I remember it like it was yesterday… The first time I walked into ‘The Purple Shack on McGregor’ in Ft. Myers Beach and tasted the authentic food of Guadalajara. And my appreciation for real Mexican food changed with my discovery of Pico de Gallo…
Yes, ‘the Purple Shack’ is purple! And it serves some of the most authentic
Mexican (NOT Tex-Mex) food in Southwest Florida…
As I’ve related in past posts… I used to drive my Dad down and back to his winter place in Ft. Myers each spring and fall after his ‘driving buddy’, my step Mom Dorothy, passed away…
Working by wire…
But I didn’t discover The Purple Shack on McGregor – and real Mexican food – until after Dad passed. And I inherited the RV.
I spent several mid-winter stays in Ft. Myers, myself, after Dad passed. I was not prepared for the complicated process of wrapping up property, vehicle and and related matters when an out-of-state, foreign national is involved. And it was all too easy to get addicted to the sun, sand, and frozen Mar-garitas. For 5 years, I spent two or three weeks each January masquerading as a tourist in a resort populated otherwise exclusively by retirees. But I spent much of the time working, via the internet, at my usual job. Blessed be Broadband!
The dining scene…
I didn’t cook while I was in Florida. There was no actual kitchen in the RV to speak of. So I developed a routine of breakfast at The Good Egg, lunch at the Sunflower Café, and dinner… At whatever local eatery caught my fancy…
There was a fantastic oyster joint under the Beach end of the Sanibel Bridge. The Smokin’ Oyster Brew-ery is still there… I ate more than once at Coconut Jack’s, the Yucatan Bar, and The Whale. Sunset Shooters and the passable, personable Jimmy Buffet tribute artist at the bar in the Lani Kai became a ritual.
But my appreciation for the difference between Tex-Mex and REAL Mexican food was reborn the first time wandered into La Casita, on McGregor Blvd., on a commercial strip in front of the old K-MART plaza…
Almost by accident…
I had driven past the Purple Shack a number of times before I actually turned into the tiny parking lot. One afternoon, on my way back from the Ace Hardware a little further up the street, I decided to check it out. The temptation to find out what was behind those Purple stucco walls had become too much to resist…
The dining room is small compared to more-modern, chain ‘Mex’ joints go. But I thought it was just the right size to enjoy some good food and a couple of Del Sols. And the menu was a real eye-opener! I discovered stuff I had theretofore only read about… Carnitas, Carne Asada, Bistec, Pollo Asada, Fish Tacos… But the menu item I remember best was the Pico De Gallo.
Pico was the first item on the Sides list, and it came in three sizes, so I assumed it was pretty popular.
Straight from ‘the man’…
Half way through my Mexican Platter (Crispy Taco, Enchilada, Chimichganga and Taquito, with a big side of Guacamole), a cheery gent ambled over to my table. Smiling like he might be trying to pick me up… But he turned out to be one of the owners. And with some coaxing, he regaled me with the tale of how he had visited Guadalajara some years before and found his calling – to bring the authentic Mexican food north of the border.
I asked about the Pico de Gallo – which was an entirely new concept to me at that point. And thereby hung a tale of its own.
Forget Salsa Cruda…
Pico de Gallo is the only way I roll, now-a-days… For those who srill need convincing, I’ve found a ‘Master Class’ that defines and diffentiates between the two…
The La Casita recipe is simple, authentic and fresh, fresh, fresh! My version of the original formula only changes a couple of little things…
The ancient and venerable ingredient list for Pico is composed of only 5 items. Tomatoes, Onions, a Jalapeño pepper, fresh Cilantro, and Lime juice. Classically, Tomatoes predominate with Onions and Jalapeños coming a distant second in priority.
For a big batch, dice 6 Romas, remove the core and seeds from the pepper and dice similar sized. Ditto the onions. Make it a medium, and use white, red or yellow, as you prefer. They all taste dif-ferent, for those of you who don’t know…
Finely chop up enough Cilantro to fill half a measuring cup. And put all the ingredients together in a big bowl. Juice the whole lime into the mix and give it a good folding stir to combine all the ingredients evenly. Then, and add a pinch of salt and pepper, to taste.
Tips and hacks…
If you don’t like your hot pepper too hot, you can use some green bell pepper and some Jalapeño, proportioned to your taste. Or use all-bell pepper if you prefer.
DO use Roma tomatoes. They’re the most flavourful, meatiest and least watery kind you can get without going to a specialty store. And they stand up to the mixing better than, say, beefsteaks or regular slicing tomatoes.
I like using sweet onion to help balance the acidity of the tomato and the spice of the Jalapeño.
Make your Pico a couple of hours ahead of serving, and let it rest in the fridge, covered, so the flavours can get to know each other. Fold occasionally with a spatula, to make sure the lime juice stays in contact with the other ingredients.
My take
I hope you get as much joy out Pico de Gallo as I do. And I hope sharing my memories of The Purple Shack enriches the experience for you!
~ Maggie J.