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Break out your calendars, as the unofficial start of the Southwest Florida deals season is here, with Restaurant Week kicking it off with 68 participating restaurants from May 31 to June 13.
Recently rebranded as “Sizzle Southwest Florida,” it may have a different name to cover its growing reach that has spread well beyond Naples to include restaurants from Marco Island (Marco Prime) to Estero (the Tacos & Tequila Cantina that’s about to open), Fort Myers (Artisan Eatery) and Cape Coral (La Corte Bistro), but the three-course format of prix fixes for $26 or $36 (depending on the establishment) is the same.
In the span of just a few years, the founders of what I anointed our “best fortnight of fun” in this May’s Best of the Gulfshore have taken a formula that had been tried and tried and tried again to no avail in this market and finally tweaked it for lasting success. Part of that recipe had been hosting the First Bite Menu Release Party before each of the semi-annual installments, but due to unforeseen circumstances, which involved a health scare from one half of the dynamic duo who runs it, the event had to be moved back from April 29 to Oct. 21 (when the First Bite would normally be held for the winter Sizzle). Even though ticket holders were given a choice if they wanted a refund or to roll them over to the October date, nearly everyone opted for early tickets to what has quickly become hands-down one of the most fun food fairs on the Gulfshore.