Eating in or eating out you will be well fed. Island Breeze has everything you need to cook up a storm. There are several options for getting food and supplies to the island. Shop at the grocery stores before you arrive as it's hard to get real groceries on the island. If you are coming over by way of Pine Island, there is an Albertsons, Publix, Walmart, and Winn Dixie all on the way. Probably, the most complete food store is Publix. Winn Dixie is the closest but least elegant, but if you need a quick run to the mainland for charcoal and steak, it works.

Publix at the corner of Pine Island Rd and Burnt Store rd is a mini super store and offers a helpful service of taking phone and FAX orders. You can call in or FAX (239 282-5515 or FAX 239 282-5522) your order and they will collect and pack it for you on 48 hrs notice. They charge $10 for this. Ask for boat bagging as well. If you shop there in person ask them to boat pack your order by using both a paper bag followed by a plastic bag. They also offer special cold bags and dried ice for frozen goods. I have had them custom pack fresh lobster, shrimp, and scallops.

If you are FAXing your grocery list to Publix be sure to include your cell phone number and date/time needed and carry their number with you in case of changes. Click on this sentence for a master grocery checklist.

If you like seafood and can stop at Matlacha on the way out to Pine Island, buy local fish, shrimp, scallops, clams, crab legs, and Florida lobster from the local fish houses—try Andy's or the Fish House next to the Matlacha bridge. It’s hard to imagine the deliciousness of 10-12 count shrimp or fresh grouper. There are also fresh food stands along the way.

Winn-Dixie is the last grocery store on the way and they will also take phone orders. Look for their specials and borrow a discount card. In their strip mall is a liquor store, chinese take out, Domino's pizza, laundry, CVS pharmacy and a couple other stores. Bank and car wash are nearby. At the pine center stop sign there is a Circle-K, and across is D and G hardware store. There are other various professionals and service businesses in the area.

If you just don’t have time to shop or forget something you can’t get at the island's convenience stores, Mainland Connection can shop for you, phone/FAX 239 283-6311, cell 239 410-4277.  They charge 40% with a $50 minimum but they deliver and unpack your groceries into the refrigerator for you. You can contact them and have everything at the house ready for you when you get there.

--

If you need a quart of milk, a loaf of bread, or a bottle of beer there is Mango's island market, the bright orange building by NCIC in the marina area. There is a small selection of items here. They also have sandwiches and food to go which you can eat in or take with you. The dining area is nice and you have a good view of the marina.

Driving into Mango's. Boat rental is on right.

NCIC Reception is across the way from Mango's.

Look for signs on the island bulletin boards for specials and alternatives. During the season there is usually some entrepreneur offering a special food service. 

Eating out on the island provides the ultimate in luxury, ambience, and efficiency. Barnacle Phil’s offers everything from steak to grouper sandwich to Roberta's famous black beans and saffron rice as well as the jambalaya. This is where everyone comes to the island to eat and with natives, guests, and boaters it can be very busy during season at high noon. There is an ATM here and they do not take credit cards. Outside and inside dining. Call 239 472-6394 for lunch and dinner reservations.

Otters enjoy playing and panhandling at Barnacle Phil's dock.

Above Barnacle Phil's is a gift shop and store. When there is bait you can buy it here.

We'd just finished rebuilding Island Breeze after Hurricane Charlie and were headed back early in the morning. When we got near Barnacle Phil's we saw the ocean lapping across the road. As we turned in we saw the dock awash in water. A very high spring tide.
We walked around to the entrance and the porch was flooded. The otters were not to be seen but the water was rippling in the wind.
Hmm, you could almost kayak to your table. Forget about using the dock, tie up to the table.
Looking the other way along the canal towards the North or airstrip. The two vessels are barges that bring cargo to the island.
	This is the road by the airfield.

If you feel like ranging off island there are some fantastic places to visit by boat. Either charter or rent a boat and go eating.

Bocca Grande has a fine downtown area perfect for shopping and eating. Go to Millers marina, rent a golf cart, and visit the town.	Boca Grande
Cabbage Key is the home of the Cheeseburger in Paradise. Need I say more.
Useppa is an amazing place for lunch and a stroll up their walk to view the grand and elegant homes but you’ll need a guest pass as the island is entirely private, so pick a boat charter for this one.

	The Waterfront Restaurant in St James City, Pine Island offers a variety of food. Try their seafood gumbo.The Double Nichol is a great place to boat to for a little live music and food.
	Matlacha offers several fine restaurants along with art shops and a laid back atmosphere. For good Italian try Morettis. This is a good place to stop on the way to or back from a shopping trip or when leaving or arriving.
	Sanibel/Captiva of course has amazing food and drink places at equally high prices. You can’t really lose here so pick any spot and give it a try.

Cayo Costa State Park one island to the North is the perfect picnic spot off island. It's the alternative to eating out.

We tried a garden one year right out of the ground. Cucumbers, squash, zucchini and some herbs. The warm climate is excellent for starting plants but this was terrible soil without amendment and these plants fared poorly in their near beachy sandiness. You have to constantly fertilize with something as nutrients leach quickly.

The saw says that when you have a surplus, nail a bill to the wall and then when you're broke you at least have that dollar to buy something. Locally, this started at Cabbage Key, home of our cheeseburger in paradise with even Julia Roberts stapling up lunch insurance. At Barnacle Phil's when 9/11 happened the old set of bills was removed and sent to New York firefighters and new bills have been collecting since. Cabbage Key claimed to be the source of this cheeseburger but Jimmy himself claims otherwise at http://www.buffettnews.com/resources/songs/?song=62:

Jimmy’s Notes:
The myth of the cheeseburger in paradise goes back to a long trip on my first boat, the Euphoria. We had run into some very rough weather crossing the Mona Passage between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico and broke our bow sprit. The ice in our box had melted, and we were doing the canned-food-and-peanut-butter diet. The vision of a piping hot cheeseburger kept popping into my mind. We limped up the Sir Francis Drake Channel and into Roadtown on the island of Tortola, where a brand-new marina and bar sat on the end of the dock, like a mirage. We secured the boat, kissed the ground, and headed for the restaurant. To our amazement, we were offered a menu that featured an American cheeseburger and pina coladas. Now these were the the days when supplies in that part of the world were rather scarce-when horsemeat was more plentiful than ground beef in the tiny stores of the Third World. Anyway, we gave particular instructions to the waiter on how we wanted them cooked and what we wanted on them-to which little attention was paid. It didn’t matter. The overdone burgers on the burned, toasted buns tasted like manna from heaven, for they were the realization of my fantasy burgers on the trip. That’s the true story. I’ve heard other people and places claim that I stopped or cooked in their restaurants, but this is the way it happened.

Lyrics:
Tried to amend my carnivorous habits.
Made it nearly seventy days,
Losin' weight without speed, eatin' sunflower seeds,
Drinkin' lots of carrot juice and soakin' up rays.
But at night I'd have these wonderful dreams
Some kind of sensuous treat.
Not zucchini, fettuccini, or bulger wheat,
But a big warm bun and a huge hunk of meat.

Cheeseburger is paradise.
Heaven on earth with an onion slice.
Not too particular, not too precise.
I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise.

I like mine with lettuce and tomato,
Heinz Fifty-seven and French fried potatoes.
Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer.
Well, good God Almighty, which way do I steer
For my cheeseburger in paradise.

Verse 2:
Heard about the old time sailor men,
They eat the same thing again and again;
Warm beer and bread they say could raise the dead.
Well, it reminds me of the menu at a Holiday Inn.

But times have changed for sailors these days.
When I'm in port I get what I need;
Not just Havanas or banana or daiquiris,
But that American creation on which I feed!

Cheeseburger is paradise medium rare with Muenster'd be nice
Not too particular, not too precise
I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise.

I like mine with lettuce and tomato
Heinz 57 and French fried potatoes
Big kosher pickle and a cold draught beer
Well, good god Almighty which way do I steer

For a cheeseburger in paradise
Makin' the best of every virtue and vice.
Worth every damn bit of sacrifice
To get a cheeseburger in paradise;
To be a cheeseburger in paradise.
I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise.

Dining at Home

I learned to cook from my mother who learned it from her relatives on a North Dakota farm as Grandmorther wasn't much of a cook but her family was. Island Breeze is a great place to get back to basic cooking. There are few restauarnts and cooking can be part of spending time with your family.

One of the things I have learned to enjoy is the BBQ. Charcoal grills were what I was used to but were always time consuming and it wasn't until a friend of mine encouraged me to use the gas grill we got for Island Breeze that I soon learned to love this method of preparing food. It doesn't grease up the kitchen or frying pans and gas is quick heat so I can be more spontaneous about grilling.

Chicken skewered on sheesh kabob sticks after marinating for even a few minutes in soy sauce, garlic, chilli powder, and a bit of brown sugar is superb. Long marinades are good but a quick dip can also work, or a rub where you rub your spices on the meat. My friend's advice was low and slow; keep the burners turned down and slow cook the meat to keep from getting charcoal.

Burgers on the grill are always awesome. High fat ground beef drips and flames quite a bit though so I no longer think this is a good way to cook high fat ground beef. Italian sausages and bratwurst cook really well low and slow. Even thighs and drumsticks become treats when BBQ either in a teriyaki type sauce, or ketchup based BBQ sauce. I have cooked individual shrimp on the grill as well after marinading for a great smokey flavor with the shrimp. Adding curry or cumin to a sauce or rub has a strong and exotic effect.

This stir fry is fresh green beans, chicken, onion, kidney beans, soy sauce, fresh ginger, and red chili powder. For 1 to 3 people I really like cooking in these stainless steel saute pans with a heavy bottom. For more people I use a frying pan or cast iron skillet.

Green beans last a week just fine. Onions last at least a week. Chicken we buy fresh, freeze it, and then defrost as needed. We buy both canned and dry beans; kidney, garbonzo, and black beans are our favorites, as well as lentils. I will grate fresh ginger into stir ffy for a change. Also garlic from a jar of garlic though fresh is nice. I use powdered garlic and onion when I don't want anyone to notice the garlic and onion so much or for rubs on BBQ meat.

Steamed Snapper. 15 minutes from dock to pan.

Diced tomatoes, basil, onion, and garlic with Mullet cook up into fantastic flavor Veracruz style. This is a huge cast iron pan.

One winter I decided to make pizzas. Usually i don't like to deal with bread doughs but I'd seen a pizza made with quick rise yeast that was easy to make. I soon had figured a custom pizza recipe: one drinking glass full of white flour and one glassful of whole wheat flour and a packet of yeast. Mix together in a bowl and then add just under a glassful of hot water. Mix up with a wooden spoon and let rise 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 430. Get tomato sauce, paste, or diced tomatoes about 2-3 cups worth and add garlic, onion, and lots of basil, some parmesan if you have it. Knead bread and add flour or water as needed to make a bread dough that doesn't stick to your hands. Roll or knead bread out on counter sprinkled with flour so dough won't stick. When dough is the size of the pizza pan place it in the pan. Spread out sauce and any toppings you want. Sprinkle 1/2 to a lb of Mozzarella cheese on top. If you have any other cheeses add them too. Let rise 15 minutes and then cook until brown.

When we have to eat out of cans, at the end of the food in the house, or boat/car camping, beans and baby corn make a good supper on rice. This is from canned baby corn, kidney beans, and garbonzo beans, seasoned however you want but I used soy sauce, garlic, and powdered onion. When warmed up spoon the beans and corn on top of rice. This gives us protein and keeps our vegetarian daughter happy as well.

Once you make pizza dough you can make cinnaminn rolls. Yikes this got me in good with kids. You make and roll out the dough as if you were making the pizza buit instead of spreading tomatoe sauce you spead a butter, sugar, cinnamon sauce made by melting the butter and then adding the 1 1/2 cups or so sugar and 1 tsp or so cinnamon and if you have it use brown sugar or add molasses. Even plain sugar with vanilla and nutmeg with butter works. Spread the sweet sauce on the dough, roll it up and slice into one inch pieces. Place them on pizza pan 1/2 inch apart or more. Preheat oven to 350 and let dough rise 15 minutes. Cook until slightly brown, 20 minutes or so.

Send questions or comments to jim@islandbreezevacations.com.
Copyright 2009 Island Breeze