tremendous intensity. What a way to toast the start of a memorable celebration."

For a meal starring turkey or even ham, a Beaujolais or zinfandel would be the obvious option. Why not be daring and try a 1996 Torre Muga Rioja ($70)? The opaque dense purple color is accompanied by scents of black fruits, minerals, cedar, tobacco and spice. This muscular wine demands four to five years of cellaring, but it's worth the wait.