Treasures on Fifth Avenue

Southern Living, Apr 2001 by Rada, Joe

A lively blend of shops, restaurants, and boutique hotels has revived the district at the heart of Naples.

The metamorphosis of downtown Naples is nearly complete. Just a little more work to do and some scaffolds to remove. Fifth Avenue South, the heart of this Southwest Florida city since the 1920s, has returned to glory.

An ambitious 5-year-old Main Street Program deserves credit for reviving six commercial blocks located an easy stroll from the beach. Pedestrian-friendly walkways, shade trees, and flower boxes accent Mediterranean-style storefronts on buildings no more than three stories high. Eclectic shops and galleries hold delightful surprises. Cafes serve a world of exotic cuisine. Boutique lodgings welcome guests. Here are some favorite discoveries from recent visits.

SHOPPING AROUND From fresh flowers to gourmet coffee,

fashionable clothing, chic and antique furnishings, jewelry, and art, Fifth Avenue revels in variety. Oh My Gauze, selling what the phrase implies, earns the catchiest-name ribbon. We like Cotton-- tails and Giggle Moon for children's clothing, Glad Rags Etc. and Petunias of Naples for women's fashions, and The Paddle for menswear. For unusual gifts, try The Blue Mussel (shells, coral) or The Old Wooden Sled (kitchen gadgets, home accessories).

The Lady From Haiti imports colorfully painted, carved, and woven Haitian folk art. Silver Eagle deals in nature-- based American Indian handicrafts. Harmon-Meek Gallery, Gallery 2, Shaw Gallery, and Gallery on Fifth exhibit paintings, ceramics, glasswork, sculpture, and other contemporary art.

While shopping, break for English shortbread at Brambles Tea Room & Gift Shop.

DINING OUT

Come mealtime, you're in luck. Fifth Avenue restaurants satisfy many tastes. Zoe's, a sleek bistro, serves impressive barbecued prawns, pecan-crusted sea bass, and rack of lamb. Don't miss the ice-cream-topped warm chocolate-- macadamia cake with a molten chocolate center.

The Mangrove Cafe showcases Florida foods in such dishes as mint and lingonberry-roasted lamb shanks; veal with mango marsala; and tortillas stuffed full of shrimp and crayfish compote, roasted-corn salsa, and vanilla-citrus sauce. Finish with the raspberry syrup-- drizzled Key lime mousse. Yabba Island Grill spices up Jamaican jerk chicken, Bahamian conch chowder, Bajan mussels, and roast pork in a sour orange and habanero sauce. With 40-plus brands, its rum bar blends concoctions laced with coconut and tropical fruit.

Global flavors surface at McCabe's Irish Pub and McCabe Brothers Steak-- house, Pazzo! Italian Cafe and Cafe Abruzzi (both primo from antipasti to dolci), Hofgarten Brauhaus (Bavarian sausages, beer), and elsewhere.

Family-operated Wynn's on Fifth, a Naples staple for more than 50 years, serves bountiful meals at its combination cafe, deli, bakery, and gourmet grocery that stocks wines, cheeses, and produce. For filling omelets and giant muffins, start your next Naples day at a sidewalk table at Bully's 5th Avenue Grill.

CHECKING IN

Boutique hotels serve visitors to Fifth Avenue South. The Inn On Fifth (87 rooms) at the heart of the district pampers guests with triple sheeting, plush bathrobes, in-room data ports, and French doors onto balconies overlooking the busy street. Hotel Escalante (65 rooms) hides amid tropical gardens just one quiet-neighborhood block from the beach; however, the foliage-sheathed brick patios and plantation-style shutters help to ensure privacy. Two blocks off Fifth, the Trianon Old Naples (58 rooms) provides Avenue-strolling guests with large bathrooms, separate showers and tubs, a swimming pool, and complimentary breakfast in the lobby.

Joe Rada

For more information: Fifth Avenue South Association, 649 Fifth Avenue South, Naples, FL 34102; (941) 4353742. Also request a Naples area visitors guide from the Tourism Alliance of Naples at 1-800-688-3600, or visit

www.visit-naples.com.