3 Local Restaurants in Fort Myers
I have been meaning to post some of my favorite local restaurants to eat in the Fort Myers area. It took a while because I wanted to make sure that I had a variety of places to choose from. I also wanted to avoid chain restaurants and if it was that their location was specific to the lee county area. I love trying out different types of food, even though I’m a picky eater. I also wanted to make sure I didn’t pick two places that come from the same food category. Even though all of these foods come from different backgrounds the thing that they have in common is that they use real ingredients, they are authentic and you don’t feel bad eating it. I realized that I didn’t grow up eating junk or fast food that often. I started eating more fast food when I got to college but that was because it was cheap and convenient. I’ve gone back to enjoying homemade food but if I do go out to eat it has to be authentic. So let’s check out these places.
Umaze Bowls
I remember when the acai bowl trend was big and I always wanted to try but it seemed like a Los Angeles thing until my older sister found this place. My sisters and I have come to this place for a couple of years now, especially for my younger sister’s birthday. The bowl that I usually get is the Electric Dragon. This bowl is made with a pitaya(dragon fruit)base, the toppings consist of kiwi, pineapple, granola honey and coconut shreds but I substitute the coconut with hazelnut spread. I think the reason why I like smoothie bowls so much is that for me it’s like ice cream. I became lactose intolerant around 18 years old and I hated the non dairy options. For some people this might seem like a healthy option(besides the hazelnut spread) but for me it is a treat. Uhmaze Bowls started off as a food truck first and eventually they opened their first location at the corner of Daniels Pkwy and Six Mile Cypress in Fort Myers, Florida. They recently opened a second location in Cape Coral and I believe that they will continue to grow.
Banh Mi & Tea
When I came back to Fort Myers after being away at FIU I was surprised to see how many Boba tea shops that opened up. Bahn Mi and Tea is located on Six Mile Cypress in the Colonial Square Plaza in Fort Myers. Out of all of the places that I tried I have enjoyed Bahn Mi & Tea the most. I mentioned before that I’m lactose intolerant so at first I would avoid getting the smoothies because they have milk in it. So I would get fruit teas which are good but I got tired of it. This place was the first to have an almond milk option for me. The drink that I would usually get here is their passion fruit smoothie with boba and lychee jelly which adds a sweetness to it. After a while I wanted to try their actual food. My younger sister and I decided to split our food so the both of us can try. From their menu we got B9 which is grilled pork and rice noodle. The dish had lettuce, carrots, bean sprouts, cucumbers and it came with a peanut chili fish sauce to put on top. We also ordered B11 from their menu which was a steamed bao wrap. It came with pork(you can get chicken or vegetarian) cucumber, pickled veggies, jalapeños, cilantro and yum yum sauce. What I liked about both of these items was the fact that it was heavy. It’s something that can fill you up but it is fresh because of all of the vegetables. I went back again to try other sandwiches there but I didn’t take any pictures. The sandwiches were good but I think I like the bao wrap better, the bun is so soft and fluffy. The next time I go I need to try one of their fruit teas because it’s the only place I didn’t try it from or a milk tea with almond milk.
Las Gorditas Mexican Food
The reason why it took me a while to write this blog was that I was waiting to try this place out. Las Gorditas is a food truck located in Lehigh Acres. Every time I wanted to try to go it’s either my sister is not with me or their food truck is at a different location. My younger sister happened to stay with me for a weekend and Las Gorditas was at a Sam’s Club in Fort Myers so we had to go. Together we ordered four steak tacos with onions and cilantro for my sister, three for me but without onions, two agua frescas; one strawberry lemonade, one mango, two mangonadas, esquite and fresa con crema. I initially wanted to try the birria tacos because I never had them before. Since it was the first time going I wanted to get something I was familiar with so went with the steak tacos. I think their steak taco was comparable to another taco place that I love but I liked the sauce they provided better than the other place. It was my first time trying esquite, which is corn mixed with mayonnaise, cotija cheese, and chili powder. I love corn so it was good for me. Next time I want to try the Hot Cheetos version of it. So, I have a weird thing with strawberries. I like the taste of it but don’t like the texture. I’m mentioning this because two items have strawberries. So, I tried both the strawberry lemonade agua fresca and the fresa con crema(not pictured) and they both tasted fine. Even though I didn’t enjoy it like that, my sister loved it. I loved the mango agua fresca, it had mango chunks in it so it literally tasted like a mango, it was so fresh. The last thing I tried was the mangonada. It was good, however I think I’m not used to tajin yet. If it just had the chamoy, I would have enjoyed it better. I could see this food truck eventually turning into an actual store like how Uhmaze bowls did. I can’t wait to see what they do in the future, I will be back.
If you live in the Fort Myers/Lehigh Acres area or are in town I believe that you will enjoy these three places. I really do think that everyone should support local businesses. They are giving you real fresh food, they are the ones coming up with the recipes with real ingredients. You should follow my Instagram page @definingmyessence, I will be tagging these places on the picture associated with this blog post. What other places should I check out? If you are a local business in Fort Myers promote yourself on my Instagram.