Garden Fresh at Harvest & Wisdom

The first time I dined at Shangri-La Springs in the 1990s, lunch consisted of a buffet of raw dishes unexpected in variety and flavor and indicative of the circa-1926 hotel’s wellness sway. The most recent time I dined at Shangri-La’s Harvest & Wisdom surprised me even more. A friend and I had learned chef Amy Visco Schmicker, a familiar name from fine dining restaurants on Sanibel Island, now rules the kitchen. I knew it the minute I bit into her kale salad because I liked it! Not much of a kale fan, you see.

Harvest & Wisdom serves an ever-changing menu of breakfast and lunch orchestrated by what the on-site garden produces (thus, “harvest”). I can heartily recommend the key lime pancakes for breakfast. They satisfied my somewhat deviant fantasy of starting the day with a citrusy slice of pie in a socially accepted way. Ingredients not grown at Shangri-La are typically organic and locally sourced from regenerative gardens. A bounty of fruits and veggies arrived with both the grilled lamb and quiche du jour, a veritable farmers market on each plate.

The quiche was such a beauty: four fingers high, creatively mastered with pulled barbecue pork and dauphinoise potatoes. Its hearty flavor brought a pleasant twist to the same-old. The lamb came chopped and pattied, a bit dry and a bit of a letdown, owing only to our own expectations. And yet its multilayered presentation made up for it, set atop whole wheat pita slathered with tzatziki and pickled veggies.

I promise dessert cannot possibly disappoint, whether you settle upon the signature deep-dish key lime pie (perfectly tart-balanced), vegan flourless chocolate torte, crème brûlée of the day, or whatever the chef dreams up with her garden-inspired wisdom.

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