The Royal Treatment

In the early 1900s, the Tarpon House Inn, overlooking Sanibel and Captiva islands at Punta Rassa, hosted such distinguished visitors as Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. Today the Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa occupies that site on 85 mainland acres. It's too bad Ford and Edison never got to enjoy the royal dining experience the Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa's Banyan Room now offers at that site.

The sophisticated tropical décor of the Banyan Room suggests a world traveler's library, with handsome built-in bookcases and a wall mural depicting an adventure map. Quotations on the menu and the surrounding art suggest that this could be the library of Ernest Hemingway, but I doubt that esteemed novelist ever had the design sensibility that the Sanibel Harbour experts have brought to this dining space. The Banyan Room exudes understated elegance, comfort (a small back pillow is in every rattan arm chair) and refined luxury. The tables are laid with yellow textured cloths and ivory napkins. The chargers are mismatched Versace, Minton and Rosenthal china plates that remain through the appetizer course.

When we were seated by the maitre d', three uniformed servers poured bottled water and brought an amuse bouche, a small dab of foie gras resting in a wine sauce with two plumped raisins. The specialty bread of the night (it happened to be ciabatta) came next with two spreads, Manchego-cheese butter and foie-gras hummus. These creamy spreads were each encased in a conical clear vial that was suspended in a round vase holding orchid petals floating in water. It was one of the loveliest displays I've seen in a restaurant, and it didn't take up a lot of table real estate.

The gourmet menu is brief, just seven entrées, but well considered, with all the items presented as edible art. Prices average $38 and include unusual sides such as a mound of golden lentils or five different kinds of onions (I've never done a flight of onions before). One of us ordered the duck breast with leg/thigh duck confit. It arrived on a bed of red cabbage studded with hazelnuts. Nestled in a crevice of the confit was a poached quail egg surrounded by a collar of gently cooked apple. It was as delectable a presentation as you'll see, and every morsel was delicious. Another had the sea bream, two lightly pan-seared and delicately flavored fish fillets arranged on the plate so they were crossed at the tails and served with cubes of butternut squash and the onion flight.

The osso buco included a small rack of lamb, and the veal shank was served with lentils and bacon bits. Luxury comfort food. Other options we might have sampled were whole Maine lobster ($46), fillet of beef or yellowtail snapper. Of the four appetizers, we tried a rich and heady foie gras dusted with coffee and cocoa powder and plated with fig compote and a spicy tuna loin. Appetizers are petite and not really for sharing. In fact all the courses (including a sherbet intermezzo) are portioned so that you can comfortably enjoy a full meal at Banyan, from appetizer through dessert.

The wine list is heavily American but has a global dimension. Order by the glass (about $8) or the bottle. All the desserts are actually dessert trays with small dabs and tidbits of several sweet and savory items. The collapsed chocolate soufflé, for example, is paired with cinnamon-dusted apple fritters sitting on fresh pineapple triangles. A few fresh raspberries roam the plate along with a shot glass of warm chocolate sauce for the soufflé or anything else you want to drizzle. Another dessert is vanilla bean pudding with black tapioca pearls, mango sherbet and an apricot crouton. Coffee is French press served in individual pots (bless the Banyan) and there's a full list of after dinner ports, cognacs and brandies to consider.

Service in this dining room is flawless. Every need is anticipated and met-silently, swiftly and graciously. There's background music, and because of the intimate nature of the dining, guests speak low. This a perfect place for a lovely dinner for two or four or for a special-occasion larger party.

The Banyan Room at Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa 17260 Harbour Pointe Drive, Fort Myers. (239) 466-2128. Credit Cards. Reservations accepted.

Under the ownership of chef John Fagans, La Brasserie has changed both in looks and menu. The previous décor was quirky, with funky art and cave-like lighting. Now the restaurant is lighter, more of an informal supper club than a brasserie, which traditionally serves hearty workingman's food in a rustic setting.

Tables and banquettes are set with white cloths, black napkins; and instead of flowers in the center of the table, a tiny plate cradles a few sprigs of fresh herbs. Background music and chatter from the bar (which occupies one side of the dining room) give the place a convivial buzz.

When you're seated, a server brings a basket of fresh bread and dipping sauce of oil and herbs. Fresh herbs play a major role at La Brasserie. The restaurant has an herb garden that the chef visits daily for ingredients and garnish. Chef Fagans was sous-chef at their Greenhouse Grill in the '80s. Then he and his sister opened the Sunshine Cafe on Captiva. Later he opened the Tarpon Lodge Restaurant with a partner on Pine Island, and last April he acquired La Brasserie.

Fagans' menu isn't so much French brasserie as it is contemporary American/continental, concentrating on fresh ingredients and highlighting entrées such as strip or rib eye steak, veal chop with a shiitake Marsala wine sauce, roasted duck breast, dill-crusted salmon, grilled lamp chops or yellowfin tuna. There are nightly specials as well.

You can still savor classic French onion soup and steak tartare at La Brasserie, but chef puts a modern spin on escargot, sautéeing the snails with sun-dried tomatoes and garlic and finishing with chardonnay and butter before plating the escargot with asiago toast. At $12 on the appetizer menu, it's well worth trying. Appetizers range from $5-$12; some of the standouts that we tried are the carpaccio plate (verges on antipasto it has so many extra goodies), portobello mushroom with goat cheese and spinach and the wild-mushroom ravioli.

Entrées average $24 and come with either garlic mashed potato, sweet potato, jasmine or saffron rice, polenta or sometimes risotto. Also on the plate was a colorful tangle of fresh vegetables including shredded carrot, yellow squash, green beans and red cabbage all lightly cooked to retain vivid hue and crunch. Portions are generous.

Desserts are brownies, Key lime pie, apple crisp or ice cream varieties. The wine list is predominantly French and American, and although you could order a $187 bottle of Cherry Block Estate cabernet sauvignon, it's easy to find plenty of tempting vintages in the $30-$40 range. A few house wines are offered by the glass for about $7.

The service at La Brasserie was peerless. We never felt rushed, but neither did we gaze toward the

kitchen with that haunted look of the forgotten. Our bill was presented in a timely fashion (how often do you end up begging for it?) and the credit-card transaction was speedily accomplished.

Some discriminating diners will dismiss La Brasserie because of its nontrendy address and uninspiring façade. What a mistake. This casual restaurant isn't one bit relaxed about quality.

La Brasserie 15660 San Carlos Blvd. (Gulf Point Square), Fort Myers. (239) 415-4375. Lunch: Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Dinner: nightly from 5 to 10 p.m. Credit cards. Reservations recommended. Parking in mall lot. Wheelchair accessible.

Ask Marsha

Q. At home my favorite breakfast food is a fresh scone and a big mug of strong tea. I miss those scones on Southwest Florida vacations. Any options?

A. At Tony's Off Third, the head baker, Martin Estremera, has been making scones for 20 years. He says the secret is using real butter, buttermilk and mixing by hand. And you have to bake at just the right temperature to get a scone that is substantial yet crumbly and moist. Estremera makes his scones early, between 6-7 a.m., and the bakery sells out every day. Varieties are mixed berry and oatmeal raisin. A scone is $2.20, and it's worth every delicious crumb. Take yours home or sit on the stone plaza under an umbrella and read the paper to the sound of the fountain while you enjoy breakfast at one of Naples' most pleasant places. Bakery opens at 7 a.m. 1300 Third St. S., Naples.

(239) 262-7999.

NIBBLES & SIPS

At Big Hickory Seafood Grille, owners Mike and Ruth Bode are organizing regular wine dinners to show off the skills of new chef Vincent D'Amato, formerly of Naples' Registry Resort (now known as the Naples Grande Resort & Club).

(239) 992-0991.

There's something new at the Philharmonic Center this season: Dinner at the Dome. Before most performances, a three-course dinner will be offered in the Figge Conservatory, under the dome at the Naples Museum of Art. The cost for this chef-attended buffet is $32 (not including tax and tip). Wine is by the glass or bottle, and there's a selection of cocktails. Dinner available from 5:45 to 7:30 p.m. To reserve a Dinner at the Dome, call (239) 597-1900.