Thoughtful Local Last-Minute Mother’s Day Ideas
OK, it’s been a busy week for everyone – us too. Here’s a quick-and-local roundup of gift ideas for all budgets. If your mom isn’t around, surprise an aunt, a neighbor, a dear friend with a local gift. Some of these are advertisers, others are from people or products we’ve written about, and others are cool things we’ve discovered along the way.
Lychees for Locavores
Local lychees are a coveted fruit with a short season in South Florida – only a few weeks – and fickle growing habits. But you can snag these sweet, juicy fruits, delivered to Mom’s doorstep, every week in June. For $180, she’ll get a five-pound box of lychees weekly for four weeks. If you use the code “EdibleLychee,” you’ll get $20 off your order. Visit Taste of Redland
Choice Mangos from Mango Men Homestead
They’re back! Pick up a custom box of the first of the season’s mangos from the source: mango expert Richard Campbell and family’s extraordinary collection. Visit their orchard in Homestead the weekend of May 11-12 for a box of Rosigold, Manilita, Cambodiana, Joellen, Pau Hutan, Vallenato and Nam Doc Mai. There’s also honey, dried mango and fresh eggs. A custom box of 10-20 mangos is $35. More info here.
Tropical Flowering Trees
This weekend it’s the Tropical Flowering Tree Sale at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Pick up a beautiful Tahitian gardenia, a Cassia bakeriana, a Brunfelsia lactea, or something else she can enjoy year after year. There are fragrant plants, showy tropicals, butterfly attractors, rare cultivars and much more. For details, check here.
Tropical Fruit Trees and Edible Garden Plants
Tropical fruit trees make an excellent gift. At Ready-to-Grow Gardens, there’s a big selection that includes 30 varieties of mangos, six varieties of dragonfruit, five varieties of loquat, and five varieties of avocado, just to name a few. They’re open Sat., May 11 from 10am-3pm at their nursery in Horse Country. Ready-to-Grow Gardens
Little River Cooperative’s nursery in Allapattah is selling tropical fruit trees, edible perennial plants and vegetable starts all weekend. This is a good time to plant as the summer rains approach. Find out more here.
Italian Treats
Show love to mamma with Italian treats (and be sure to pick up our spring issue for a full list of made-in-Italy food and drink experiences):
Macarons from Almotti, gluten-free and delicious. Available at Milam’s, Norman Brothers, The Golden Hog in Key Biscayne, Mima Market in Miami Shores and Babe’s Meat and Counter in Palmetto Bay.
A bottle of Antinori Tignanello 2011, fruit-forward with plum, black cherry and blackberry flavors. From Laurenzo’s in North Miami Beach.
Or Silvio Messana Montesecondo Tin 2015, dark crimson with red berry aromas. From Wolfe’s Wine Shoppe, Coral Gables.
Books on Food and Drink
Three new books by local authors celebrate different aspects of our food scene. All About the Burger by Sef “Burger Beast” Gonzalez is a comprehensive look at comfort food from its origins to today. Pin Pan Pun is an adorable collection of dichos from Miamian Denise Miqueli. Miami Cocktails from Gabe Urrutia is a collection of 100+ recipes. Story plus info on where to buy here.
Duck, Duck, Goose
Sister festival to PIG (Pork Is Good), Duck Duck Goose from chef Jeremiah showcases top chefs preparing locally raised and pastured fowl. Look for a star-studded lineup of South Florida's most innovative purveyors of haute cuisine, gourmet street food, craft beer and artisan cocktails at The Anderson in Miami. This isn't one of those uninspired "taste of" events so common in South Florida – each dish is terrific and chefs have lots of fun with their creations. Tickets here.
