Punta Gorda Herald
November 05, 2003
By Gordon Bower

Creative cuisine draws fans to
The Perfect Caper

While much attention has been focused on the addition of new restaurants on West Marion Avenue in downtown Punta Gorda, a classy little gem of a restaurant on nearby Sullivan Street has quietly been turning out creative, world-class cuisine for almost two years.

James and Jeanie Roland opened The Perfect Caper in March 2002 and have been disproving ever since the old canard that the little hick town between Fort Myers and Sarasota would not -- or could not -- support a high-class restaurant.

Under their noses

The Roland's journey to the little orange house on Sullivan Street was circuitous. They met at a private club in Newport Beach, Calif., James' home town, where Jeanie was doing an "externship" while attending the Culinary Institute of America in New York. "A week after she returned to California after her externship, I asked her to marry me," said James.

They then pooled their talents and opened their first restaurant together, a country inn in Connecticut, Jeanie's home state, to rave reviews.

"In six months, she took the kitchen up to one of the top five (inns) in Connecticut," said James of his wife's culinary skills. They ended up in Punta Gorda when Jeanie took a job as IMPAC's corporate chef, and James took over the company's public affairs division.

Though they lived in Punta Gorda, their roots here were shallow because they were always out of town. James' job took him all over the world as did Jeanie's. "I did all their worldwide catering. It really fed my palette," said Jeanie of her days at IMPAC.

While grateful for the travel and experience, both still yearned to put down roots and open their own restaurant. They considered several locations, including California, Martha's Vineyard and Washington, D.C., before realizing that Punta Gorda was where they wanted to be.

"We hadn't really lived here," said James of their globetrotting. "Then, we realized how great Punta Gorda is, the energy level of the people living here."

"This started to feel like home," said Jeanie. "We loved living around the water. People living around the water are warm, laid back, with a positive attitude."

When the orange house became available to lease, they snapped it up because it was perfect for the kind of restaurant they wanted to open. "We always knew we wanted a small, 40-seat restaurant with an open kitchen," said Jeanie. "We wanted to serve the kind of food we enjoy and maintain a high level of quality."

Taking a risk

The Rolands profess no trepidation about opening a high-end restaurant in a town where restaurants come and go almost monthly.

"We were told it wouldn't be supported," said James, "but we had heard about the number of people traveling to other cities to eat. We were confident, absolutely. We were told by many friends we would fail, but we had no questions at all that this was a viable business. We knew people would enjoy what we enjoy."

The Perfect Caper was an immediate hit, and now you better have a reservation if you want to dine there.

Hard work, teamwork

Part of their success is due to the more affluent residents moving here who have disposable income and are used to dining in high-class restaurants. "Punta Gorda's reputation is growing," said James. "We're getting more people from the hospitality industry moving here."

The biggest factor is the hard work and skill of the two owners. "We're driven; we work hard," said James, who has two decades of experience in the restaurant business.

Jeanie, who does all the cooking and has 20 years of experience as a chef, said, "I'm a self-critical, driven person, very organized. I'm never happy. I always want to make things better."

She's also a perfectionist. "I do all the cooking, all the baking, the sauces, pastries and vinaigrettes; the staff helps in execution," she said. "I taste every morsel."

"Before you see it, it's cleared through Jeanie," said James.

While Jeanie runs the kitchen and James the dining room, the two make it clear they operate as a team. "What you see here is a collaboration between the two of us; we did it all ourselves," said James.

That teamwork is evident everywhere you look, for example, the layout and "feel" of the place, which has a modern, spare look that still manages to be welcoming. "We'd been through setting up the restaurant in our head so many times it took only 75 days to open after we started," said James.

The two of them think up new menu items together, often over a bottle of wine, with Jeanie doing the kitchen experimentation and James assessing the availability and price of ingredients.

Aah, the food..

A creative chef, Jeanie Roland describes The Perfect Caper's cuisine as global, citing her lobster sui mai, an Asian-style dumpling she serves with an apricot-lemon grass sauce and a Singapore salsa made with ginger, onion, cilantro and yuzu, as an example. The combination of western (apricot) and oriental (lemon grass) is unusual, but they mesh perfectly and the result is a taste diners will not have experienced elsewhere.

Another example is her steak shao shing -- a black angus (which they use exclusively) New York strip steak in a Sichuan peppercorn sauce scented with Cantonese Shao Shing wine -- a marriage of American red meat and ingredients from two of China's major regional cuisines.

After it it's cooked, she's not done. She is as creative with her presentation as she is with the preparation, and all the dishes provide a feast for the eyes as well as the palette. Some are almost too pretty to eat, like the sui mai dumplings, which are lined up diagonally across a square plate, with dots of the apricot-lemon grass sauce on one side and the Singapore salsa on the other.

With Jeanie's creative bent and global style, The Perfect Caper, not surprisingly, doesn't go to the corner grocery store for its ingredients. "We bring fresh produce in from all over the world, and fish, too," said James.

That is no easy logistical task, since The Perfect Caper changes its menu every month to take advantage of seasonal changes around the globe. "This time of year, there are more exotic fish available because it's summer in the southern hemisphere," James explained. "Every month, we change about 75 percent of the luncheon and dinner menu," said James. "People would revolt if we took their favorite things off."

Legion of loyal diners

The Perfect Caper has built a base of loyal locals who just keep coming back for more.

James Roland described a woman who came in with her pants sliding off her hips -- "She said we were responsible for her weight loss. She had two desserts and took a third home. She beats herself up in the gym so she can eat here."

Frequent customer Lynn Tilson said, "Jeanie doesn't just cook; each dish is a work of art."

Rex Koch, who won the nod from James Roland as the restaurant's best day-time customer, can be seen almost every lunch hour in his usual table in the back corner.

"The food and service are superb," said Koch. "This is the first time I've been able to differentiate between eating and dining. This is dining."

Of his customers, James said, "We get demanding customers, but they're not rude. I've never had anyone complain to me about their experience here."

Word of The Perfect Caper's cuisine also is spreading. People from Naples, Englewood and Sarasota are becoming regular patrons, and James Roland said the restaurant now attracts customers from as far away as Miami, Tampa and Orlando.

"Becky Bovell and the Visitors Bureau helped us tremendously," said James. "They got us a placement in American Airlines' in-flight magazine. We're also doing some e-mail marketing now. It's a great tool.

Savoring Success

James and Jeanie think occasionally about going on to bigger and better things. They would like to expand their take-out and catering business, for example. They have contemplated building a bigger restaurant with more space, but both say 50 seats is their limit.

For now, they remain excited about the restaurant they created and are savoring its success. James said, "We took a chance; you always do in business. We saw a jewel and took advantage of it."

Loyal customers don't have to worry about The Perfect Caper losing its edge, however. James Roland also said, "The challenge in a small market is to continually reinvent yourself or become ordinary."

Want to dine?

The Perfect Caper is located at 320 Sullivan Street, between Olympia and Virginia avenues. Lunch is served from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Dinner is available from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, try the new brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. or the 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. casual grill. Reservations are highly recommended; plenty of parking is available in front of the restaurant and on the street. Call James at 505-9009."



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