Chicken and waffles from Fancy's Southern Cafe. / The News-Press file photo
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Q: Looking for some great fried chicken. Don’t want to drive to Yoder’s in Sarasota. Any restaurant nearby?
A: Three, actually: 1. Farmer’s Market Restaurant (2736 Edison Ave., Fort Myers; 334-1687). This is the oldest restaurant in Fort Myers. Monday is fried-chicken day, but you can order it (in all of its shatteringly crisp glory) any day so long as you don’t mind a 20-minute wait.
2. Utopia Soul Food Cafe (3069 Dr. MLK Blvd., Fort Myers; 334-2365). This isn’t the nicest part of town, but the absolute nicest people work here. And the fried chicken is top-notch – even better with a bowl of smoky collard greens.
3. Fancy’s Southern Cafe (8890 Salrose Lane, south Fort Myers; 561-2988). Don’t let the posh decor and white-coat chefs fool you (you can actually read more about Fancy’s chef Daniel Glick in today’s In the Kitchen), this is still very good fried chicken. And they do take on chicken and waffles, served with a buttermilk-caramel glaze. I think I’ve said enough.
To Ask JLB, send email to jleboeuf@news-press.com, tweet to @jeanleboeuf on Twitter, or submit your queries at facebook.com/jeanleboeufswfl. Jean Le Boeuf is the nom de plume of a local food lover who dines at The News-Press’ expense.
