Best of September: What was delicious in Naples, Fort Myers, Cape Coral restaurants

Time flies in Florida. Autumn is already here. 

If it weren’t for a blessed respite from the humidity that plagues us in this state, we’d have little idea of the equinox. 

A better indication of the passage of time in a place where summer never really ends — at least not in the sense of fall foliage and cool temperatures — might be the memories we made. The celebrations we had. 

The food we ate. 

It is, of course, the time of the month when we look back on weeks of good food and share the best of those dishes with you, dear readers. 

Without any further fanfare, here’s the best food our staff tasted in September.

Bun bo hue, Pho 99

After my third negative COVID-19 test, I resigned myself to a nasty cold and took solace in a massive bowl of bun bo hue from Pho 99 in Fort Myers. Bun bo what?, you ask. First, it's pronounced boon bo 'way. Second, if you love pho and Vietnamese spice, then you'll love bun bo hue. This dish has all the brothy, noodly, nourishing goodness of a steamy bowl of pho, and it has a thrumming current of spice that vibrates through your sinuses — and your soul. Two sips in, I could breathe again. Two more sips, and my solace had been found. 

(Pho 99 is at 1791 Boy Scout Drive, Fort Myers; 239-275-8888; facebook.com/pho99fortmyers)

— Annabelle Tometich

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Empanadas, La Casa Del Loro

I’ve told anyone and everyone who will listen: Go to La Casa Del Loro. 

Alejo Veiga and his wife, Samantha, have sold empanadas out of this bright blue trolley car in south Naples since July 5. On this September day, I’m ducking under one of the yellow umbrellas, seeking shelter from sporadic rain while I wait for Alejo to prepare my order.

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I don’t wait long for three empanadas: beef and chicken, sweet corn and mozzarella, and homemade ricotta, spinach and rainbow chard. 

Before I talk about the life-changing experience of crunching into the light, airy crust of the empanada, I should tell you that the Veigas source their produce from Mondragon Farm in Arcadia. They pick their produce, make their dishes, sell what they can, and when they’re out for the day, they’re out. 

“What we’re trying to accomplish here is do little, but do it right,” Alejo told me this summer. 

When I started crying telling a friend how good these empanadas were, I knew La Casa Del Loro hit the mark.

Ribbons of gooey mozzarella cling to bright kernels of sweet corn. The mildly astringent chimichurri offsets the robust warmth of the beef and chicken. I could almost delude myself into believing the chard, spinach and ricotta empanada is a salad, but better. 

All of these are practically begging you to dig in through their golden crusts. 

And the choripan: This sausage sandwich was blanketed with more of that chimichurri and studded with ruby-red cherry tomatoes. 

Everything I had at La Casa Del Loro, which translates to “the parrot house,” sent my heart (and stomach) soaring.

(La Casa del Loro is at 11572, Tamiami Trail E., Naples; 239-326-1110; instagram.com/cdlempanadas_naples)

— Andrew Atkins

Black bean cakes, EJ's Bayfront Cafe

We're starving. We're on a diet.

We're starving! But it's a low-cholesterol weekend.

Feed! Me! Now!

When you and your stomach are having days like this, you'd best get to EJ's Bayfront Cafe. It's a bustling Naples breakfast-lunch spot with shade-tree green walls and sunny impressionist paintings affixed to them. From its "On the Healthy Side" selections, you can quell that incessant tummy talk without succumbing to quick-fix food that's a wrecking ball to your daily calories. 

Its black-bean-and-veggie cakes, at $12.95, come with a pair of eggs, dry wheat toast and fruit or tomatoes. You can add some sin — butter — or get those eggs once over lightly instead of poached. But the ability to maintain progress toward your goals is there without sacrificing flavor.

These are not the Southwestern-spicy variety of black-bean patties familiar from supermarket shelves. EJ's  black-bean cakes are creamy, with a confetti of peppers and a mild herbed richness. If you want kicks, salsa comes alongside them. Cholula and Tabasco sauces also await, with the resulting transformation a satisfying blend of nippy egg and cake on toast. 

And they are a full breakfast. You walk out rewarded, not even missing that sugar-dipped, banana-stuffed challah bread French toast you saw at the next table. 

(EJ's Bayfront Cafe, 469 Bayfront Place, Naples. Phone 239-353-4444 or ejsbayfrontcafe.com)

— Harriet Howard Heithaus

Mole poblano meatballs, Death By Taco

This little red food trailer keeps getting better and better. Owner and cook Skyler Denison teamed up with his friends at Palace Pub & Wine Bar in Cape Coral to host a five-course wine dinner Sept. 26. While Denison has become known for his spectacular takes on tacos, nachos and elotes, this night saw him take a more refined approach to his Mexican-inspired cuisine. And these beautiful turkey meatballs — slathered in his complex, scratch-made, poblano-infused mole; his rich, velvety, smoky, nuanced and mouthwatering mole — might be the best thing I've tasted from Death By Taco, yet. 

Review:Succumbing to the sweet release of Death by Taco — JLB

(For Death By Tacos schedule and upcoming events visit facebook.com/deathbytaco239 or instagram.com/deathbytaco239)

— Annabelle Tometich

Tacos, Taco Vazquez

Taco Vazquez is tucked inside a Food Mart in San Carlos Park. 

The taqueria has a lot more than tacos to offer, such as churros, fajitas, enchiladas and quesadillas. There’s breakfast plates, such as fried eggs and ham.

And then there’s the real reason I’m writing about Taco Vazquez: the tacos. 

Tender steak is piled high then sprinkled with cilantro and robust chunks of onion. Salty chorizo is tucked between tortillas and finished with more of the same. Wedges of lime and roughly cut radishes are tucked in the bottom of your to-go container. 

All of it is wildly delicious — and all of it is available in about 10 minutes. 

(18960 S. Tamiami Trail, San Carlos Park; 239-440-8252) 

— Andrew Atkins

Andrew Atkins writes about food and features for the Naples Daily News. Contact him via email at andrew.atkins@naplesnews.com. To support work like Andrew's, please consider subscribing: https://cm.naplesnews.com/specialoffer/