A Top-Rated Florida Produce Market Offers The Freshest Exotic Treats Just Outside Everglades National Park

You're southbound out of Miami, headed for adventure. You come to a three-way intersection at the end of civilization (and the Florida Turnpike). A left turn takes you to Biscayne National Park, with some of Florida's best snorkeling and coral reefs. Going straight takes you on one of America's most scenic roads, the Overseas Highway through the Florida Keys. And taking a right brings you to the wilderness of Everglades National Park. It's a crossroads of adventure, Florida style.

No matter which direction you intend to travel from here, it's worth your while to start with a right-hand turn on Palm Drive. Two miles on, at the turn for Everglades National Park, Southwest 192nd Avenue, you'll find an enormous fruit stand emblazoned with the words "Robert Is Here." It's a top-rated spot to grab a treat for the road, from fresh fruit to an exotic milkshake or smoothie.

The fruit stand started in 1959. As the story goes, a local farmer couldn't afford boxes to ship his fresh cucumber harvest, so he sat his 6-year-old son on the roadside with a pile of them to sell. When no one stopped, he spray-painted a sign announcing, "Robert Is Here." It worked, and Robert is still there, selling fresh and exotic produce at a lonely crossroads on the edge of South Florida civilization. But it's not so lonely anymore. Thanks to his dad's clever sign, the world has discovered where to find Robert.

Today, Robert Is Here is much more than a boy and a table. Robert is still here, but he's a little older now with a staff to help out. He's also expanded, with a large plot of land, a market, a petting zoo, and even a lunch counter for fresh treats. These days, it's hard to miss the place. There's usually a crowd, and the parking lot stretches along the road. 

Wandering the aisles of Robert Is Here is a treat for the senses. The stand is known for its selection of exotic fruits, including guanabana, jackfruit, and dragon fruit. Of course, there's also plenty of farm-fresh local produce, such as citrus, mangoes, avocados, and papayas. You'll also find treats to take home, like jams, preserves, and sauces.

The lunch counter at this farm stand is not to be missed. Its milkshakes and smoothies are world famous — well, South Florida famous, at least. You can sample exotic blends from key lime to Robert's special blend: coconut, banana, and sapodilla. Best of all, you can create your own milkshake from an extensive list of fruit choices. There's also guarapo, a Cuban specialty made from fresh sugar cane juice. If you need something heartier to go with your shake, the market has lunch items, too — a good Cuban sandwich feels appropriate, don't you think?

A trip to Robert Is Here is an experience unlike what you'll find at any other farm stand. Sure, the produce is interesting and more tropical than you might be used to. But these things alone don't earn the acclaim that this little fruit stand gets. Robert Is Here has a near five-star rating on both Tripadvisor and Google. People are often surprised by the selection of treats and the amount of things going on, from the petting zoo to occasional live music and food trucks.

Located about 40 minutes south of the Miami International Airport by car, Florida City is the gateway to the Florida Keys and Everglades. If you're going to the park from here, you'll zig and zag through farm-lined backroads and go right by the produce stand along the way. The road leads to the Ernest Coe Visitor Center at the entrance to Everglades National Park, and then the 40-mile-long Main Park Road eventually ends at a hidden hotel called Flamingo Lodge.

Robert Is Here is open every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., except for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's busiest on weekends, when many locals stop by for a shake and some fresh fruit, but you'll find a crowd nearly every day, as it's so conveniently located on the way to the Keys or Everglades. On busy days during the peak season, the stand sells more than 1,000 milkshakes and smoothies a day.