Grocery Shopping is Not My Idea of Fun
If you know where to go, you’ll find some good food in South Florida. A recent trip to south Florida allowed a visit to Detwiler’s Farm Market. I must admit that going to a grocery store “for fun” is NOT my idea of fun. Maybe because it’s cold or maybe because such a huge portion of my life is consumed by planning meals and shopping for food. Maybe it is my husband’s expectation to only purchase items if it is a good deal which inevitably requires me to do math. Despite my hesitation, Mike insisted I go in to browse and I was not disappointed.
Perfect Produce
Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it! This place made Publix look like a shanty market in an impoverished neighborhood. Okay, maybe that is a wee bit extreme. However, I literally searched for a bruised apple, a partially rotten potato, a blemished onion, brown-edged lettuce leaves and did not find a single ( I repeat A SINGLE) imperfect piece of produce. The produce wasn’t just lacking imperfections; the produce was perfect. You know you have a fresh potato when the skin is so thin and tender that it peels away slightly from the potato. The bunches of asparagus were thin and crisp and brilliant green.
pub-4561044891259873, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0Dragon fruit and Guava and Morel, Oh My!
There were spotless mushrooms of many varieties. Enokitake and Shitake, typically seen in Asian soups, Chanterelle, with their mild flavor of apricot and earthiness, Morel with their honeycomb appearance, prized by French chefs. A selection of dragon fruit varieties, the pear/kiwi tasting fruit of a cactus. I quickly spotted Jackfruit which originated in the rainforests of South Asia and has gained recent popularity in vegan dishes. Guavas that have four times the vitamin C as an orange, and Passion fruit rich in polyphonols and beta carotene.
Gassed tomatoes? Nope. These tomatoes were deep red in color, the Brussels sprouts could keep their flawless outer leaves before cooking. Cabbage? Same. Carrots need not be peeled. Honestly, I could go on and on but, all in all, this market is a foodie dream!
Have you had a Golden berry? Maybe a Gooseberry?
When I saw them in the market basking in their bright yellow glory, I snatched them up and tossed them in the cart. I didn’t even look at their cost (sorry, honey)! A fruit that has been cultivated in England since the late 18th century and in South Africa since the beginning of the 19th century grows wild in tropical regions. Golden berries are closely related to the tomatillo and grow similarly in an enveloped husk. Their flavor can be described as sweet, mildly tart with a slight tomato-like flavor. Golden berries, or Gooseberries are also sometimes named Cape gooseberries and are low in calories but high in phytosterols, vitamin K and beta-carotene.
I was sad when I ate the last one. If you know where I can find more in my Northwest Florida area, please comment!!
More Fun Foodie Eats
You can find the best Greek food in south Florida!
If you find yourself in Tarpon Springs, FL visit the Historic Sponge Docks and please eat at Hella’s Greek Restaurant! You must order the Saganaki, cheese that is flamed table-side and the Moussaka is to die for!
You can find the best Cuban food in south Florida!
With locations in Tampa, St. Augustine, Clearwater, Sarasota, and Fort Lauderdale, you can’t skip The Columbia 1905 Salad, The Cuban, a mojito served with a stick of freshly cut sugar cane. If you find your sweet tooth in need of attention, I suggest the bread pudding or the flan. Yum!
Don’t pass through Fort Lauderdale without stopping by the Fresh Coconuts stand in The Gallery at Beach Place!
Pinchers in Fort Myers had the best soft shell crab sandwich I have ever had! Crabs were small but, they made up for their size by placing two on your toasted brioche bun. Mikey ordered the same and unfortunately, after offering my 5 year old a taste, I ended up having to share half of it with him because he loved it so much. When I thought he was done with his half, I took the remaining two bites off of his plate and gobbled them up. He noticed. I felt bad, but not bad, kinda guilty, kinda not. Don’t shame me; he had an adult sized plate of beautiful, golden brown butterfly shrimp.
The best food to eat at Bush Gardens? Well, nothing. It’s park food after all.
Gainesville, FL has an excellent pizza place in Celebration Pointe called MidiCi. It’s the closest thing I’ve had to Grimaldi’s under the Brooklyn bridge in the 90’s before they moved to their larger venue just down the block. I do not have a 700 degree wood fire oven, but if you want to make good, healthy pizza at home, click these links: 3 Step Zucchini Flatbread, Think Outside the Pizza Box, and A Pizza My Mind.
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Yum!
Thank you! So yum!