Florida Food Tour: The Perfect Cup- Matlacha, FL

Did you know that the tiny fishing community of Matlacha, FL ( pronounced Mat-La-Shay) has it's very own coffee roaster? Okay, if you have never been to or even heard of Matlacha then Florida tourism is doing exactly what it intends, keeping you in Orlando and Destin. If you are familiar with this island rich with art and grouper then you know the REAL Florida, the Florida I was fortunate to call a second home to Tennessee.




Matlacha has what they refer to as "The World's Fishingest Bridge" and on one end of this bridge is a Coffee Roastery and Cafe call The Perfect Cup. Perfect combination if you ask me! The locals told me they had "the perfect cup" of coffee and a stellar breakfast. I love the culture of the Matlacha commerce community so could not pass up the opportunity for my dehydrator of choice (coffee) and a good breakfast.

 The coffee du joiur? Chocolate Raspberry, very well paired with the fresh creme ready to pour at the self serve coffee station. You know a good coffee house by the condiments at their coffee bar. Along with the daily coffee were three more carafes with fresh coffee- Robust, Light and Decaf.

My first choice, just a half cup as I had to give the pure coffee a fair try as well, was the light and sweetly fragrant Chocolate Raspberry. During my time at Starbucks I learned that many coffee companies use chemical process to flavor coffee beans which is why they did not. The other bonus was To Go cups at the end, I got to enjoy my second cup of coffee for the rest of the day!

In my time speaking with the coffee roaster Jordan I learned that they use essence oil to flavor their coffee. Further conversation informed me that they received their coffee beans from all over the world GREEN. Yes, their coffee is that fresh. The Perfect Cup roasts their own coffee beans and they only keep it about a week after roasting. Well, color me impressed!

A few more Nutrisha nuggets for you:
-Think you are getting more caffeine by choosing a darker roast? I learned that the darker the roast, the less caffeine in your cup. Choose a lighter roast if you want a stronger boost.
-Compare two coffee beans side by side. One from Tanzania and on from Indonesia and you will see a size difference. That variation is due to the volcanic properties in the soil- coffee grown in Hawaii or Indonesia will have a larger bean production due to the fertility of the soil.

Now the food... As any good foodie does I reviewed the daily special- an omelet which the cafe is known, stuffed with spinach, feta and bacon. Sounded like a combination of foods I would add to just about anything in my kitchen. Perfect!!! Unfortunately it was not the "big fish" for which I had searched. The well-intended chef overused the already sharp and salty ingredients making the egg dish seem to have been poached in the salt water just outside the shop.

Good effort, not well executed at least for my palate, of course I don't add salt when I cook or at the table so it doesn't take much to over salt my tastesbuds. The breakfast come with chopped and pan fried potatoes or grits with toast. I wold have loved to have fresh fruit instead of any of the sides but that was not an option so I took the potatoes and no toast. I don't say NO CARB to anybody but for my own body wheat makes me feel sleepy so I prefer more efficient carbohydrate sources. My dear fellow diner had the Fajita Omelet and opted out of the sides as well but was very pleased with the egg dish filled with fajita style chicken, peppers and onions. If you want a low carb side you can opt for tomato slices.

The Gyro Omlet: The meat is just what you what you would expect. Very good!

I had one more day on the island and was not giving up hope in finding a fantastic dish at this locally loved breakfast spot. On my last day we returned for coffee and omelets, this time I ordered the Big Daddy Crab omelet. And it is just like it sounds- BIG. Made with 4 eggs, blue crab, asparagus and provolone I was only able to consume about half before boxing the rest. The asparagus was cooked just enough to maintain a crisp bite and two cuts were crossed over the top with parsley for a balanced presentation.

My only criticism? Save the cheese! I love provolone, love it, especially with a good hard salami on a hard bread... sorry, side track, and oh this cheese was pouring out every crevice it could find. Very cheesy, balanced color, well done.

The Perfect Cup was also able to redeem itself in the "no fruit for a side" department with their pancakes. Pancakes? Okay, follow me on this one. This was no regular pancake, on the menu you can get pancakes in a breakfast meal or al a cart.

The blueberry pancake is $3.95, for one pancake. If you know anything about food cost you know there is a good reason for one pancake to cost this much and that reason is real, whole, fresh BLUEBERRIES. The ratio of batter to berry was perfection! From the top of the pancake it looked lovely but flip it over and all you see is berries!




I am really looking forward to my next trip to Pine Island so I can have another perfect breakfast and cup of coffee at The Perfect Cup. Maybe I will even fish at The World's Fishingest Bridge...