Southern Comfort

The Veranda restaurant in downtown Fort Myers is the epitome of Southern hospitality. It reminds me of places such as the Commander's Palace in New Orleans, the historic Firehouse in Sacramento, Calif., even the Charlotte Inn on Martha's Vineyard.

The building consists of two homes that once belonged to the Manuel Gonzalez family and were joined in the 1960s. Paul Peden purchased the buildings in 1978 and made them the Veranda. He still owns the restaurant. Besides the main dining rooms and the piano bar, guests can eat in the courtyard, which has a pretty goldfish pond and waterfall nestled in the tropical plants and trees.

Expect a formal place setting at tables or banquettes draped with starchy linens. One of the dining rooms features a double-hearth fireplace with a mounted deer head above. Marble-topped buffets and sideboards, table lamps and an eclectic range of artwork give the Veranda a comfortable residential feel. Patterned carpet, chandeliers, pretty wall sconces and fabric-padded chairs add up to Southern-Victorian elegance.

The Veranda menu plays to its Southern roots but is not limited to south of the Mason-Dixon Line specialties. That means in addition to Bourbon Street fillet or fried-green-tomato salad, Florida crab cakes (with black bean relish), Cajun sea scallops, conch strips, cheese grit cakes or Cajun chicken, you can sample Chateaubriand, veal picatta, New Zealand lamb, escargot, herb-crusted grilled salmon and other continental dishes.

On Friday and Saturday nights chef William Murray makes roast prime rib served with horseradish sauce. Absolutely wonderful, just fatty and juicy enough to make it fully flavorful and never overcooked. It was my choice on our last official visit.

A dinner entrée includes the house salad and fresh bread along with mini corn muffins and a ramekin of Southern pepper jelly. All dinners arrive with an appropriate side such as potato, pasta or rice, and a vegetable. The kitchen is lovely about making small substitutions such as swapping out a starch. Additionally, the chef makes a daily vegetarian special. Entrees average $28, and portions are substantial.

The wine list covers the bases for European and South American labels as well as Californian.

Although you can spend up to $320 a bottle, it's easy to drink well for about $35. Many wines are available by the glass, which is a good way to go if you want to pair different wines with appetizer, entrée and dessert. Desserts are lavish and gorgeously presented, from the warm pecan praline tart (my favorite) to the triple-layer chocolate pâté with raspberry coulis to the Baileys Irish Cream cheesecake or fresh berries with cream.

And that goes for the flawless service, too. When our table of four ordered two appetizers to split, our waiter considerately portioned them out in the kitchen and brought out four plates. Silverware is exchanged at the end of each course, and dishes are correctly presented and correctly removed. No one hovers or engages in long chats with the guests. Guests' needs are anticipated and fulfilled discreetly. You couldn't ask for more.

The Veranda delivers an exemplary meal in lovely, historic surroundings. It always makes my short list of where to send people who are new to this area, and it occupies a special spot in my personal list of Florida restaurants where I know I'll find a memorable food experience. Every single time.

The Veranda 2122 Second St., (at Broadway), Fort Myers. (239) 332-2065. Lunch: Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Dinner: Monday through Saturday, 5:30-10 p.m. Closed Sunday. Reservations recommended. Credit cards. Valet or street parking. Wheelchair accessible.

Every season brings "it" restaurants,

new places where you want to see and be seen because the ambiance is cool and the food is festive. Last season Fort Myers' Cin Cin and Naples' Zen were "it" spots. The former is still going strong, while the latter suffered a high-profile flame-out after just a few months. Being the flavor of the moment doesn't guarantee long-term success, just enthusiastic buzz at the outset. Nektar is definitely on the "it" list this season; and I hope it survives, because the buzz is backed up by creative cookery and a dreamy setting.

Nektar is a small and lively modern Mediterranean restaurant that branches out from the requisite Italian offerings to flavors from North Africa, Greece, Spain and France. The etched-glass windows feature a frosty peach, a fruit that sets the color tone of the spare and elegant space. The waiters wear peach-colored dress shirts, the walls of the restaurant are a soft and inviting terra cotta, and the banquettes are dressed with iridescent pillows in shades of orange.

Young and smooth owner Armand Alikaj has an eye for minimal table art. Instead of flowers on each table, he has slanted a single yucca shard in a clear water goblet. You'd assume such simplicity wouldn't make much of a design statement, but when you look across the dining room, the impact is stunning. Makes you want to go right home and try it. The silverware is set in the French mode, with the tines of the forks facing down. Global music in the background and a nice chatter from the smart-looking bar set the mood for a dining experience that is slightly exotic, a little luxurious and entirely comfortable.

The menu isn't long, but it's so varied you think you're offered more choices than you are. For seafood you might sample (as our party did) the zarzuela, a Spanish stew that was overflowing with lobster, shrimp, salmon and other seafood in a light tomato saffron broth. It was rich (and not overcooked) and fragrant, and the serving size more than generous. Baked sea bass with fried leeks and grilled salmon with cucumber fettuccine and mint yogurt are other intriguing riffs on ordinary offerings. The veal osso bucco with roasted vegetables was hearty right down to the succulent marrow, and our waiter supplied the correct tiny cocktail fork for extracting it from the bone. Sautéed veal liver, pork stew with Moroccan spices, veal chop with shaved truffles, free-range chicken with Israeli couscous (the best kind), or grilled tuna finished with green olive tapenade are other choices on a wonderfully diverse menu where the entrées average about $28.

Salads at Nektar are worth mentioning for their diversity. Consider watermelon, red onions, feta and mint for something refreshing. There's also a spiced eggplant salad with fenugreek and cumin. The spinach salad includes roasted beets, orange segments and goat cheese. And the seafood salad starts with squid and adds an assortment of shellfish and vegetable ribbons coated in an herb-lemon dressing. These delightful salads range from $10-$18. If four of you are dining, order three and share because the portions are generous.

The wine list is global, including Sardinian pinots that begin at $55. The price range is $28-$400, and many labels are offered by the glass. The dessert specialty is peach Nektar, a baked peach half stuffed with almond biscotti and topped with homemade ice cream. I found it simple and yet totally toothsome and satisfying. The owner's mother makes a special pudding every day, or you could sample the orange flan, panna cotta, chocolate cake or mango sorbet. All desserts are $8.

Nektar 849 Seventh Ave. S., Naples. (239) 435-1882. Lunch: Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Dinner: nightly, 5:30 p.m.-closing. Reservations suggested. Credit cards. Parking in lot or street. Wheelchair accessible.

Ask Marsha

Q. Can you give me some ideas for using the new gourmet salts?

A. The current kitchen staple is French gray salt harvested in Brittany. Celebrity chef Tyler Florence keeps his home kitchen well stocked with it and says you should, too. Here are some others: Hawaiian red salt is fruity and slightly peppery and is tinted by iron-rich clay. French Fleur de Sel is often called the caviar of salts ($15 for about five ounces). It smells of the sea and lavender and some chefs sprinkle a bit on chocolate cakes. Chardonnay salt is smoked using oak barrels (I'm not making this up) and Jurassic salt, harvested from an ancient sea and is supposedly perfect for salads. Sicilian white is delicate enough for fish, while Danish Viking smoked packs a real punch and makes an impressive dry rub for meat. It's about $10 an ounce. Pink Peruvian salt tastes of minerals and enhances sliced tomatoes. English flake is free of any bitterness. The pyramid-shaped crystals crush easily and are pretty as garnish. English flake is the salt you want to sprinkle on vegetables and meats before roasting for a slightly crunchy texture.

Nibbles & Sips

Gulfshore hostesses will definitely want to check out the new Devonia Antiques for Dining at 1300 Third St. S. in Naples. The owner, Lori Hedtler, is a porcelain expert and has a Devonia in Boston as well. Her clients there include Carly Simon, Martha Stewart, NFL wives and divas of fashion and society. Hedtler's inventory includes crystal and heirloom china, much of it from the Gilded Age, as well as tabletop antiques and accessories. You can buy place settings for 12 or unusual single pieces of porcelain for an elegant mix-and-match décor.