February is a special month for Wideline Atilard.
Not only is it her birthday month, but it’s also the inspiration for her thriving Fort Myers café.
“A friend gave me a gift,” the South Fort Myers grad told me when I made my first visit to her restaurant shortly after it opened last June. “She said, ‘Here’s your cadeau.’”
That name, which means gift in French, stuck and Atilard says her Cadeau Café “is my gift to the community.”
Chic cafe offers breakfast and lunch
And what a lovely gift it is.
Her cute, cozy and chic café, offering breakfast and lunch, is bathed in pinks, greens and reds that would make Valentine’s Day proud.
Everywhere you turn are Instagramable photo ops — from velvet couches, pillows and chairs to walls of neon and greenery.
“It’s my favorite thing, to watch these photo ops,” Atilard said on a recent Thursday afternoon as two friends posed and snapped photos in the café’s picture-perfect European phone booth. “I just love it.”
Not much has changed décor-wise since Cadeau opened in the salmon-colored plaza on Metro Parkway, just south of Colonial Boulevard.
The food, however, is a different story.
“The menu started one way and changed based on the customers,” Haitian-born Atilard said. “Things I thought wouldn’t work out ended up being big sellers.”
Take the Haitian patties for example.
“I introduced them during the holidays and it just seemed to click,” she said. “The dough is similar to what I use for croissants so it was an easy switch.”
The result is a handheld joy of puff pastry filled with chicken, beef, smoked fish or veggies.
The beef patty we tried had a perfect ratio of cabbage, onion and bell and habanero peppers. It was light and flakey, packed with flavor and just the right amount of heat.
“I thought I would make maybe a dozen a day,” Atilard said, “but now I sell five or six dozen daily.”
The chicken patty was as delightful as the beef but with significantly less heat.
“I cook the way my mom did,” she said. “When I opened, I was making American food with a Haitian twist. But that’s changing.”
Customers have responded strongly to Atilard’s Haitian offerings.
“People like the spice,” she said. “I was worried about being too Haitian, but people have responded.”
Her Saturday specials of bouyon beef (think a hearty beef stew) and Haitian spaghetti (with hot dogs, sausage and hard-boiled egg) have been huge hits.
“People will come in and take a few containers to go,” Atilard said.
Breakfast and lunch with Haitian flair
Another big seller is the Haitian omelet with two eggs, ham, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, avocado and, of course, the habanero peppers to bring the heat.
Other breakfast items, available all day, include ham & cheese and chocolate creme croissants, biscuits & gravy, and egg, ham or sausage and cheese on bagels, croissants or Texas toast.
Atilard has streamlined some of her breakfast items.
“I took down the number of waffles I had, but added chicken & waffles,” Atilard said.
It’s a good call. The buttermilk waffle is light and fluffy and the two chicken tenders are crispy, tender and well-spiced.
Those chicken tenders appear again on a sandwich-heavy lunch menu that also features a ranch BLT, turkey club, classic croque monsieur (melted ham and Swiss with honey mustard on thick toast) and smoked salmon bagel. There’s also a strawberry feta salad, chicken salad on a croissant and chicken tacos.
“Everything is homemade,” Atilard said. “I even started baking so I do my own cakes now. I’m no baker, but I found recipes, tweaked them and they’re selling well.”
In the mornings, customers are apt to “grab breakfast and go,” while the afternoon crowd tends to “sit, relax and take more photos.”
“It’s a nice flow throughout the day,” she said.
No matter what time, though, Atilard’s impressive list of coffees, frappes and smoothies are a popular draw.
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We highly recommend the coconut pistachio latte, strawberry creme frappe and iced white mocha.
And if you can’t decide, the mini coffee flight is the perfect answer with your choice of three or four small but mighty samples.
Atilard said she will continue to listen to requests and adjust accordingly.
“We are working on growing and expanding to meet their expectations,” she said. “We are open longer hours — closing at 7 p.m. most nights. I’ve learned to go with the flow and make changes. The community has been a great support for us. We have a lot of customers who keep coming back. They’ve really embraced us.”
Just like they would do with any special gift.
Cadeau Cafe
10650 Metro Parkway, Unit 101, Fort Myers
Price: $
Call: (239) 689-1857
Hours: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday
Web: Cadeaucafe.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram
Sample menu
Vanilla bean frappe, $5.50
Coconut pistachio latte, $5.90
Haitian omelet, $13
Chicken & waffle, $15
Smoked salmon bagel, $15
Classic croque monsieur, $13
*Menu, hours and prices subject to change
What the symbols mean
$: Average entree is less than $15
$$: $15-$25
$$$: $25-$35
$$$$: $35-$45
$$$$$: $45 and up
Jean Le Boeuf is the brand under which our restaurant critics have written for more than 40 years. This article came from staff writer Robyn George. Connect: [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cadeau Cafe in Fort Myers is big on Haitian flavors
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