Press

Our food editor takes you through seven days of her favorite dining spots. BY DOROTHEA HUNTER SÖNNE The No. 1 question I get asked because of my job is, “What is your favorite restaurant?” It’s kind of like making me pick between Sissy and Buddy (I’m kidding—but thankfully I have only one super-adorable kiddo so far).  That said, I do have a short list of ones I keep in my back pocket for when people ask the Read more…

Benefiting Blessings in a Backpack, the inaugural festival is aiming to gather more than 30 eateries and food trucks Oct. 7. BY DOROTHEA HUNTER SÖNNE We have our fair share of food fests. But save room—there’s reason to get excited about one more. Gunning to be one of the biggest and baddest, the inaugural “SWFL Hunger Games” will be held Oct. 7, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Fort Myers’ Top Rocker Field. As of July, Read more…

Sweet Melissa’s Café has been named as one of the top 10 restaurants in South Florida, according to USA Today. Landing at number five on the list of the Best Restaurants in South Florida, USA Today touts the Sweet Melissa’s creative menu that is jam packed with fresh, local produce, seafood, beef and everything in-between. Under the command of Executive Chef Melissa Donahue, diners will experience delicious seasonally-inspired eats where fresh ingredients and small plates Read more…

It seemed like a simple question: What’s the best thing I’ve eaten in Southwest Florida? 101 answers later… not so simple. This list is based as much on deliciousness as it is on how recently I’ve been to any given restaurant. That means it leans more to Lee County than Collier, because that’s where I eat most of my meals. I didn’t include drinks on the list — it’s crazy enough as it is. And I couldn’t include things Read more…

Our food editor challenges opinion-based websites like Yelp and serves up the definitive list of the best restaurants in Southwest Florida. BY DOROTHEA HUNTER SÖNNE We’ve all seen them: those ubiquitous TripAdvisor Certificates of Excellence hanging in windows of local eateries. Likewise, we’ve had those little green or red cards slipped into our bill asking us to “share our opinions.” Restaurants even link to Yelp or put an OpenTable booking calendar on their homepages. But I Read more…

Chef Melissa Donahue opened Sweet Melissa’s Cafe on February 14, 2009, and has been delighting Sanibel diners ever since. Melissa and her husband, John, along with their children, Olivia (16) and Benjamin (13), relocated to Sanibel after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans. She’s been an island resident and culinary treasure ever since. •Inspirations: That is ever changing. Right now I am into the fresh local stuff. I like to play around with odd flavor combinations. Sometimes Read more…

This Fort Myers area restaurant celebrates five years in its current location By Gina Birch Fort Myers Local ExpertAUGUST 1, 2014 Sweet Melissa’s Café, one of the most highly regarded restaurants in the Fort Myers area, is celebrating five years of tantalizing taste buds at its current location on Sanibel Island’s famed Periwinkle Way. Other than a friendly hostess, an open kitchen greets guests as they enter the café; it’s a perfect vantage point to see the energetic Executive Chef Read more…

On a recent trip to Sanibel Island (just across from Ft. Meyers, Florida), Editor Anne Weaver and I enjoyed some of the most incredible mussels we’ve ever eaten at Sweet Melissa’s Cafe. Owner and Executive Chef Melissa Donahue trained at Manhattan’s French Culinary Institute and earned her stripes at some of the most respected restaurants in the United States including Union Cafe in New York City, and, in New Orleans, both Commander’s Palace and John Read more…

A family that didn’t cook, a detour from law school. the September 11 crisis, Hurricane Katrina, and an untimely death: One might say that a series of curious events - perhaps even inescapable fate . . .  To continue reading, please visit: http://www.virtualonlinepubs.com/publication/index.php?m=12183&l=1&i=73640&p=14&ver=html5

Sanibel Lime-elo Sorbet Around 2007, Sanibel resident Steve Maxwell was amazed to discover that two fruit trees in his backyard had somehow produced a naturally germinated hybrid between a key lime and a Mineola tangelo honeybell. Since the discovery of the plant — he christened the Lime-elo — Maxwell’s natural wonder is bearing its own fruits with the recent launch of several baked goods, which have incorporated the one-of-a-kind sweet, but tart, flavors. The Sanibel Read more…