We found ourselves in Hollywood Saturday morning and decided to check out the Yellow Green Farmer's Market, which we hadn’t seen since its opening a few years back. Then it was a hot, half-empty hangar off of I-95.
A line-up of cars slowly made its way into the nearly packed parking lot. After finding a space, we walked into the Italian Depot, stocked with freshly baked ciabatta, olive oils, pastas, including our favorite, Le Veneziane corn pasta, at about half the price we’d been paying for it.
Stands were set up outside the main building, scenting the air with Venezuelan barbecue and Thai satays. Inside we found a bustling hall, part farmers’ market, part ethnic bazaar. It was a microcosm of South Florida: Peruvian ceviche, Honduran street food, Cuban sandwiches, Mexican tacos, Colombian arepas, Brazilian acai, West Indian hot sauces, Ethopian injera, Greek gyros. We found rustic round loaves of delicious gluten-free bread, Louisiana gumbo, smoked fish dip, healthy juices, pastries that looked like fancy soaps. It confirmed my belief, stated three years ago in Fort Lauderdale Magazine, that Broward is more ethnically diverse than Dade. It was exactly the kind of market I try to find when I travel to other cities, and I was amazed to discover that it has existed for years 10 minutes from my home. Why aren’t people talking about this place?
