I just restarted my ACNL town. Or rather, I did awhile ago and never touched it. Coming back, I forgot how much of a struggle it was in the beginning. I seem to remember Isabelle bringing you a fruit basket though. Am I misremembering that? Because it hasn't happened yet.
Yes she does, though only by doing her “What to do in town?” tasks; to be exact after she asks the player to bring her a shell, she will reward them with a new kind of fruit.
Yep, you can get a few things from Isabelle, like a tool and a non-native fruit basket. But you have to initiate it by talking to her at the Town Hall and following her tutorial quest line.