OK, I admit it. I’ve gone a little mango wacko this summer. It all started with those given to us early in the season by friends (read the story in an earlier blog) that turned out to be delicious beyond all expectations. It got me to thinking: how can there possibly be this much difference between these and the grocery store variety, which are, more often than not, stringy and tasteless?
Then I remembered: there’s an open-air flea market on the weekends on Big Pine Key. It’s a cultural phenomenon that is really not to be missed – but, that aside – it was there that, when Allen and I lived on Big Pine, we often bought incredibly fresh and tasty produce from the “Robert is Here” man, who traveled from the mainland every weekend. It was there that we were introduced to really, really good mangos similar to those described in the earlier blog.
Uh oh. The wheels were turning. Now I was on a mission.
Robert is Here is a south-Florida best-kept secret. A giant fruit stand offering every imaginable rare fruit delicacy, it is located in Homestead, about a mile off the main drag and jumping-off point for the Keys. It has a down home story that begs to be told.
Robert was a typical farm kid, growing up amidst the vast agricultural expanse that was south Florida, long before the real estate boom that sprouted concrete condominiums from the super-fertile Redlands soil (an outrage … don’t get me started). One Saturday, his dad found that he had a bumper crop of cucumbers on his hands, so he set 6-year-old Robert out at the cross-road (remember, this was a remote rural location) to sell them. Well, the whole day went by and no one had stopped to purchase a single cucumber. So the next day, figuring the lagging sales were due to no one seeing the little lad, Robert’s dad made a big, hand-lettered sign. It said, simply, “Robert is Here”. That day, Robert was sold out before noon.
The following weekend, a neighboring farmer dropped off some tomatoes to sell, and Robert’s new enterprise was launched. His mom helped him set up his produce every morning before school. He left an honor-system coffee can to collect the money, and the schoolbus dropped him off at the stand each afternoon, where he worked until dark. When he was nine, he hired a neighbor lady to work for him, and by fourteen, had saved up enough money to buy 10 acres of land, where he planted an avocado grove! Now, isn’t that just a great American success story?
Still manning the store in the same location – although decidedly larger now – the store, that is … and well, Robert, too … Robert can be found every day except September and October (when the stand is closed), at his “Robert Is Here Fruit Stand and Farm, Est. 1960”. And it’s still a family operation, the next generation already helping to carry on the tradition.
If you are driving down to the Keys or visiting the Everglades, you really must stop in to see this place and taste some of Robert’s offerings (you can sample before you buy!). Bet you won’t walk out empty-handed … or hungry. If your travel plans won’t allow for the perishable stuff, there’s plenty of intriguing sauces, chutneys, honeys, and preserves to take home.
Over in a corner, there’s a milkshake bar where you can indulge in a fresh fruit shake or piece of homemade key lime pie. Choose a tasty snack, then wander out back to check out Robert’s “zoo”, with residents ranging from exotic birds … to a big pen of mixed critters, both feathered and furred … to friendly dogs that perch on top of their houses for attention. There are vintage tractors and all kinds of interesting stuff to see.
Back inside, under the big shed roof, you’ll be amazed by the array of exotic fruits, such as lychee, carambola, mamey, papaya, tamarind, jack fruit … and in the summer months, Robert’s passion: MANGOS (you knew I’d get back to that, now, didn’t you)!
Robert is The Mango Man. He maintains that, among the more than 300 varieties of mangos, three are at the top: Kents, Keitts (pronounced “Kits”), and Florida Reds. In fact, in Robert’s opinion, mango season doesn’t really start until the Kents come in, in mid-July!
I’ve tried them all this summer, both fresh and in breakfast treats I’ve been concocting for guests at the inn. And I honestly can’t say which is best. All have measured up to those early-season mangoes that I raved about – my own personal standard — from that tree of undocumented pedigree, right here in Key West.
Have I become spoiled! Obsessed, even. To me, there is no more signature tropical flavor than a really great mango. I have had Robert send boxes of Kents to friends, had quarter-bushels picked up by family traveling from the mainland, and am presently researching how to freeze them, so we’ll have a supply when the season finishes, not too long from now.
Oh, and something else: Robert knows a thing or two about customer service. He will personally pick out a range of ripeness for you – and even number them – so you can have a supply that will last for weeks. So the next time you are traveling down to the Keys, hang a right at the last stoplight in Homestead. You’ll be heading west on 344th. Street. It’s just about a mile and a quarter down the road, on the very spot where Robert sold his first cucumbers. You’ll probably find him around back, inspecting the latest truckload from the farm.
