Will do Patrick - thanks

Martin

Back to the sushi question. We had lunch today at Petite Syrah. They have a great sushi menu and it reminded me that Syrah does as well. I asked a sushi-nut friend of mine today about where the best sushi in Naples was and she almost screamed at me -- Syrah!!! Don't know why that never occurred to me.

By the way, lunch was wonderful. I had a bento box: 6 pieces California roll, cucumber salad and hot garlic beef (slices of filet mignon that were wonderfully flavorful) with steamed rice. Not cheap at $16, but wonderful. My partner had a large plate of sesame seared tuna on a bed of Asian vegetables -- sensational at $12.

Keep up the good eating in Naples and reporting back!

By the by, I booked Campiello and Chops so far, because they are both for weekend evenings, and I assume that they will get quite busy.

Think I'll leave the third night open - we need a little spontaneity!

Thanks again.

Hello Naples, Florida...

Yet another question... aren't you excited for me to actually take this trip?!!

Do people get "dressed" for dinner in Old Naples?

Formally or semi-formally dressed? NO. Trendily dressed? Yes.
Most guys will be in khakis or dress slacks with a shirt usually not tucked in. Those Tommy Bahama type print shirts are a big item here. Half the men around will be dressed in Palm Leaf prints! It's enough to make you think you're in a jungle. Most others will be wearing a polo or golf shirt. For the gals, the little black dress is still very popular for the most dressy, but nearly anything goes.

By the way, the opening of Lurcat was delayed a bit. Although I saw people there this week, it was all private tastings. We went today for lunch and discovered next Monday -- Nov. 10 will be the first open day. We had to go have lunch at Campiello instead. Things are rough all over!! Lurcat will have lunch downstairs only. Dinner will be served upstairs (more full menu) and "tapas" downstairs.

LMS, I hope you didn't go this week and find it closed. By the way, love that term "trendoids".

Re: Lurcat In the miserable rain yesterday, I didn't even drive by. I had an invitation to Lurcat this week but couldn't go but it did say the official opening was the 10th. The drive from Fort Myers to Naples is already like March traffic. Many snowbirds have returned and many are heavily medicated!

Sat through a fashion show for designers (that is a business meeting in my world :-) ) in the rain on a museum terrace: Park at 6th Avenue. Hope the weather is better for the weekend and our travellers from Fodors.

Patrick, good luck on your play.

If I see another Tommy Bahama anything, including my husband's, I'll scream. That fad needs to go away.

Nothing worse than a bunch of paunchy middle aged golfers running around in jungle prints.

Well, Go Travel, you'll have to keep your eyes closed in Naples. Walking the length of Fifth Avenue yesterday I couldn't help notice that in the four men's shops on that street, all the shirts on display in the windows were leaf prints -- every one!

Actually LMS we were at Campiello before the rain started and had that individual table under cover (where the jazz group performs from). When the rain started -- not too hard yet before 2, people scooted under the umbrellas more and more, some went inside, but we happily nibbled away. But we sure had a downpour after we left!!!

Sorry Patrick, should have said Break A Leg! Egads! Hope I didn't send you bad luck!

Let me know when the fad has passed.

Hi there...

LilMsFoodie, since you are in the fashion biz...where should I drag my husband to shop in Naples?

I am currently an at-home mom, so my wardrobe is REALLY lacking, and I don't "dress" that often, but I do like one-of-a-kind items, sweaters, jeans, fun skirts, casual stuff that is fashionable. Oh YES ---boots, what woman doesn't LOVE boots???

Thanks.

I like Fancy Nancy's on Third Street south and Jami's which is just across the street. There are quite a few boutiques on Third and also on Fifth Avenue.
Your husband, should he chose not to accompany you, can park himself at the Campiello bar or at Tommy Bahama's bar. Great people watching and he can watch CNBC at Campiello. If the market is going up you can shop more!

I think the Tommy clothes are great and I love the jacquard silk clothes they make (no banana leaves on these). The shops that are part of the restaurant are really very nice.

Shoe fiends need to go to Charles Randall shoes in Venetian Village. Florida is not too much of a boot mecca for obvious reasons but they have really different shoes in amazing colors and variety.

I am not a clothing designer but an interior designer. The show I attended was clothes designed by interior designers made from interior fabrics. I would have bought several, unfortunately I will never be a size 4 again. :-( LMF

Thant's really funny beacuse I was just watching a Toronto show and there is an upscale men's store here which did a whole charity event based on interior designers using clothing fabrics on furntiure items. It was really great (pinstiped bed headboards, chairs with glencheck and herringbone fabrics, etc.).

Thanks for the shopping advice. I'll have to save my dinero between now and then!!!

LMS, pardon my inquisition, but what the hell are you doing here at 5:30 in the morning? That's the second time this week?

And second, I hope my Tommy Bahama comments didn't confuse. Actually although I call them Tommy Bahama prints, it's all the other places that really now push those tropical leaf prints. After lunch the other day at Tommy Bahama's I walked through the men's store and they had great shirts with no "print". Now how many casual shirts can I justify buying at a little over $100 each?

Oh go for it Patrick!

By the way, any news on the Bellasera? It is going to open, as scheduled, on December 1st? Does it look fantastic? INFO PLEASE!

Thanks.

Well they're putting in trees now and it does look like they should be able to meet the deadline. The finished part is back on Tenth STreet, along Ninth Street it's very empty, I'm not sure if more buildings are going in, or all that is parking. Seems a little odd. I suspect there's going to be a lot of construction activity around the place for quite a while, even if the rooms are open. They still have the sign to sell units at $350,000 I think it is. The big exterior color here now seems to be a deep "baby s_ _t brown" -- not mustard, not really brown. They chose it for Bellesera -- would not have been my choice.

Guess we'll stick with the Escalante. I am trying to get a break from my kids - that colour may remind me of the diapers that I leave behind!! Also, was worried that the construction may be ongoing. Thanks.

I've got to pass on my favorite clothing store in Naples...Marissa. Love that place...could spend a day in there trying on this and that. Drove down from Tampa just for the day for my "mother of the groom" dress, after striking out in all stores in the Tampa bay area. Most of Marissa's things are casual but I saw "The Dress" first thing as I walked into the store. Could have bought and left in 5 minutes but of course had to look at everything else. Yes...lots of convenient places near-by for husbands to while away the time. :) My own disappeared for much longer than I wanted (I'd actually found 2 dresses and wanted his opinion...as well as his credit card) having found that the Cutter Buck store was going out of business and he was Shopping. Note the capital S...for real. He bought for himself, for our son and our daughter. And that's a man who hates shopping! lol

I'm going to cut and paste this thread into a Word doc for future reference! Hadn't even looked at it before but when it kept getting longer and longer, had to see what was going on. Good stuff. We are in the market for a condo somewhere, by the way, and Naples would be a great area--350,000 sounds like a bargain for that area. I wonder how big they are?

OO, was in Marissa's Thursday and saw a scarf that I had to have, until I saw that it was $1k. I love that store as well. Jamierin: Marissa's and Fancy Nancy's flank Campiello's. A shopping sweet spot, as it were.

FN has lots of Naples glitzy stuff...third wife store: you know the starter wife during school and early career, the second trophy wife during the corporate rise: accomplished and decorative: and the third wife, 30 years younger or so and heavily siliconed. FN has some interesting things that the rest of us can wear, you just won't see them in the window. :-)

Patrick, I get up every day at 5 a.m. I am just too exhausted when I get home from work to do much more than have a glass of wine, have dinner and read a while. Internet is usually in the a.m.

BTW, did you get to Baleen. I keep thinking that you are such a gentleman, your lack of comment is perhaps telling.

Little Ms Foodie

Yes...they pulled out a purse that would have been beautiful with my dress too...I pulled my hand back quickly though when she told me it was "more than the dress". Ouch.

I'm afraid I have blinders on when I get to town...heading right to Marissa. I've never been in Fancy Nancy but will make a point of it next trip. Can they make us look like trophy wives too? lol We certainly enjoyed our lunch in the patio at Campiello's after my successful shop. It is such a nice getaway for us--Naples is so different we might as well have traveled 6 hrs on a plane to get there from Tampa, rather than 2.5 hrs down the interstate! You all are lucky to have it at your fingertips...I'm sure you realize!

No, LMS, Balleen is this Wednesday night. And rarely am I accused of keeping my mouth shut to avoid controversy!!!