VEINTE COHOL BANANAS are a small, fast-growing variety with a creamy texture and citrusy tang. They are rarely found outside of the Philippines. But at the Fruit & Spice Park, a botanical garden in Homestead, Florida, I came across a small grove of them, ready to be picked. "We have 40 banana varieties," said Philip Romero, a guide at the park. "These are more flavorful than your typical store-bought Cavendish banana. Everyone loves how petite they are."
The Fruit & Spice Park was started in 1944 by Mary Heinlein, a gardener who wanted to show that the clay-rich soil and climate in this part of South Florida—a region known as the Redlands—could grow tropical fruits from around the world. Today the garden, which is run by the Miami-Dade County parks department, grows more than 500 varieties of fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs, and nuts. And perhaps just as important, Homestead has seeded a community of farmers, grocers, restaurateurs, and even winemakers. Located about an hour's drive from downtown Miami, the area is a juicy bazaar for rare produce.
Bu hikaye Travel+Leisure US dergisinin December 2024/January 2025 (Double issue) sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Travel+Leisure US dergisinin December 2024/January 2025 (Double issue) sayısından alınmıştır.
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Oodles of Noodles
Slurping through a lantern-lit alley in Sapporo, Japan, where miso ramen was born
The Sweet Spot
Just an hour south of Miami, Nora Walsh finds a candyland of tropical fruits ripe for picking.
Freshly Brewed
In the Cederberg Mountains of South Africa, Kendall Hunter discovers the powerful effects of the humble rooibos plant.
SHORE LEAVE
Raw, wild, and mind-bendingly remote, yet peppered with world-class wineries and restaurants-Australia's South West Edge is a study in contrasts.
Of Land and Sea
Savoring French flavors on a gastronomic trail between Marseille and Dijon.
FAMILY-STYLE
Food writer MATT GOULDING couldn't wait to get back to the hushed omakase restaurants of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. But would his young kids love the country-and its cuisine as much as he does?
HAPPY MEAL
Many tascas, the no-frills dining spots in Lisbon, have vanished. But others, Austin Bush discovers, are being lovingly reinvented.
A City Abuzz
In underappreciated Trieste, Taras Grescoe finds some of Italy's most storied-and spectacular-coffee shops.
FJORD FOCUS
Norway in December? Crazy-and crazy beautiful. Indulging a family wish, Akash Kapur discovers a world of icy enchantment.
DESTINATION OF THE YEAR Thailand
Full disclosure: I didn't like Bangkok at first. I didn't get it—the chaos, the traffic, the fact that everything was hard to find. But like all good love affairs, my relationship with Thailand—which deepened when I moved from Vietnam 12 years ago to work at Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, where I'm now editor in chief—took time to blossom.