Table Matters

There aren’t many restaurants in Fort Myers where a client,

a prospective customer or even a visiting friend can be taken to lunch. There

are a couple of formal or semiformal restaurants, but most eateries dealing out

lunch are just that—restaurants where lunch is dealt out, often with few of the

niceties of a rewarding dining experience.

An exception to this utilitarian approach is University

Grill, located at the corner of Cypress Lake Drive and Summerlin Road in Fort

Myers. One of 10 South Florida eateries owned by the Fort Myers-based

Prawnbroker Restaurant Group, this is one spot where business professionals

often arrive either before or after the lunch hour to avoid a wait.

The eatery feels almost like a gentleman’s club in which

above-average fare is served by an attentive staff. The main dining room

luxuriates in subdued mahogany décor; nothing leaps out at you or screams for

your attention. From its long, polished retro bar to its sedate wall hangings,

the place gives the impression of competence and serious purpose. The

restaurant also has an open balcony with tables overlooking a small pond complete

with a spewing fountain.

The lunch menu is divided into specific groupings—soups

ranging from $1.95 for a cup of the soup du jour to $4.95 for a bowl of crab

bisque, salads ($7.25 to $9.95), soup-and-salad combinations ($5.95 to $6.95),

sandwiches ($5.95 to $9.95) and entrées such as a crab cake, hot turkey

platter, fish and chips, and a chargrilled pork chop ($7.95 to $8.95). All

sandwiches are served with a choice of french fries, cole slaw or cottage

cheese.

My companion opted for the crab cake, ordering it sautéed

rather than fried as listed. I chose a cup of crab bisque and the University

Grill Salad with grilled chicken ($10.90). We both ordered iced tea. The waiter

soon brought us some crusty (although somewhat flavorless) French bread

accompanied by a small ramekin of sweet butter.

The crab cake was served with snow pea pods and cole slaw

and accompanied by tartar sauce and a remoulade that our waiter thought my

companion might like to sample. Abundant in crab meat, the generously sized

crab cake was delicious, especially with the remoulade.

The crab bisque was wonderful, superb in texture and

rewarding in taste. Too often, liberal splashes of sherry overpower the subtle

flavor this dish should have, but on this occasion no such offense was committed.

Perhaps I’m going overboard about my salad, but in truth it

was among the best I’ve eaten over a lifetime in pursuit of good, properly

prepared food. It consisted of mixed baby greens, tomato, artichoke hearts,

roasted red peppers (heavenly!), walnuts, red onions, Kalamata olives and

Gor-gonzola cheese tossed with a balsamic vinaigrette. The tender, freshly

grilled, sliced chicken breast restored my faith in this particular item, which

too often is served dry and flavorless.

A separate dessert menu lists spectacular combinations

including a banana split ice cream pie ($3.95), apple crisp with vanilla ice

cream ($3.95), key lime pie ($3.95), crème brûlée ($4.95) and pistachio gelato

($3.50). I ordered the gelato, an Italian ice cream that’s comparatively low in

butterfat but rich in flavor. I ha

University Grill

Address: 7790 Cypress Lake Drive, Fort Myers

Phone: (239) 437-4377

Hours: Lunch: 11:15

a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; Dinner: 4:30-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 4:30-11

p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Reservations: Accepted for dinner and for large parties at

lunch.

Web site: www.prawnbroker.com/ universitygrill/index.htmd to

be restrained from ordering it by the bucketful. It was marvelous.