Find your zen - and your next meal - at Miami's best farmers' markets.
Local, laid-back, and oozing healthy goodness, there's nothing better than spending time and money wandering a market.
I can’t stop thinking about - and going to - farmers’ market. I wake up on Saturday morning, kind of lazy and slow, and start making lists in my head about what I hope to find at one of the markets. Maybe the in-season fresh arugula that comes with large leaves and a peppery bite that I love? Or the special pink shrimp from Key West with their buttery, naturally sweet and mild taste? Some of those locally grown mushrooms - maybe the multi-colored oysters or lion's mane, the pioppinos, or the black trumpets? I love to slice and pan roast them in butter, sprinkle them some fresh herbs. It’s a perfect lunch. Plus who can resist buying these mushrooms from a farm named Gratitude Garden.
Buying these fresh and healthy provisions straight from the growers and makers is the perfect antidote to the chaos and malaise of the world. You are supporting hard working local folks who are growing and making delicious food in earth-friendly ways. Plus it’s fun. You wander around, outside, talking to other shoppers and vendors as you drift from stall to stall. It’s a happy place! It’s a vibrant, open-air celebration of good food, good community and diversity.
Here are three great markets in Miami. They are located within 10 miles of one another. Each has its own personality and sensibility; each reflects its neighborhood in a unique way. Each is worth a visit.
Coconut Grove Farmers’ Market: organic goods and a countercultural feel in Miami’s Oldest Neighborhood.
This is the place to find your Zen.
Every Saturday, 85 or so vegan and vegetarian vendors tightly pack themselves into an empty lot in one of Miami’s oldest neighborhoods. The vendors are small and local and unendingly enthusiastic about the ”good for you/good for the planet” foods and drinks and jewelry and clothes they sell. In addition to a wide assortment of fresh veggies and fruit, you can find tumeric root and raw vegan pies, hummus and shakshuka, marijuana brownies and blueberry juice and vegan ice cream and vegetarian soup. There are also palm readers, crystal sellers, jewelry makers.
I couldn’t resist buying some of the fresh fruit pie that Glaser Organic Farms sells, along with a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, coconut milk, fresh vegan salads. The pie is literally all fruit and absolutely amazing:
The centerpiece of the market is a large stand of locally grown fruits and vegetables from Glaser Organic Farms. Glaser launched this market in the 1970s and it continues to reflect the soul of 1960s/1970s counter-culture.
There is so much on offer, from micro greens to fresh tortillas with yummy fillings to a whole bunch of Greek desserts.
And art too! I couldn’t resist a 5 year old girl selling her own artwork. Her rose is now on display at my house:
Vendors are generous with their samples, and speak with enthusiasm about helping you make your life better. In a city that grows sleeker and shinier by the minute, this market remains definitely and defiantly analog.
The market is open every Saturday, rain or shine, from 10 – 7:00 p.m.
Coconut Grove Organic Farmers’ Market
3300 Grand Ave.,
Coconut Grove, FL 33133.
Legion Park Farmers Market: the heartbeat of a neighborhood.
Legion Park is in the Miami’s MIMO District; MIMO stands for Miami Modern, an architectural style born in the 1950s.
MIMO is where mid-century modern meets the tropics. It’s playful, polished, a little decadent, full of pastel colors, neon lights, curvy-lines, dramatic porticos. It celebrates postwar prosperity and the new car culture. It’s like a perfectly mixed cocktail served poolside under a neon sign saying “PARTY”. It’s worth a visit even if you don’t go to the Market.
But go to the market!
It’s in Legion Park, at the center of the MIMO district. In contrast to the “let’s party” MIMO aesthetic, Legion Park is rooted, enduring, peaceful. Built in the 1920’s and dedicated to the American Legion, it is a civic anchor, a quiet gathering place. The market is held every Saturday morning, as is a well-attended yoga class under a huge banyon tree.
The market is run by the Urban Oasis Project, a non-profit that is very committed to the Miami food scene. Their goal is to make fresh, local, healthy food accessible to everyone, and especially people in underserved communities. They run two farmer’s markets, they accept SNAP benefits and double the value of the SNAP benefit through their own program. They provide mobile markets, education programs in schools, and food deliveries throughout Miami. Put your order in here, and they will deliver to your door on Saturdays for $10.
The market itself has about 30 - 40 vendors that sell fresh and local fruits and vegetables, seafood, pasture-raised eggs, grass-fed beef and pork and ready to eat foods from barbecue beef to vegan-anything.
It’s worth a trip to get some of these mushrooms and fresh eggs:
….as well as fresh arugula (sells out early), fresh spice mixes, and freshly dried fruit (yup, an oxymoron) and amazing Indian specialities.
Legion Park Farmers’ Market
6601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL 33138.
Tel: (786) 427-4698
urbanoasisproject.org.
Viscaya Farmers’ Market: a former private estate and farmland.
The Sunday market at Viscaya is part of the Viscaya Village.
It all started with James Deering, a turn-of-the-last-century Chicago industrialist who created a tropical estate to rival the great estates he visited on one of those grand, cross-Europe tours. He hired craftsmen to create a mansion that would reflect his love of art, architecture and nature.
He also created a farm to provide the mansion with fresh produce, herbs and livestock.
The mansion is now a museum and the farm is now the Farmers’ Market.
The market is smaller than the others - about 30 vendors. It has fresh fruits and vegetables, of course, but leans into prepared food from local vendors. Take a walk with me and see some of what’s on offer:
There is a snow cone vendor called Spoonbill Snowballs from (seriously) Somewhere, Florida. He somehow incorporates those totally amazing cinnamon buns from Knaus Berry Farm in Homestead into his icy treats.
There is Chinese dim sum and a barbecue vendor and empanadas and incredible cakes:
Plus, you can take your food and eat it at picnic tables or go over and wander the grounds of the Mansion across the street.
This market is also brought to you by Urban Oasis Project, one of the most effective food non-profits in the Miami area.
Viscaya Farmers’ Market
3250 S Miami Ave,
Miami, FL 33129
Phone: (786) 600-0120
Sundays, 9:30 - 3:30