Sizzle Dining founder Guy Clarke knows the region’s food scene better than most. To run the 10-year-old, restaurant week-style event, Guy spends much of his time forging relationships with chefs and restaurateurs up and down the coast.
Now grown from a small, 11-day event to a full month of promotions at more than 100 restaurants, the event raises funds for Blessings in a Backpack, which provides take-home meals to school-aged children on weekends. Since 2021, Guy has raised around $240,000—$1 for every prix fixe menu sold—for the organization. “My mom was a single mom,” he says. “She was amazing, but we didn’t always have a lot of food in the house.”
Ahead of Sizzle’s milestone anniversary, we asked Guy to dream up four perfect days of dining across the region. Setting aside practical concerns—like how much a person can eat in a day or how many miles they’re willing to cover, especially in season traffic—he leads us from waterfront institutions to neighborhood restaurants, with a few unexpected stops in between.
Coastal Foundations of Collier
In Naples and Marco Island, Guy’s course is rooted in local history and life on the water. Start with breakfast overlooking the Gulf at fine-dining restaurant Baleen on Vanderbilt Beach. It offers one of the city’s few haute weekday breakfasts featuring Guy’s favorite croissant waffles with mixed berry jam. He also loves the weekend brunch: “It’s oysters and Champagne on the beach, and the service is perfect every time.”
From there, head to Naples’ working waterfront for lunch at Kelly’s Fish House, the city’s oldest restaurant, opened in 1953. Clad in cypress and knotty pine, the eatery remains entwined with local waters, sourcing grouper, stone crabs, pink shrimp and Everglades frog legs caught by its own fleet and other local fishers.
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Photography by Brian Tietz
how to eat your way through southwest florida sizzle baleen
For waterfront dining in Naples, Guy recommends Baleen, where weekend brunches feature oysters and Champagne served on the beach.
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Photography by Brian Tietz
how to eat your way through southwest florida sizzle baleen outdoor
As the afternoon fades, the Snook Inn on Marco Island bustles with boaters docked for live music and sunset drinks. The waterfront landmark was one of Guy’s regular haunts while living on Marco.
Finish the evening down the road at Marek’s Collier House, which reopened last year in a restored 1882 home that once belonged to the Collier family. “One standout dish is the thick-cut Benton’s Hanging Bacon with warm chive spoon biscuits and a sweet-spicy strawberry-jalapeño jam,” Guy says. “It’s pure Southern indulgence.”
Photography by Brian Tietz
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Naples Gems and Hotspots
With a second day in Naples, Guy balances longtime local favorites with a bevy of newer locales, adding fresh dimension to the city’s dining scene.
The day begins at The Rooster Food + Drink, which drew national attention with an appearance on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in 2025. Texan chef-owner Bryan Sutton adds big, bold flavors to breakfast, from biscuits with jalapeño sausage gravy to peach brûlée French toast. “Everything is made from scratch—the biscuits, jams, sauces, you name it,” Guy says.
The emphasis on craft continues at ThreeSixteen Café, a 2025-opened coffee shop where everything from the beans to the blond oak millwork feels carefully considered. On-site roasting and an in-house pastry program yield perfectly balanced coffees and flaky, laminated croissants with buttery interiors. “It’s my go-to over chains or bigger spots because the quality is obsessive, and it’s become a little spirit-driven community hub,” Guy says.
Photography by Brian Tietz
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For lunch, seek out Chilakil. Attached to an East Naples gas station, the family- owned eatery embodies a side of Naples dining that’s easy to overlook among the city’s polished newcomers. Inside, golden piles of carnitas, handmade tortillas and fresh salsas draw a loyal following of in-the-know locals.
The final stop is Bicyclette Cookshop, which landed in the Michelin Guide this summer. Chef-owner Kayla Pfeiffer’s eclectic menu draws on her travels and memories, employing local ingredients to create playful dishes that feel both ambitious and deeply personal. “Kayla and her team are going to be the catalyst for changing our food scene. I’ve been saying that since she was at The French,” Guy says.
Lee’s Local Color
In Lee County, Guy’s itinerary moves through a collection of beloved neighborhood restaurants. Rise early to join the queue at Trackside Donuts, housed in a former Dairy Queen in Bonita Springs. More than 30 varieties are rolled, fried and frosted daily, including sugar-coated jelly, honey-dipped rings and massive apple fritters. Then, head up Old 41 for a sit-down breakfast at Poached, where Guy’s go-to is the stick-to-your-ribs Country Benedict: buttermilk biscuits stacked with poached eggs, sausage, mushrooms and hollandaise.
Later, pull up to Matt’s Red Hots in Fort Myers for lunch. “Unequivocally, when anyone asks, Matt’s is my favorite burger,” Guy says. “It’s unpretentious and genuinely delicious.” Owner Matt Syroczynski, a former forward for the Florida Everblades, sears burgers and snappy Sahlen’s hot dogs over a charcoal grill, serving them with hand-cut fries and onion rings. More than 20 milkshake flavors, made with local Royal Scoop ice cream, round out the menu.
Photography by Brian Tietz
how to eat your way through southwest florida sizzle guy clarke
With a second wind, swing by Eat Sarap—which Guy calls “one of Southwest Florida’s best-kept secrets”—for a midday nosh. Tucked into Bonita’s Flamingo Island Flea Market, it’s one of the region’s only Filipino eateries, serving all the classics, including adobo, lumpia and pancit.
At golden hour, cross the Sanibel Causeway for drinks at Doc Ford’s. The flagship is pure island vibes, with a breezy outdoor patio and free-flowing mojitos. End the evening back on the mainland at Sage on 47th in Cape Coral, a popular gastropub where chef-owner Ralph Centalonza’s menu goes toe-to-toe with Brittany Bowman’s masterful craft cocktails. “The chef lives for putting a playful twist on every dish,” Guy says. “And the bourbon and whiskey dinners are another huge draw.”
Facets of Fort Myers
The city of Fort Myers has steadily become a compelling dining destination, and a day traversing its food scene shows its range. The first stop is Blossom & Brie, a nod to the city’s agricultural roots, with its open-air dining pavilion set in the middle of an 86-acre working farm. Grazing red wattle pigs and gardens planted with herbs and fat tomatoes inform the weekend brunch menu—farm-to-table made visible via omelets whipped up with just-collected eggs and crispy house-cured bacon.
At lunchtime, pull up a seat at the marble-topped sushi bar at Maks Asian Kitchen and Sushi. Hong Kong-born brothers Billy and Kevin Mak slice fresh fish for sashimi and specialty rolls, and also stir-fry upmarket Asian takeout classics. For another taste of the city’s international flavors, Guy suggests swinging by Kabab Spot. Order a feast of Palestinian mezze, like hummus bathed in golden olive oil, beef-and-bulgar kibbeh and triangles of fried goat cheese, as well as the richly spiced, signature chicken or lamb shawarma doused in garlic sauce.
Photography by Tina Sargeant
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Guy loves watching the red wattle pigs graze at Fort Myers’ farm-to-table Blossom & Brie, where plates are served under an open-air pavilion to maximize views of the surrounding garden.
Dinner is at Sweet Melissa’s, where James Beard Award-nominated chef Melissa Donahue celebrates the flavors of the Gulf. The original Sanibel Island location shuttered in 2022 after Hurricane Ian and ultimately moved to Fort Myers last year. Melissa continues to shape the seasonally changing menu around local farms and fishers, with a highlight being her saffron-scented fish stew, brimming with briny shellfish, scallops and shrimp. “Her dishes are classic yet have a bright freshness to them,” Guy says. “Every bite is packed with flavor and passion.”
Close out the evening downtown, where a new generation of cocktail bars is reinventing the city’s nightlife with a sultry, sophisticated edge. Step past the dapper doorman at Hogwash and into the mirrored-ceiling lounge, where bartenders obsess over the perfect pour and imbibers splash out on glasses of Louis XIII. The art deco-inspired space is one of the few places where the Sizzle Dining founder will indulge in more than one drink. It’s exactly the kind of independent spot Guy loves to champion—one that reflects how vibrant and varied Southwest Florida’s dining scene has become. “The cocktails are so well done,” he says. “It’s a nice step forward for the area.”
Photography by Brian Tietz
how to eat your way through southwest florida sizzle hogwash
After a decade dining across the region, Guy Clarke knows all the ins and outs. He recommends Hogwash in Downtown Fort Myers as one of the rare places he’ll indulge in more than one cocktail.