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SOUTHERNLIVING.COM / FEBRUARY 20 1999understand the importance of living up to the hype.”
Drive about 40 minutes southwest from the Miami
International Airport, and the low-lying city fades from
office buildings to suburban homes to South Florida’s farm
country. People on their way to the Florida Keys and the
Everglades will often take the 15-minute detour down a
two-lane road to the squat barn at the rural intersection.
White letters mounted on the roof proclaim Robert Is Here.
It’s been that way since the second day Moehling set
up on this corner in 1959 at age 6. His father, a farmer also
named Robert, sent him out to sell surplus cucumbers.
He didn’t have a single customer. The next day, his dad
painted “Robert is Here” on a plywood hurricane shutter,
and young Robert sold his
entire crop. From then on,
his mother, Mary, who later
became his right hand at the
fruit stand, had the school bus
drop him off at the corner.
Moehling hired his first
employee by age 9 and bought
10 acres (where the property
still sits) by age 14. Now, his
entire family works at the
stand, including his four
college-educated children
and two daughters-in-law.
Tourists happen upon a line
of cars parked on an otherwise
desolate road and meander in
to find the aroma of tropical
fruits next to marmalades and
preserves made using Mary’s
recipes. Off to the side are the
milkshakes—sweet guanabana,
sapodilla, dragon fruit, Key lime (the specialty), and more—
which draw groups of Miami cyclists on Saturday mornings.
Families can sit beneath the chikee-style huts out back
and take in the view of Moehling’s animal farm/petting zoo,
complete with goats, chickens, African spurred tortoises,
and emus (he sells the birds’ teal blue eggs at the stand).
There is also an aviary for rescue birds, where parrots will
greet you by saying hello in a handful of different languages.
In a state known for its wackiness, Robert Is Here offers
just the right mix of roadside oddity and Old Florida.MARY’S MANGO CAKE
A favorite family cake recipe from Robert’s mother
ACTIVE 25 MIN. - TOTAL 1 HOUR, 25 MIN. - SERVES 14CAKE
4 large eggs
1 cup granulated
sugar
1 ⁄ 2 cup vegetable oil
1 ⁄ 2 cup honey
2 cups all-purpose
flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 ⁄ 2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups diced fresh
mango (from 1
mango)
1 cup chopped walnuts
or pecans
1 ⁄ 2 cup golden raisins
1 Tbsp. orange zest
(from 1 orange)
2 tsp. lime zest (from
2 limes)
TOPPING
1 ⁄ 2 cup sifted powdered
sugar
1 tsp. orange zest plus(^1) ⁄ 4 cup fresh juice
(from 1 orange)
1 ⁄ 2 tsp. lime zest plus
2 tsp. fresh juice
(from 1 lime)
- Prepare the Cake: Preheat
oven to 325°F. Lightly oil
and flour a 14-cup Bundt
pan. Beat eggs in bowl of
“People on
their way to
the Florida
Keys and the
Everglades
will often take
the 15-minute
detour down
a two-lane
road to the
squat barn
at the rural
intersection.”PLAN YOUR VISIT Robert Is Here is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a
week (except Thanksgiving and Christmas); robertishere.com.a stand mixer on medium
speed until fluffy, 4 to 5
minutes. Beat in sugar until
combined; then beat in oil
until combined. Gradually
beat in honey.- Whisk together flour,
baking powder, cinnamon,
nutmeg, and baking soda in
a separate bowl. Add flour
mixture, ½ cup at a time,
to egg mixture, beating just
until blended after each
addition. Stir in mango,
nuts, raisins, orange zest,
and lime zest. Pour batter
into prepared pan. - Bake in preheated
oven until a wooden pick
inserted in center comes
out clean, 50 to 55 minutes.
Remove to a wire rack, and
let stand in pan 10 minutes. - Prepare the Topping:
While the Cake stands in
pan, stir together powdered
sugar, orange and lime zest,
and orange and lime juice
until combined. Invert
Cake onto a plate. Drizzle
Topping evenly over warm
inverted Cake. (Or make
a glaze, stirring together
about 1 cup sifted powdered
sugar and 1 tablespoon
fresh orange juice; pour
over cooled Cake.) Â