Executive Chef/Chef de Cuisine David Rashty has brought Michelin Star
caliber expertise, fine casual dining, and service to SW Florida. To Naples? To Fort Myers? Nope, he's brought it to Jack's
Farm to Fork, in the Pink Shell Resort at the northern tip of Fort Myers Beach! Chef David, an International Culinary Center
(formerly the French Culinary Institute)
alumnus, has been chef at both
Michelin-starred Daniel Boulud's
Café Boulud, and three Michelin
starred NYC's Jean-Georges.
Chef David brings an incredible dining experience at reasonable price. If you look back over my
130+ reviews on my blog, I rarely rave about a restaurant. Well, I'm raving now!
Items range from a wallet friendly $6-8 for most of the appetizers, through most
main courses in the $20's, to the outlier- $48 for one of the best cuts of beef
you'll ever have. Summed up, you get to enjoy beautiful haute cuisine, a full service bar,
reasonable price points and upscale casual dining and understated atmosphere, all whilst overlooking glorious sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico.
Farm to fork dining is about delicious food that's usually
organically farmed nearby, quickly
transported to the restaurant, and cooked
to order. It is based on sustainable agriculture. That means you'll savor the freshest fish
that swim over from Fort
Myers Beach's Trico Fish Company's ships, and some incredible pork and beef from S. Florida's
farmers. Edible flowers and multicolored carrots hail from Ohio's
Chef's Garden; succulent vegetables amble in from
N. Fort Myers' Herban Gardens.
My dining partner and I arrived at the Pink Shell Resort at
7:00 pm, but were seduced and delayed from
immediately entering Jack's 2nd floor eyrie, by spending a few minutes enjoying
the spectacular burnt orange and violet-layered sunset drifting over the Gulf's
lazy waters, sugar-white sand beaches, and graceful palm trees. Kids fly long tailed kites, seagulls dip and
turn; all ages walk or joyfully run barefoot on the fine-grained sandy beach's
broad width. This beach's fine sugar-grained sand puts many other slender-waisted beaches of coarser
sand to shame! Well, that's my lateness excuse, and I'm sticking to it.
Upon entering Jack's from the outside balcony, we were greeted by Jack's General Manager,
Aldo Trevino. Noticing our sunset photo-taking from turtle- height to practically en pointe, he suggested a
key table for its stunning view of the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. Tables are set far enough apart from each
other. We could not hear individual words of our neighboring tables, and we
certainly couldn't bump chairs with a neighboring table's chairs. This is a
welcome, and rare open floor plan to experience.
Our professional server, Daniel, made dining a pleasure with
his knowledge of the dishes (which change weekly), his suggestions, and by
anticipating our needs for sharing plates. This was clearly neither his first
rodeo, nor ours. It made for one of my best dining experiences ever in the
U.S.A ., let alone in SW Florida. Yes, Chef
David's cuisine, and the service level is that refreshingly wonderful.
We were quickly offered a choice of waters and drinks, and
gifted with a delectable foie gras amuse- bouche.
The octopus a la plancha ($16) is accompanied by sliced Spanish
chorizo, chickpeas, roasted red pepper and fingerling potatoes, all on a bed of garlic ailoi.
The crisply braised heritage pork belly FKS Farms, Punta
Gorda ($16) may steal your heart!
We took a break with a light, and more nuanced blood orange & goat cheese salad ($12),
with delicate strips of prosciutto, goat cheese, arugula, beets and fennel. It's
as good as a sorbet for an intermezzo.
Prince Edward Island Mussels meunière ($14) is a classic French moules preparation
"in the style of the miller's wife." This name always struck me as
odd; why not "in the fisheman's wife" style?
It's essentially mussels steamed with a dry white wine broth and butter the
world over, with locally variable combinations of parsley, thyme, garlic, leek,
bay leaf, lemon juice, cream and the mussel's own briny liquid.
Beet salad a la Chefs Garden, Huron, OH ($12) is an excellent
buy for its price and beauty, with gold and red beet cubes, goat cheese
mousse, pistachio vinaigrette, popcorn shoots and chives. Pure eye candy to be savored. Highly Recommended.
You'll meet engagingly outgoing Chef Dave as he makes the
rounds of the dining room. He'll share as much as you'd like to know about the
Farm to Table concept, his incredible culinary background, or talk about nearly
any subject culinarian. Me thinks he
channels Auguste Escoffier.
Grilled Heritage Pork porterhouse from Circle C Farms (Felda, Fl) ($32) may come with Anson Mills Sea Islands
red peas and roasted butternut squash one night, or, as we enjoyed, yellow and
purple cauliflower, whipped potatoes,
Chef's Garden heirloom carrots, and a bowl of pepper coulis.
I favor my pork medium rare. This breed of pork is
well worth ordering-the flavor is so very refreshing...I've not had this flavorful quality in
years. Highly Recommended.
Grilled asparagus atop a pistachio and poblano pepper puree,
topped with a deep fried farm-fresh egg ($6). So much
depends on spears of grilled bright green asparagus, glazed with
pistachio-pepper puree, topped with a 63 degree panko-crusted, deep-fried farm-fresh egg, beside the Chef Garden's
flowers.
William Carlos Williams would have filled a red wheel barrow with this treat, and so should you.
When you savor a fork-full of luscious egg,
earthy grilled asparagus and the pepper puree, you know
you're dining with a master chef. Recommended.
Chef Rashty and his team took over this ballroom sized site
nine weeks ago, formerly the spot for hotel guests' brunch. It will be revamped over the next month or
so. That's a bonus. With
lighting lowered to fine dining levels at twilight, it's just fine to my eyes, which
were centered on the sunset views and
the beautiful plating of the dishes. Night
time's soft overhead lamps' lighting brings forth a
different world that evokes Arabian nights. This is a relaxing, welcoming atmosphere, graced with fantastic
views of the Gulf's beaches and the sunset.
Lobster risotto with Anson Mills Carolina Gold rice ($26)
features one to 2 inch chunks of Maine lobster, mascarpone and Meyer lemon juice.
The
classic Carolina rice makes for a superb risotto that's simultaneously creamy and properly a little crunchy, so rich with flavor. Highly Recommended.
Daniel graciously changed our silverware several times
between courses, whether we heathens thought it was warranted or not. Water glasses were silently topped off. White
linen napkins were artfully folded if we left the table for sunset photos or to
have a look around. That's just a few
marks of the classical fine service.
Are you a steak lover, willing to have the best? Order the
Piedmontese beef bone-in filet! Its $48 price
point is comparable to prices at the Capital Grille and other steakhouses. The difference is, this
beef's taste exceeds that of most
steakhouses.
My perfectly grilled filet
came with a touch of classic au poivre sauce, whipped
potatoes and asparagus spears. You may have pureed parsnips on your visit. Piedmontese beef's flavor is in the leaner, healthier meat,
compared to Wagyu beef, where the flavor
is both in the meat and the delectable fat.
Comparing the two is really apples and oranges; both breeds are oh-so-tender
and delicious. Highly Recommended.
Desserts are the domain of a specially talented young woman, Nga, who speaks fluent English, French and Vietnamese. Trained in France, and recently
from Palm Beach's Cafe Boulud, her
creations are a must have part of your meal. Recent choices are pistachio
apricot tart, tart Tatin, and house-made salted caramel gelato- you are in for a
treat! Who else creates brie and chocolate grilled cheese with brioche and
strawberry Champagne sauce ($10)?
Creme brûlée ($12) is something I've had a few hundred times
in my life, (and personally cooked a few times) and this one was one of the very
best I've had.
The consistency is that of the finest custard; the flavor
defines ambrosia. The brûléed sugar topping is perfectly crisp throughout. Consistency and technique are key to turning
out perfect ramekins. It starts with using farm fresh eggs. Try this version, and set
your " creme brûlée meter" to a higher standard. Highly Recommended!
The flourless chocolate cake terrine is unlike any you've
had.
This chocolate pyramid is far richer than any flourless dessert, with a superbly concentrated chocolate flavor and an
unctuously dense texture. Topped with in house made pistachio gelato and its cradling web of
golden-brown spun sugar, it's Highly Recommended!
To sum up, we had a phenomenal meal and excellent service; a
truly Michelin one star experience. Considering all the restaurants worldwide,
that's a rare accolade, BTW. At
the end of our meal when we asked for the check, we learned that General Manager
Aldo Trevino comped us as an unexpected
courtesy. My dining companion and
I are food writers-could our pointed questions have alerted staff that we might not be hotel
guests? Our evening exceeded my high expectations;
other diners expressed the same accolades. Not bad, for only being open 9
weeks! One couple off to the side were here for their third time in as many
weeks.
The dining experience is fairly priced for the quality if you seek and appreciate dining's best. You can certainly pay a lot more, and get less quality elsewhere. If you are on a budget, then come for a birthday or anniversary. If you savor a fine dining experience at a very reasonable priced;, this is at the top of your Florida bucket list. I recommend reserving a table before sunset for the optimal experience of watching the sunset's pastels unfold and deepen through the broad windows. The farm to fork food sourcing was a major attractant in my visiting. Chef David crafts elegant, yet hearty dishes from fresh organic non-GMO local foods. It's impressive. Next visit, I'll try some of the different ceviches, shrimp and grits, grilled lamb, whole roasted snapper, and duck breast.
The dining experience is fairly priced for the quality if you seek and appreciate dining's best. You can certainly pay a lot more, and get less quality elsewhere. If you are on a budget, then come for a birthday or anniversary. If you savor a fine dining experience at a very reasonable priced;, this is at the top of your Florida bucket list. I recommend reserving a table before sunset for the optimal experience of watching the sunset's pastels unfold and deepen through the broad windows. The farm to fork food sourcing was a major attractant in my visiting. Chef David crafts elegant, yet hearty dishes from fresh organic non-GMO local foods. It's impressive. Next visit, I'll try some of the different ceviches, shrimp and grits, grilled lamb, whole roasted snapper, and duck breast.
Competition? NONE around for many, many miles. The stunning sunset view is icing on this gem
of a restaurant that ranks 5 stars on any restaurant reviewer's chart. Hat's
off and a well earned Michelin star to Chef David Rashty!
Open Table users BONUS.
Instead of earning 100 points with a dinner, enjoy the special 1,000
point offer available 5-6 pm, and 8:30-9:30 pm.
Jack's Farm to Fork at Pink
Shell Beach Resort & Marina,
275 Estero Boulevard, Fort Myers Beach, 239-463-8615
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