Fresh-fish sandwich puts tiny isle on map

TSteve Stephens

he biggest island in Florida, Pine Island, lies just off the coast of Cape Coral. To get there, drivers must cross a two-lane drawbridge from the much smaller island of Matlacha, which is linked to the mainland by a short causeway.

Pine Island is quiet, flat and practically empty for long stretches. (If you squint, a lot, you might think that you were in rural Ohio.)

Matlacha is tiny and busy and narrow to the point of claustrophobia. But the traffic passing through the pinch-point of the bridge shouldn’t dissuade travelers from stopping on Matlacha, a delightfully colorful and interesting bit of Florida.

The origin of the island’s unusual name, pronounced MAT laSHAY, is a mystery, although it might derive from the language of the native Calusa Indians.

Created in the 1920s from fill dirt dredged up from Matlacha Pass to anchor the bridge to Pine Island, Matlacha Island was originally settled by squatters and soon became a fishing village.

Today it’s a small town squeezed between Pine Island Road and the pass, comprising traditional old-Florida cottages, boutique art galleries, waterfront restaurants and bars and a few small inns.

Although we were rushing to catch a ferry from Pine Island, my family decided to stop for lunch on Matlacha, which turned out to be one of the best decisions of our entire vacation.