F4tF: Miami’s Robert Is Here

While we were walking around Pinecrest I received another email from my chef friend that read “If you are up for more driving in a southward journey then I recommend the best roadside produce stand I’m the area. ‘Robert is Here’. It’s another 30 mins South.” When a chef tells you that the market you think is the best is actually the second best and gives you the name & location of the best place, you get in the car, set the GPS (again) and head out on the road.

Around 30 miuntes later, we arrived at our destination, quite simply put, the best farmstand I have ever been to in my life, Robert Is Here.

Here is the story of Robert Is Here from his website:

Robert Is Here Fruit Stand was established by Robert in the late fall of 1959.

At that time, six-year-old Robert was set on this very corner with some of his father’s cucumber crop and told to “Sell ‘em!” Robert sat all day that Saturday and no one even stopped. That evening, Robert’s father decided that “there can’t be that many people who don’t like cucumbers; they must not see this little boy standing here on the corner.”

The next day, Robert’s father placed a sign on each side of the table proclaiming in big red letters “Robert Is Here.” By noon Robert had sold all of the cucumbers and walked home. The following weekend, a neighboring farmer added tomatoes to Robert’s display and a fruit stand was born. Robert was out here on the corner every day during Christmas break with his little sister, Rose, helping him. When school started again in January of 1960, Robert’s mother made arrangements for the bus to pick him up and drop him off at the fruit stand. Robert and his mother would set up each morning and leave a coffee can on the table. Customers paid by leaving the money in the can using the honor system. The bus would drop Robert off after school and he would work his stand until it got dark and his mother took him home for his bath and supper. By the time Robert was nine years old, he had hired a neighbor lady to work for him while he was in school. Robert bought his first ten-acres of property when he was fourteen. He planted an avocado grove on it and rented out the house.

As a farmer specializing in tropical fruits, Robert has been featured on NBC’s “Today Show”, “World News Tonight”, and in newspapers and magazines across the country. He’ll happily tell you how to get to the airboat rides, where to get a great meal, and what that strange plant was you saw in Everglades National Park. But don’t bet on leaving his fruit stand empty-handed; you’d have a hard time resisting the wonderful aroma of fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits like Monstera Deliciosa, which looks like a giant green ear of corn but tastes like banana and pineapple; Carambola, or “Star Fruit”; Mamey; Lychee; Atemoya; Papaya; and in the summer Robert’s pride and joy – MANGOES! He’ll even cut them up for you to eat as you wander through the jars of jellies and preserves, many from his mother’s recipes.

Over on the other side of the stand you’ll notice lots of activity. People line up for the fresh fruit milkshakes and homemade key lime pies. For a truly delicious treat, try our key lime milkshake.

During the winter, you can also enjoy live music on the weekends, performed by local musicians, while you pick out big, happy sunflowers or delicate snapdragons to remind you of your visit to Robert Is Here.

We hope you enjoy your visit to South Florida. If you like we’ll even send a bit of Florida home with you. How about some oranges, tangerines, grapefruit…

Any words I use to describe Robert Is Here will not sufficiently explain the whole experience so I will just share with you all of the pictures I took that day. The quality, freshness and selection of the fruits and condiments was mind boggling. They also make the FRESHEST and most flavorful fruit milkshakes. As Robert told me that day “We wait until an order is placed to cut and blend the fruit into the shake so you get the absolute best best and freshest flavor from the fruit.”

Here are some shots of the vast fruit selection:

They also have walls and walls of Jams, Honeys, Hot Sauces, Relishes and other condiments you don’t normally see such as the one featured below

One of the other fun things about Robert Is Here are the vintage vehicles and the cool signs that are all around the property

I thought I was done walking around and seeing everything until I came upon the following sign, which led me to something I did not expect to see/find at a farmstand…

So I did and this what I saw:

Robert Is Here is located in Florida City, Florida and is open from the beginning of November to the end of August every year. They close September and October. Robert did tell me that he had a crop of fruit so good at the end of August this year that he stayed open a couple of extra weekends in September as he wanted to be the one selling the fruit at its freshest not someone he could have sold it to.

Robert Is Here sells and ships everything they sell from the farmstand online so take a look at their online store. Included in the website store is a seasonal guide , a tropical fruit guide and a section they call country canning which features their jams, relishes, sauces, condiments and more. As good as the stuff will arrive shipped from them, if you ever find yourself in South Florida with a car, a full tank of gas, GPS and the desire to do something completely different and cool. Head down to Robert Is Here and check the place out. Make sure you meet Robert and let him educate you on all that is Robert Is Here. It will be one of the most fun food road trips you will ever take.

Lastly, here is some cool other stuff nearby Robert Is Here if you really feel like making a day of it