The Best of The Gulfshore 2008

Best Caterer
Matthews & Gardner (Naples)
Finalists: Victorian Garden Catering (Fort Myers), Tony’s Off Third (Naples)
Matthews & Gardner has been creating new and exciting dishes for adventurous clients for 11 years. Based on French traditional cuisine, it also ventures into Asian, Spanish, Indian and more. Although the owners of Jayne’s Victorian Garden have closed their restaurant, their catering business, Victorian Garden Catering, is still in full bloom. And Tony’s Off Third offers full-service catering (right down to the venue and music selection) for everything from formal dinner parties to picnics at the beach.

Best Cake Decorating
Kakes by Karen (Naples)
Finalists: Mikkelsen’s Pastry Shop (Naples), Mason’s Bakery (Fort Myers)
Karen Vasquez specializes in custom-designed homemade cakes for all occasions. Decorated in rolled fondant using traditional and contemporary techniques, the cakes range from ultra-elegant, intricate wedding cake designs to bright, whimsical birthday creations, all of which would be right at home in an art gallery. Mikkelsen’s also offers a wide range of styles and unique designs dependent on your choice of buttercream, fondant or rolled white chocolate icing. For those who prefer the taste of cream icing with the smooth look of fondant, Mason’s offers a technique to combine the best of both worlds.

Best Wine Shop
Haskell’s Wine & Spirits (Naples)
Finalists: The Wine Merchant (Naples), Total Wine & More (Fort Myers, Naples)
Haskell’s Wine & Spirits has a wide range of wines, including ultra high-end offerings stored in its temperature-controlled cellar. Want to try it before you buy it? Attend one of the many in-season wine tastings at The Wine Merchant and enjoy the expertise of the staff to guide you to the right selection. For no-nonsense shopping, find your trusted favorite at Total Wine & More.

SERVICES

Best Massage
The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Naples
Finalists: La-Te-Da Salon & Spa (Fort Myers), The Spa at Naples Beach Hotel
Once you walk up the fairy-tale staircase at the Ritz-Carlton Spa, Naples, chances are you’ve already forgotten your worries. But in case you still need some pampering, there’s a plethora of choices, including the decadent—and highly appropriate—Gulf Stone Massage. If it’s holistic principles you dig, La-Te-Da Salon & Spa offers Li’Tya natural treatments, while The Spa at Naples Beach Hotel mingles aromatherapy and ancient methods to make day-to-day tensions a thing of the past.

Best Place to Get Six-Pack Abs
NCH Wellness Center (Naples)
Finalists: The Omni Club (Fort Myers), Bikram Yoga Naples
There’s no better way to trim down and tone up than by grabbing a spot in the half-hour Abs & Glutes class at the state-of-the-art NCH Wellness Center. Up the ante at the Omni Club’s boot camp for an all-over burn, or stretch your way to great abs with Bikram Yoga Naples. Namaste!

Best Salon
Vincent Salon and Spa (Fort Myers)
Finalists: Dariel’s Hair Salon (Naples), Salon Nicholas (Fort Myers)
Women (and men) around Southwest Florida are choosing Vincent Salon and Spa as their hair apparent, not only for its staff’s frequent training sessions with Redken experts, but also for its cool, new, touch-screen displays streaming breaking fashion news at stations throughout the salon. Dariel Saiz is the mane man for the Naples set, while the stylists at Salon Nicholas remain a crowd favorite at its location in Fort Myers’ picturesque River District.

Best Florist
50Fifty Floral Art (Naples)
Finalists: Fort Myers Florist, Garden District of Naples
If it’s artful designs you’re after, look no further than 50Fifty, a recurrent favorite in this category. They’re the creative force behind many of the Gulfshore’s most opulent parties, including more than a few of those famed Naples Winter Wine Fest dinners. Fort Myers Florist, part of a group that ranks among the top 10 largest floral companies in the United States, delivers exotic, contemporary or traditional arrangements, and the Garden District of Naples takes it to the next level with elegant fountains and statuary.

ATTRACTIONS

Best Playground
North Collier Regional Park (Naples)
Finalists: Estero Community Park, Lakes Park (Fort Myers)
The playground at North Collier Regional looks more like a modern work of art than a play place, but its young patrons don’t seem to mind. Its sleek and colorful design, which includes realistic-looking boulders for climbing and a faux fossil dig, puts ordinary swing sets to shame. If the complex rope maze at Estero Community Park doesn’t cut it in the summer swelter, splash over to Lakes Park’s new sprinkler paradise for water-gushing palm trees, alligators and a giant mushroom.

Best Performing Arts Group
Naples Philharmonic Orchestra
Finalists: Florida Repertory Theatre (Fort Myers), Naples Players
What’s not to love about the NPO? It touts a seasonal menu of everything from Baroque to the Beatles that’s music to our judges’ ears. The Florida Rep performs award-winning, outside-the-box productions each season at the renovated Arcade Theatre nestled in the historic downtown Fort Myers River District, and the volunteer actors of the Naples Players showcase a mix of musicals, comedy and drama.

Best Local Entertainer
Jimmy Keyes
Finalists: Heather Brooks Band, Cahlua and Cream
The ultimate all-around entertainer, Jimmy Keyes sings, plays the keyboard and keeps the crowd happy with his unique sense of humor. Husband-and-wife duo Don and Lesly Hale make up Cahlua and Cream, popular among Neapolitans during season for their range of tunes, including Broadway show tunes, pop classics and modern hits. A jazzy-bluesy crowd pleaser, Heather Brooks is garnering attention outside of her native Southwest Florida—her music is available worldwide on iTunes.

Best Beach
Barefoot Beach (Bonita Springs)
Finalists: Vanderbilt Beach (Naples), Captiva Island
Kick off your flip-flops at Bonita Springs’ aptly named Barefoot Beach, one of the last undeveloped barrier islands on Florida’s southwest coast and a favorite spot for avid fishermen. If people-watching is your thing, the view is always good at Vanderbilt Beach, and the peaceful beaches of Captiva Island are the perfect place to pull up a towel and umbrella and watch the wildlife.

Best Golf Course
Tiburón Golf Club (Naples)
Finalists: Old Collier (Naples), Naples National
The Greg Norman-designed course at Tiburón shares its turf with the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples. It’s got two levels—Black and Gold—that alternate daily to keep things interesting for players new and seasoned. You’ll have to make friends with a member of the Old Collier Golf Club to get a glimpse of its notable Tom Fazio design—and its resident wildlife, which includes eagles, gopher tortoises and the infrequent bull gator—while the design of the Naples National kicks back to the design of historic courses a century past.

Best Wildlife Sightings
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary (Naples)
Finalists: J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Sanibel Island), Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve (Fort Myers)
Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary features a boardwalk through a cypress forest offering some of the best views of Southwest Florida’s unique birds, mammals, butterflies, reptiles and amphibians. The J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge is more than 6,400 acres of mangrove forest, seagrass beds, cordgrass marshes and West Indian hardwood hammocks, providing habitat for more than 220 species of birds. The Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve is a 2,500-acre wetland that’s home to a diverse population of plants and animals that can be spotted from the 1.2-mile raised boardwalk.

Best Dog Park
Dog Beach (Bonita Springs)
Finalists: K-9 Corral (Estero), Rover Run Dog Park (Naples)
If you and your dog are getting bored with walks around your neighborhood, it’s time to take a field trip. Dog Beach, the only Lee County beach that allows dogs to frolic off-leash, can be found at Lovers Key State Park in Bonita. The K-9 Corral, on two acres in Estero Community Park, and Rover Run Dog Park at Veterans Community Park (the only dog park in Collier County) both have separate fenced areas for large and small dogs.

Best Place to Watch the Sunset
"Sunset Beach" (Captiva Island)
Finalists: Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club (Naples), LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort (Naples)
Unofficially dubbed "Sunset Beach" by the locals, this year’s winner can be found just past the entrance to South Seas Island Resort at the north end of Captiva Drive. Keep your eye on the horizon for that elusive "green flash" as the sun sinks into the Gulf of Mexico. Naples Beach Hotel is a fabulous place to wind down the day with a cocktail at its sunset beach bar overlooking the Gulf. LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort even offers a romantic sunset picnic retreat for couples on Vanderbilt Beach, complete with Scottish bagpiper and nightly sunset bell-ringing ceremony.

SOCIAL SCENE

Best Black-Tie Event
Angel Ball (Naples)
Finalists: Heart Ball, Red Ribbon Ball
Last year’s Angel Ball was so popular that it sold out before the invitations hit the mail. This gala, which benefits The Community School of Naples, provides the main source of donations for children in need of financial aid. Both Lee and Collier counties gussy up for their individual events that help out the American Heart Association. The Island Coast AIDS Network celebrated an old Hollywood-themed event with its seventh annual Red Ribbon Ball this spring.