At King’s Kitchen, you’ll discover a refreshing new slant on the typical breakfast and lunch foods. A mix of Caribbean, Mexican, American, Cuban and Asian is on the menu and sometimes even combined on one plate of food. Their famous BBQ Sundae is served in a cup with choice of chicken or pork. Act fast, these babies run out quickly. The chef, and partnering owner, Edwin Cruz, is a force to be reckoned. “These foods are a mixture of what I love,” Cruz explains. Well, this seems to work because his sales are up 30% in six months.
Cruz worked for years as a chef at a local country club. This past spring he and his wife, Yizenia Hernandez, opened the original King’s Kitchen tucked inside the Sunoco gas station on Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers. Yes, the Sunoco gas station! It is named after their 14 month old son, King. It is the wonderment of a unique cooking style and fresh quality foods that attracts many customers. The kitchen is open for observers and witnessing your foods being prepared becomes quite habitual. They have a large following on Facebook and are constantly announcing their daily specials with tantalizing pictures of their dishes. One staple is King’s Boxes: they are a fun take-away lunch for only $6.99. You get a choice of wings, burger, bbq or chicken with fries and a drink. Call ahead for gluten-free.
I ordered a plate of Sticky Asian King’s Wings with an amped up level of spice – and what a flavor explosion. To the naked eye, I didn’t see anything different in the cooking style, but I know the secret sauce must behold a beautiful array of garlic, molasses, hot peppers and five-spice. Then, I tried the Tostone Sliders. Like Cruz, I too am one for throwing together a dash of flavors from varying countries. This all-American Angus Beef burger was sandwiched between two “buns” made up of plantains crisped on garlic butter. Layered inside were lettuce, tomato and onion with a nice dollop of homemade sauce that tastes a lot like Russian and Ranch dressing together. One word: outstanding.
Back to the orient I go with the Asian Taco! It is a pleasant make up of beef strips, cabbage and carrot slaw with homemade sauce wrapped in a flour tortilla. A nice marriage in a tightly rolled taco; very juicy and tasty. In the land of foodies, a great meal need not be of a royal pricing structure, but a decent meal at a very unassuming price. These three dishes cost under $17 and I shared with my husband. I was completely full!
A mere carriage ride into town:
Cruz and Hernandez will be opening their second King’s Kitchen location on 4715 Del Prado Boulevard here in Cape Coral by the end of September. The buzz is that this location will serve different foods from the original. Not a deli of sorts, but something just as novel, albeit serving a vast amount of equally amazing fare. Stay tuned. As your messenger, I’ll be delivering the new data very soon.
A sit down restaurant is also in the works in the Downtown Fort Myers area. King’s plans to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus beer and wine. As of now, the owners are in the midst of floor-to-ceiling renovations. They’ve torn out Sub & Pub’s wood paneling and vinyl booths and are aiming for a more modern look, “white-washed woods, a pallet wall,” Cruz said.
King’s Kitchen is applauded for their use of quality ingredients, spices and culinary flare from around the world. The topper: comparable prices that won’t kill your budget and attention to special diets such as low fat, gluten-free and vegan. Find King’s Kitchen online at www.facebook.com/kingskitchendeli/ for the Cape location and at www.facebook.com/kingskitchenCorp/?fref=ts for Fort Myers. Call ahead for large orders and specialty diets: (239) 418-1818.
By Cape Coral resident foodie Shana Overhulser
