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Brunch and more at Normandy Village’s farmers market
Fruit juices and smoothies, vegetarian empanadas, organic produce and an endless honey selection; the farmers market at the Normandy Village Marketplace has everything to complement a day at the beach in a friendlier and more tranquil atmosphere than its South Beach counterpart on tourist trap Lincoln Road.
Stop for brunch and pick up a few Argentine empanadas ($1.95 each, three for $5.50) and an iced natural juice ($3.75 to $5.25) before heading down to the beach (just a few blocks away).
Besides regular chicken, meat and tuna empanadas, the Juices & Bites booth (which has a permanent juice bar across the street) sells a broad selection of vegetarian-friendly empanadas including spinach, spinach and cheese, corn and bechamel, broccoli and cheddar, onion and mozzarella, caprese, and three cheese. They also make all sorts of juices and smoothies including strawberry, banana, passion fruit, guava, mango, papaya, carrot and celery, and sell fresh coconut milk (let’s just pretend those soda cans next to the coconuts are not there).
The produce booth is a little pricey (in the $2-for-a-large-mango-price range ) but everything is organic and you can find many rare veggies that regular grocery stores don’t always carry.
Stop by the Bee Land’s booth for, well, you know what to get here. Most honey jars sell for $5-12, although there are a few family size bottles in the $40s. 
They sell uncommon flavors like eucalyptus honey, and jars with almonds and other nuts inside, as well as bee pollen and royal jelly, used to treat depression, menopause symptoms and other conditions.
The other booths at the market sell orchids and flowers (which I personally have some reservations about buying here or anywhere, but that should be another topic of conservation) as well as handmade jewelry.
Compared to the Lincoln Road market, there are only about six vendors here, meaning less price competition, but hey, it also means less time spent shopping around and more time at the beach.
If you go:
WHAT: Farmers Market at Normandy Village Marketplace
WHERE: 900 Block of 71st Street at the Normandy Isle Fountain, along the Rue Vendome, North Beach.
WHEN: Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MORE INFO: Visit www.themarketcompany.org
Sunday, 13 September, 2009 at 9:28
I last visited the market about 4 months ago, just in case things have changed. I’m an Orthodox Jew in Normandy Isles, so I don’t get to hit the market often, let alone buy anything.
I have a huge problem with the term “farmer’s market” being used here. The times I have been to the market, there has not been anything “farmer’s” about the market. The crafts, prepared foods and flowers are all nice and they’re a complement I expect to find at such a market, but the produce, the part that should be from the farmers, wasn’t. Except for a couple of items (some avocados, starfruits and mangoes), the produce was bulk-bought from Costco or imported from outside the US. That was deplorable and disheartening.
The company that runs this market also runs the Lincoln Road market so they handle things the same way. The one market I have been to in the Beach area is in Bal Harbour, on Sundays, next to the Chabad synagogue on Collins Ave. At least there were some local farmers there and I was glad to give them my money.
I’ll need to check the Normandy market again just to see (again, it’s on Saturdays so I can’t buy anything) but I’ve been sorely disappointed with local “farmer’s” market. They shouldn’t be allow to call themselves that. Street market is more like it.
Thursday, 17 September, 2009 at 8:30
I contacted the farmers market organizers to find out what’s the difference between their produce and that found at regular grocery stores.
This is what Claire wrote back:
The main difference, she wrote in another e-mail, is that the produce here is fresher.
Hope this answers your question!
Thursday, 17 September, 2009 at 11:13
Thanks for that follow-up, first of all.
I feel this info should be made public upfront to customers. I know not all care about the source of the produce, but then again, not everyone cares if it’s organic and we tell them.
I’d also have to see if we’re talking about the same vendor I saw when I went earlier in the year (during the FL growing season). For all I know, they’ve changed them. As I warned, my impressions were a few months old.
I know I have a chip on my shoulder about the term “farmer’s market” but that’s a whole ‘nother bag of chips.
Sunday, 13 September, 2009 at 9:30
As an aside, perhaps you’d consider adding the Subscribe to Comments WordPress plugin to make it easy to follow the conversation.
http://txfx.net/code/wordpress/subscribe-to-comments/