CAPE CORAL

Five reasons to visit the Pine Island Town Center

Cynthia A. Williams
Special to The News-Press
At Saltwater Smokehouse, the meats are slow-cooked on the premises, the seafood is fresh out of local waters, and the menu is a flavor-journey of the deep south from New Orleans to the Gulf coast of Florida.

The island’s town center, alone, is worth a visit to Pine Island. The experience is a bit surreal, but most pleasant.

Island Conclave Fine Art Gallery is Greater Pine Island’s newest gallery,

1. As you enter the 40-mph zone on the Pine Island end of Pine Island Road, watch on your left for the Island Conclave Fine Art Gallery. Greater Pine Island’s newest gallery, this little gem showcases artists and artisans whose work reflects the unique culture, history and environment of the island.

Five reasons to visit Pineland on Pine Island

2. Down the road at the four-way stop, you will discover a kooky carousel of little cottage businesses semi-circling a circular Subway sandwich shop. Mel Meo’s Studio is the eye-popper here. The art, handcrafts and clothing in Mel’s are anything but the touristy, mass-produced, beach-cottage items found elsewhere; it is funky, original, primitive art, the spin-off of dreams and an inexhaustible imagination.

Mel Meo's is funky, original, primitive art.

 

3. Leaving Mel’s, take a right onto Stringfellow Road and go to Sesame Street (no kidding). Take a left. Directly ahead squats an odd little building that calls itself “Museum of the Islands.” Islanders call it MOTI. Packed with island artifacts and memorabilia spanning a couple of millennia of Pine Island history, MOTI is a world unto itself.

Packed with island artifacts and memorabilia spanning a couple of millennia of Pine Island history, MOTI is a world unto itself.

 

4. Return to Stringfellow, take a right and continue a short distance to the cute and squeaky clean Saltwater Smokehouse. There is no better food anywhere on Pine Island. Seriously. The meats are slow-cooked on the premises, the seafood is fresh out of local waters, and the menu is a flavor-journey of the deep south from New Orleans to the Gulf coast of Florida, with a dash of Cuba thrown in. The owners are professional chefs and as naturally friendly as only small-town boys can be.

Customers rave about the ribs at Saltwater Smokehouse on Pine Island.

 

5. End your visit with a walk into one of the colorful little nurseries within the town center area. It’s like strolling through tropical gardens in the Caribbean. Take home something beautiful.