Stumbled upon this...

There are many things I love about Miami, and one of my favorite things about this (or any other city for that matter) is stumbling upon little local spots off the beaten path. On our way to Fairchild, we passed this little market on 57th, and I pointed it out as a place to check out on our way home.

The little fruit market in question is the Pinecrest Wayside Market. It's across the street from the canal, and just down the street from the old Parrot Jungle, and it reminds me alot of Robert is Here, only much smaller. It's an open-air sort of market with fruits, veggies, sauces and shakes. But what struck me was not so much the produce, but the ambiance. There were several people there, just sitting out with each other, enjoying a shake or a mango or a sandwich, just relaxing. Taking in the whole scene, spending time with each other. You don't always find that in the City of Miami. That's more of a vibe you catch in the keys or South Dade. Even when people are sitting outside, or at a park, there's an underlying since of urgency that I didn't catch here.

I didn't try any of the shakes because after walking around in the heat all I wanted was water, but I intend to check them out next time.

In the meantime, here's some photos:

Lincoln Road Market

I have made a resolution to go to the beach more often. I love the beach but never go, and I am always totally relaxed afterwards. On a recent foray, I decided to walk around Lincoln Road because I was waiting to meet El Capitan and El Pedrino, and I had forgotten how much I like to peruse the stands on Sundays. But my question to you, great and infinite blogosphere, which weekend is it that all the artists come out and display alongside the fruit stands?

In the meantime, here's some photos:






This spice stand is new, and I love that it's there. I also love the way it smells... mmmm

A few weeks ago, when we were out at the MAM, I spotted a strange series of statues. We circled around the block, and stopped to inspect it. What was it?



A broken bowl of fruit! I love it. I ran through the pieces of peel while a homeless person looked on like I was nuts. Understandably so...

Exploring South Miami-Dade County (Part two)

As mentioned in the previous post, our adventures down south also took us to the Homestead Farmers Market, off US1 and 244 St. You see the bargain market from the road and thats essentially where you turn. The farmers market is an open air market comprised of fruits, veggies, dried spices, fresh fish and plants. This is hands-down the best market I have been to. It's huge and insanely cheap. In addition, the people there were all very nice.



There are several plant venders, including the one below, which had a surprising name for Miami-Dade County:

More power to them, I guess. I would imagine that name doesn't get a good amount of business from the Cuban population, but what do I know?

But enough of that, here's the good stuff:













And this last picture is for Maria, over at Volunteering at Fairchild:


Seriously, I wanted to buy everything. We walk away with Mandarin Oranges, mangos, 1/2 pound of green beans, an onion and avocados and we paid maybe $5 for that.

Only in Miami

Only in Miami is it considered a safe, normal practice to buy food from a truck. In fact I know several people who buy avocados, mangos and other fruits from stands and trucks on street corners. It makes sense though, when I was in Costa Rica everyone bought fruits, cheeses, breads and juices from roadside stands. It's cheaper and most people have the plants in their yards (both here and in Latin America)