Taste of Pine Island promises to tempt every palate
Local restaurants will serve up some of their finest fare again this year during the Taste of Pine Island. Sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Pine Island, this well-attended event, which will take place at the island center on Saturday, Jan. 22, will showcase 11 local restaurants who will present dishes ranging from locally caught seafood to standard festival fare such as hamburgers and hot dogs. Participating in the Taste will be the Waterfront Restaurant from St. James City, the Sandy Hook Rib and Fish House from Matlacha, the Toucan Seafood Restaurant (formerly Moretti’s) from Matlacha, Perfect Cup of Matlacha, the Pine Island Winn-Dixie, Phils Grill from St. James City, Miceli’s Restaurant of Matlacha, Jonesez BBQ, Liberty Concessions, BJ Events and others to be announced.
Menus items will include shrimp, fried clams and fish fresh off the boat, Greek dishes, barbecued ribs and chicken, pizza and more.
In addition to the food vendors, the Taste of Pine Island will also feature some of the best seafood chowder the area has to offer. Again this year, the Kiwanis will sponsor the eighth annual Southwest Florida Seafood Chowder Cook-off Contest. Chowders will be prepared on-site by both novice and professional cooks and those arriving to the event early will have the opportunity to serve as judges in the People’s Choice category of the contest. On entering the gates of the Taste, each visitor will receive a voucher admitting them as judges in the chowder contest. Attendees will then visit the contest areas to receive ballots and get samples of each of the chowders prepared by the contestants. The ability to act as a judge will be come on the first-come first-served basis with participation limited.
As for those interested in entering the seafood chowder cook-off, each must be prepared to provide a minimum of 10 gallons of chowder that should be finished on-site. the chowder committee will provide all plates, spoons and sample cups to each participant. All chowder must be ready to serve when under the chowder tent and no garnishes shall be put on after the chowder is cooked. All contestants will not be permitted to sell any chowder at vendor booths until the contest is over.
As for other vendors at the event, many will include familiar artists and organizations from the island. Participating in this year’s Taste will be the Pine Island Garden Club who will offer native plants for sale as well as providing planting and care tips; Bert’s Pine Bay Gallery and Gifts of Matlacha who will have art and novelty items; the Pine Island Community Church with bottled water available for purchase; R&B with kettle corn; Stop Me When I’m Passing with ice cream; Night Hawk ventures will offer mini donuts; Easy Rider Charters with Capt. Dick May of Bokeelia will present fishing charter opportunities as well as the sale of his cookbook; The Matlacha/Pine Island Fire Department will offer margaritas; shop for sunglasses with F&A, A-Niks will have outdoor comfort solutions; Southern Sno Balls will offer sno-cones and Little Lilly’s Island Deli will sell their homemade cookies; get information on various services from the Beacon of HOPE, Suzanne Bowery will display her jewelry creations; Walker Farms will have local honey for sale; Margaret Hampton with beef jerky; Kim Gloria Corroy with shell flower displays and driftwood art; Alison Laccetti will have hand-fashioned jewelry and fused glass items; Jeff Ruppart will display his custom fishing flies and lures; Hill Martin with hand-painted special plate journals; From Our Hearts will sell unique jewelry and purses to benefit breast cancer care; Kim Hall will have CDs for children; Tropical Kitchens will show the latest in cabinet designs; Peggy Cozadd will offer a line of cookbooks and more; James Forrest will display shark tooth jewelry; Susan Carpenter will show her original artwork; Suzanne Terry will offer a line of jewelry and accessories; Paradise Gardens will have locally produced jams and jellies; the Calusa Land Trust will be on hand to show all of the areas on and around Pine Island that are now protected from development; Denise Gonnellie with Tupperware sales; Traders Hitching Post will display custom-made jewelry fashioned by Native Americans; Serena Mommaerts will offer shells and crafts and sharing a booth will be MPI Properties and Pine Island Cycles; the Matlacha Hookers will offer T-shirts, hats and other items; get refreshed with a glass of lemonade from Michael’s Lemonade and the Mad Hatter Tea will offer a variety of baked goods; Chris Carroll will offer items known as tastefully simple; BeJeweled By Renee will have handcrafted nautical and biker/sports jewelry; Glory Days Gifts will have bird feeders and yard art; Susan Syphrit will have crushable hats; Pine Island spices will have packaged spices and Juanita D’Anna will also sell hand made jewelry.
According to organizers, several vendor spaces are still available for both non-profit organizations and retail sales. Those interested in reserving at spot at this year’s Taste of Pine Island are asked to call Pat Burman at 283-0777.