A pastiera (slice, $5), sometimes called a pastiera Napoletana after the Italian city of its birth, is a ricotta-based cake fragrant with orange. Some modern recipes employ pastry cream; in this traditional version, the ricotta is blended with egg, and the bits of orange peel are held snugly in place.
Ciao Bella!
1450 Washington Ave. (Espanola Way-15th St.), Miami Beach
305-535-9027
(From an autumn 2012 visit)
Hallacas, cachapas, and arepas illustrate the owners' Venezuelan upbringing; more savories, and innumerable sweets, draw on recipes from Argentina, Chile, and Europe, too. This custard pastry (75 cents) was one of many that seemingly shared the same ingredients but varied whimsically in size and shape.
Moises Bakery
7310 Collins Ave. (73rd-74th Sts.), Miami Beach
305-868-0548
www.MoisesBakery.com
(From visits in autumn 2012, and earlier)
A mature coconut palm develops flowers, then fruit, many times each year, and commonly bears coconuts at multiple stages of development. All are green; the husk turns brown only after harvesting and drying. Here you can see four stages of coconut growth, with the smallest at the 11:00 position.
Stages of coconut growth
Miami Beach
(From an autumn 2012 visit)
The "Mo' Better Burger" (6 oz., $8) was more tender than most, surely thanks to short rib that's blended with sirloin. Pickles, housemade; mayo, spicy.
GastroPod
Truck parked this evening at the Miami Beach Food Truck & Music Fest
Vicinity of the North Beach Bandshell, Collins Ave. at 73rd St., Miami Beach
www.GastroPodMiami.com
(From an autumn 2012 visit)
Though my focus is normally on the food and drink, at neighborhood markets many shelves are often devoted to household goods and sundries. The same goes for the precious territory behind the cashier. When I look, then, at the skinny posts that deter drivers from cutting across Mercy's corner lot, I think of filter tips. Whoever's been "smoking," I'm happy to see, has stubbed them out quickly.
Previously: Del Prado guava nectar (12 fl. oz., $1 at the time).
Mercy Supermarket and Cafeteria
6600 Biscayne Blvd. (at N.E. 66th St.), Miami
305-759-7737
(From visits in autumn 2012, and earlier)
These two, and several others spotted during a weeklong visit, seem to make their rounds in the greater Miami area much like ice cream trucks in New York. (Come to think of it, I didn't see any ice cream trucks in Miami, though the weather was ideal.) Most announce their appearance with a few honks of the horn or a recorded jingle. "La Cucaracha" was one; mobile vendors are seldom rewarded for subtlety.
Produce trucks
Various locations, Miami
(From an autumn 2012 visit)
Though set up outside the open doors of an emptied van, this was less a mobile operation than an encampment. In fact, the lady in charge had a pot on the boil — you might just see it to the right of the sugarcane — whose glistening, dark brown contents were familiar from colder climes. The proprietress may have called them "labapen," the name of this tropical variety in Haitian Creole, I later learned. It was difficult to make out her accent, but I understood readily enough when she offered a sample: chestnuts.
Produce stand
N.E. 2nd Ave., Miami
(From an autumn 2012 visit)
Juices are not the palace's sole stock in trade. This bustling open-air cafeteria and market has two prepared-food counters, one devoted to seafood; separate stations for sandwiches and for arepas, each assembled to order; a counter for the purchase of housemade dulce de leche, majarete, and barras de mani; and shaded picnic-table seating where one can enjoy them all on the spot. At this point in my afternoon's rambles, however, jugo de mamey (Who-go day mah-May, $2) hit the spot.
Many whole ripe mameys were also on offer. Compared with the typical specimen found up north, these tended to be considerably larger, about the size of a canteloupe, and less regular in shape. Though my juice was poured from a jug, one of many stored in a fridge, I expect it had been pressed from the least attractive of the fresh fruits not too long before.
El Palacio de los Jugos
West Flagler St. at 57th Ave., Miami
(One of several locations)
305-262-0070
(From an autumn 2012 visit)
Window seats are wonderful for watching the world go by.
I had a salad, my dining partner, sushi; the logo is shown purely for its concise kosher message. See also this chullo-wearing chicken.
Holy Bagels & Pizzeria
93 N.W. 1st St. (N.W. 1st-North Miami Aves.), Miami
(One of two locations)
305-961-7878
(From an autumn 2012 visit)
Thank you!
