Market News & Views
By Gertrude Mann
The Cheese Lover
Good news for all cheese aficionados! The Market hosts a new purveyor – The Cheese Lover. Rosa Perez is the owner, and her business sells only in the Keys. The variety of cheese is amazing. She carries 42-54 special cheeses in season and offers a sampling of many of them. There are several choices of cheddar, a favorite is a cheddar with balsamic. There are pecorino with truffles. Gouda with truffles and a Red Cow Parmesan. Rosa explains that this parmesan comes from a brown cow in Parma and has a wonderful taste. Beside these unusual offerings, she carries your favorite varieties. She emphasizes her reasonable prices for superb cheese. Be sure to visit this interesting vendor. She will talk cheese with you and quickly guide you to a selection you’ll like. Tell Rosa you read about her in the Reef Press.
Mediterranean Delight
Mediterranean Delight has a new and welcome offering. Jari (pronounced Yari) is happy to bring breads from a specialty baker in Montreal. He says they are organic and vegan and the assortment has something for every taste. If you enjoy a good piece of bread, try his baguettes, sour dough, whole wheat, onion and one more with red pepper flakes. He features varieties of olives, baba ganoush, mama ganoush with almonds, hummus, tabbouleh salad, labneh, falafel, yoghurt cheese, spinach triangles, and baklava. “All of our food is made by hand locally in our kitchen in Dania, Florida. We use the highest quality of olive oil and alkaline water in all of our products. We import our dates from Jordan and also a delicious zaatar spice that can be used on any food. Our white and wheat pita are made by a family in Orlando. Our company has also developed a detox product targeting the lymphatic system. This unique product has been years in the making and will rid the body of toxins. Please come and let me tell you about it.”
Jerry’s Here Farm Fresh
Jerry and Natalia, our fruit and vegetable merchants, have been the anchors of our Market. Jerry brought many of our purveyors to Ocean Reef. In conversation with him, we learned that they first heard about our community in 1997 from Natalia’s brother, Alberto Guytain, who taught Spanish and chess at The Academy. Jerry talked about his work, and I thought it would be interesting to our readers to learn about what it takes to serve all of us. He and Natalia work a seven day week. They wake up at 3:00 a.m. and put on double layers of clothing because the food market is in downtown Miami. They wear masks and gloves to pick out fresh produce. They return home to discard clothing and shower, load their truck and come to Ocean Reef for a busy day of serving the customers they love. At 4:00 p.m., they load the unsold produce and take some to Natalia’s mother who has a fruit stand on Krome Avenue. The rest goes to a trailer park food bank in Key Largo. They arrive home around 7:00 p.m. and put on fresh clothing stored in the garage to eat dinner cooked by their 17-year-old daughter, Natalie. They are asleep by 9:00 p.m. to follow the same schedule the next day. Jerry says they rest in June, July, and August. Appreciate this hardworking couple who care about all of us.