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.
As printed in the January 2006 issue of Gulf Shore Life Magazine
Nations Restaurant News
On the Menu - The Veranda
Location: Fort Myers, Florida
Opened: October 1978
Cuisine: Southern regional and French
Best-selling items: filet mignon, grouper, snapper, tuna
Menu maker: Executive Chef William Murray
Owner: Paul Peden and family
(March 1, 2006) — A blend of Southern hospitality and ingredients, French culinary techniques, colorful local history and balmy Gulf of Mexico breezes has resulted in a successful celebration of Southwest Florida at The Veranda restaurant for over 25 years.
Located in a pair of century-old houses built by trading-post pioneer and early settler Manuel Gonzalez, The Veranda, owned by Paul Peden and family, preserves some of the history of Fort Myers. The restaurant, along with its year-round landscaped courtyard, showcases the coastal cuisine of Florida, with a lot of Southern and a little French seasoning.
William Murray, executive chef, uses as many regional products as possible, especially seafood, which is caught in the Gulf of Mexico and delivered daily. Seafood staples on the current dinner menu include pan-seared Florida grouper fillet crowned with wilted spinach, blue crab and julienne pepper salad; Parmesan-encrusted fillet of yellowtail snapper with Champagne beurre blanc, and appetizers including blue crab cake with rémoulade sauce and Gulf shrimp cocktail with spicy cocktail sauce.
In season, Murray features pompano in such preparations as grilled with Frangelico sauce or en papillote. Some 95 percent of the seafood he buys is local.
Some of the menu's Southern staples are grit cakes with pepper Jack cheese and grilled andouille sausage; fried-green-tomato salad with tidbits of ham and crumbled blue-cheese dressing; Bourbon Street filet of twin beef tournedos in a smoky sour mash whiskey sauce; artichoke fritters with Blue crab and Bearnaise; and breast of chicken jambalaya with Gulf shrimp and andouille sausage.
