Business Bites

>>When the workdays get too monotonous, the office coffee a little too stale and the whir of the computer starts to reverberate in your head, it might be time to punctuate the day with a little flavor. Perhaps, even, a thousand flavors.

Mille Saporé, "a thousand flavors," is a punch of zest hidden among office buildings and strip centers in south Fort Myers. The soothing lighting, pampering service and melodic sounds from a nearby piano beckon you to relax in the restaurant and bar. With this kind of atmosphere, a stressful conference call or rough morning at the office can be quickly forgotten.

The moniker might be Italian, but the cuisine is pan-Mediterranean. The lunch menu is extensive. Soups, pizza, pizza bianche, calzones, fish entrées (grilled or sautéed), pasta, salads or grilled beef or chicken are available at lunchtime, with prices that range from $7 to $42. With the entrées you can choose accompaniments, including rice pilaf, potatoes or perfectly

cooked couscous.

It's a lunch to be savored, every part of it, from the appetizers-we tried the eggplant bracelets, which were wrapped around melted mozzarella and served on a bed of pesto-to the entrées, and even the fresh bread and fabulous Lebanese dipping sauce (called zetter).

Lunch entrées include familiar Italian, Spanish and French fare, but the Lebanese, Tunisian, Moroccan, Portuguese and Greek cuisine are what excited us. It's not just the surprising span of food that gives this place its thousand flavors, it's the little extras that add pizzazz. Like the creamy curry-banana sauce served with the chicken breast, and the freshly baked calzone crust-still piping hot, soft on the inside, crisp on the outside, and filled with Brie, chicken and broccoli.

It's a great place to stop if you want a quiet escape for your lunch break, but perhaps the visit might be more savored after work, when the lighting is dimmed and the cuisine seems all the more seductive.

-Rebecca Loveridge

Mille Saporé, 15880 Summerlin Road, Fort Myers, 437-9880.