Market Lunch

Enjoy fresh, delicious dishes with a side of personality

By Danny Brody

The folks at Asia Grocery fry up yummy samosas stuffed with potatoes and green peas. Photos by Richard M. Brooks

I’ve often found it very inexpensive and fun to dine in a market or specialty store where serving lunch may be a secondary function. Usually, this means fresh food, no tipping (although I normally do) and a vast array of assets from which to choose.

The Honey Tree

One of my favorites is lunch at The Honey Tree. This old-school health-food store is bright and friendly, with small tables usually filled by a surprisingly diverse crowd of locals. I like to take one of the stools at the bar to chat with Sirhan, the friendly but stern overseer, who can describe in loving detail the Chinese broccoli with garlic, the pasta of the day and the savory baked tofu. There is a rotating menu of hot food, and the cold accompaniments — including fresh green salads and a wholesome, shredded vegetable salad — can be partnered with big chunks of creamy avocados. At $8 per pound, you’ll walk out pleasantly full and satisfied in the knowledge that you’ve treated your body like a temple for barely $10. But, get there early because this place sometimes runs out of food by 1:30 p.m.

Asia Grocery

Asia Grocery sits between a dry cleaner and a run-down pizza joint. You wouldn’t know it just by looking at it, but behind this ordinary façade is one of South Florida’s best sources for Indian Bollywood movies on DVD, as well as great music CDs from the subcontinent. It also stocks almost every Indian spice, pickle and chutney imaginable alongside a freezer full of Indian breads, such as chapati and naan, and such traditional dinners as sag paneer (curried greens and cheese), kormas (curries) and daal (like split pea stew). These preparations seem to freeze well, and popping them in the microwave at home re-creates the dishes surprisingly accurately. It also offers frozen Australian goat meat and a large urn of hot water to make tea while you’re shopping. It’s free, and it’s part of the welcome you’ll get from owner Khalid Khan, known as Charlie, and his wife Nazneen, known as Nancy. They are 37 years removed from their Karachi home, but their hospitality is truly old-world. However, the best surprise is hidden away in the back of the store, where Nancy serves up hearty dishes, including chicken curry and mixed-vegetable curry. I have seen people come directly to the store from the highway to eat these curries, served alongside fresh bread and rice. The Khans also serve one of the best homemade samosas in town; 75 cents each, you’ll want to order a dozen or more.  Large orders, in fact (100 and up), are not a problem for the couple, whose two daughters also work in the family business.

Casa Toscana Fine Foods and Wine

At Casa Toscana Fine Foods and Wine, a retail outpost of the restaurant of the same name, Chef Sandra Stefani sells Italian goodies, from breads and pastas to imported extra virgin olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Each day, the chairs in this charming shop are taken up by locals who adore her freshly made salads of whole-milk mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and greens with balsamic vinaigrette ($7.50); panini of chicken breast, roasted peppers, fontina and greens ($9); and the Tuscan soup with beans, rosemary and prosciutto ($4). You can top it all off with Gaby’s Organic Ice Creams and Sorbets, such as black sapote. As you gaze around at the stacks of neatly arranged Italian products, you might want to have a glass of wine and enjoy a lazy afternoon. There’s no view of the leaning tower of Pisa (the owner’s hometown), but you will feel transported by the charm of this local market.