Norman Brothers Produce Market in Miami, FL: A Food Lovers Treat!

I just love to visit fresh food markets....wherever we find ourselves when we travel, my husband and I always seek out the best marketplaces...I'm sure this is a habit we acquired from being in the restaurant business for so many years. We have learned the best, freshest food available is that which is grown in the surrounding area and a marketplace or farmers market is where you will find all those fresh goodies

One of the best markets in all of south Florida is Norman Brothers, popular since it was just a roadside stand selling local produce from the fields of Homestead and the surrounding acres of Kendall, near where I live...now that more than 20 years have passed, since they opened this market and even though the fields around my community are now filled with homes, Norman Bros has found a way to fill their shelves with basic and exotic foodstuff which people come from miles around to shop for....Normans is a stopping place for locals and tourists alike....a legend so to speak.

They now even have their own strawberry and tomato fields in Homestead to fill the needs of those who crave freshness as well as good taste...And those plump ripe strawberries fill two niches, they are used in the famous shakes they serve in the juice and smoothie bar...No matter what time of day you go to Normans there will be a line of thirsty folks, waiting their turn to place their orders for their favorite flavor...My favorite is the strawberry shake made with fresh strawberries and low fat frozen yogurt, so thick and creamy it's hard to get that very first sip through your straw! Sometimes though I do change my routine and get a mixed berry shake with blueberries, blackberries and of course strawberries, but you can get nearly any fruit flavor in season as well as chocolate, peanut butter, Key lime, Pina Colada, etc...You also have your choice of ice cream, fat-free yogurt or the new lo-carb ice confection, called carbo-lite

Another attraction for visitors is the ever popular ability to ship bushels of oranges and grapefruits back home, available during the citrus season in the winter months. Locals enjoy that too since this is a favorite Christmas gift to send to those in the northern climates and they will do the shipping..

But there is so much more to find at Normans Bros...each department offers something new and different for all tastes, meals and snacks.

In the gourmet market, they have a cheese department that features cheeses from around the world, along with kosher foods, the highest quality meats, the freshest fish, and deli specialties, where they make sandwiches of the most unique combinations and wonderful salads of a remarkable variety...Want a hot meal? Then check out the food to go dept....everyday they have two or three entrees and side dishes all freshly made on the premises.

If you have time to stop and eat they recently put tables and chairs outside so grab a sandwich, salad, shake or whatever and dine al fresco.

Dessert? Well, you are sure to find a something to satisfy that sweet tooth in the tantalizing display of cakes, pies, oversized muffins along with other assorted pastries baked every day.... Oh, and not to forget the warm breads and rolls that await the bread lover who ventures into Norman Bros.

But this is a vegetable market after all and Normans has the freshest veggies available anywhere as well as fruit that is always perfect...maybe a bit expensive, but perfect, especially in the summer when berries, peaches, plums, apricots are shipped in everyday from all over the country...if not grown here in Florida. In the winter, as I mentioned, they have a big variety of oranges, grapefruits, and other seasonal fruit products and during fall, before Halloween and Thanksgiving, they have a small pumpkin patch with exotic and strange looking gourds waiting to put on display in your own home or to bake in a pie.

The newest addition to Normans is the little beer and wine area where only the finest imported and domesticated selections are available, one of my favorite events Normans has each year is the wine and cheese tastings, held usually before the holiday season, a smart move on their part!

But, on any given day when you enter you will find some sort of tasting going on...the last time I was there I had the pleasure of trying an aged cheese from France which had been kept in a cave for 10 years...served on a slice of pear it was just heavenly, but at over $10 a wedge of cheese I decided to just have another taste and be on my way over to the smoothie bar...

All year, and especially during the Christmas season, they will make the most beautiful gift baskets available, filled with selections they suggest or what you choose yourself...whatever your pleasure, you know you will be sending only the finest, freshest goodies to those on your holiday gift giving list

All in all, this is truly a wonderful local food market, where people come from all over South Florida to taste and shop, as do visitors to the area, to send something home....You can't go wrong at Norman Brothers, the Fresh Approach to fine food

Hours:
Monday thru Saturday - 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Sunday - 9 a.m. - 6 p.m

Located in the Kendall area at:
7621 S.W. 87th Ave.
Miami, FL 33173
Phone: (305) 274-9363

.