So, what's it like being vegan in the Florida Keys? Where does someone grocery shop? Can I grow my own food? Can I get produce all year long because it's sunny all year, I should be able to find and/or grow great food all year.... right? What about clothing? Where can I shop for vegan clothing? Do I have to go to Miami for grocery shopping and clothing?
Those are all valid questions. And, no, you don't have to go to Miami for food and clothing.
Lots of new people are visiting here thanks to VeganMoFo, so I'll give you a weensy bit of background. The Florida Keys are considered part of the continental United States, but in actuality are a chain of islands that run more east/west than north/south, off of mainland South Florida. "Key" is another word for island by the way. So, anyway, there's hundreds of islands in the Florida Keys, but not all of them are populated. The main islands connect by a series of bridges, the biggest bridge is called the 7 Mile Bridge, it is, I think, roughly 7 miles (get it?)
I live on an island called Big Pine Key. It is a special place because we have several endangered species that live on the island, the most well known are a subspecies of white tailed deer called Key deer. They are tiny deer, they are adorbs, and remind me of "home" (up north, where I lived most of my life). So, my little island has all this crazy cool nature going on, and with it follows regulatory agencies and refuges. My little island is part of several refuges and sanctuaries protecting the environment and it's wildlife inhabitants.
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| This is a Key deer fawn. They have spots when they're born, up to a few months of age. Key deer are an endangered species. They live in the lower Keys, most of them on Big Pine. They are herbivores by nature, but will eat anything that any idiot human happens to feed them. It is illegal to feed the Key deer. Feeding Key deer directly impacts the viability for continued long term survival. I adore the Key deer, and cherish every sighting! |
The Florida Keys extend an area over 100 miles long (roughly). Sometimes people will call me up asking "where's a good place to eat in Key Largo," (seriously this happens), but they don't understand that I have no idea where to eat in Key Largo since it's over 80 miles away from here. It's like calling Ohio and asking where to eat in Pennsylvania. Also, where I live is actually closer to Cuba than Miami, so don't ask me where to eat in Miami either (or Cuba for that matter).
The Keys are broken down into sections for travel and tourism purposes. You have the Upper Keys, Middle Keys, Lower Keys and then Key West. Big Pine is in the lower Keys, and is the most populated (oddly enough considering all the sanctuaries and regulations). For food choices, we have 1 supermarket (Winn Dixie, they are going to get a post of their own), 1 health food store (Good Food Conspiracy who also will get a dedicated post), a couple pizza places, a Chinese place, a steak place (never been in, never will go in), a diner style place (Springers, more on that another day), and a place called the Big Pine Restaurant (will talk about them more another day during MoFo as well). I agreed to move here and give this gig a try because there were 3 things I really wanted: a health food store, abundant wildlife, and ocean. The fact that there are other conveniences like banks, pharmacies, liquor stores, and other creature comfort places was just icing on the cake.
If I wanted to, I could shop at the Winn Dixie on this island, it's only about 15 minutes from my B&B. I do not shop there on a regular basis. I did make a field trip to the local Winn Dixie for VeganMoFo, and that's a post that will take some time. I am very disappointed both in management and quality of that local supermarket so I choose to shop elsewhere, including of course the Good Food Conspiracy.
Where I used to live, there was a hardware store that was family owned for generations (gone now, thanks to a WalMart moving in, which is on the verge of going out of business after ruining the community). That hardware store was in an ordinary small house. But, they had everything you would ever need. And, if they didn't have what you needed, they had a substitute to get you by. This is EXACTLY what the Good Food Conspiracy is like.
So, now you know I go to the health food store, and the Winn Dixie (only when desperate and needing maybe 1-2 items) but where else would I go? Well, if I go north of here to Marathon there is another Winn Dixie (I don't shop there either, ever, as they are not a veg friendly store at all), and there is a Publix supermarket. There is also another health food store/juice bar in Marathon called Food For Thought (more on that another day as well). I choose to shop for my supermarket items at Publix in Marathon. In fact, I was there today. The produce manager is named Chuck, and the assistant manager is Carlos. I have become friendly with them both simply because they have gone out of their way for me, and always been nice. I do not feel that way at all about the supermarket on my own island. So, sometimes they get specials and stuff in the produce department at the Publix in Marathon, and they will pass the savings on to me. I simply don't have enough space to buy everything in case lots from the natural foods wholesale distributor, much as I'd like to, which explains why I have to do some retail food shopping for this business Boy, does it add up. The Publix in Marathon is exceptionally veg friendly, and they're getting a dedicated post on MoFo soon.
If I travel to Key West, there's a Winn Dixie and also another brand new Publix. I haven't spent much time in the Key West Publix, but that is indeed where I've been getting my much loved broccoli rabe. The store is relatively veg friendly. I cannot vouch for Winn Dixie in Key West, I simply never go there.
In the Upper Keys the offerings are in my opinion, much more limited for vegans. I am planning a road trip up the Keys which will hopefully coincide with VeganMoFo. If things work out, I will post specifically on the Upper Keys. Until then, I tell people to eat at the MidWay Cafe, which is about MM 80 (half way between Miami and Key West, which is 160 miles, get it.....? MidWay Cafe?) The MidWay Cafe sometimes has non dairy milk to lighten coffee and tea, and has tofu on the menu. Although I haven't been there in a few months, they used to have a tofu burrito on the menu which was indeed 100% vegan. A few pre packed items like bars and things are also accidentally vegan, but so far every visit I've been there has produced absolutely zero vegan baked goods (there's a bakery case in there with fresh baked items)
The local Chinese restaurant has tofu and vegetables on their menu, and if you go with the white sauce, it will be vegan. I'm pretty unadventurous going in there, at this point, I stick with white rice and steamed broccoli with no sauce. I add soy sauce or bring my own Braggs. I don't go there often. It's run by a nice enough family, but I just don't think it merits a special trip being vegan since the offerings are so limited.
The local pizza places can do pizza without the cheese, but I must be 100% truthful here, I no longer get pizza either. First, I'm on very little dough (you know that), and also I learned that years ago one of the pizza places used a meat or chicken stock to make their marinara sauce. Ever since then, I simply don't eat pizza anywhere in the lower Keys except No Name Pub (which by the way doesn't merit a special trip for great pizza. Coming from the northeast, I know pizza. No Name is edible, and we'll leave it at that). No Name Pub is an entirely different issue for me.... they have salad that can be vegan if the cheese and croutons are left off, and pizza is vegan without the cheese (they have a decent selection of vegetable toppings too). But.... everything, and I mean everything is on foam or plastic. Personal pizzas come on at least 2 Styrofoam plates, then they give you even more foam plates I guess to eat off of. The utensils are plastic, not even Eco-plastic. The drinks are served in plastic cups, I doubt they get recycled. It's a horror show as far as environmental issues. I used to go there much more than I do anymore. Mostly when I go it's simply with people who want to see it because it's a tourist attraction. I make the most of it when I go there just visiting with friends, but I do cringe as far as their Eco issues.
Most of the restaurants down here (most, not all) can accommodate vegans. This time of year is rough as so many are closed for vacation. Square Grouper (closed for vacation) can be vegan friendly, Big Pine Restaurant can be vegan friendly. Kaya Island Eats gets a gold star for their vegan friendly practices, but they too are closed for vacation. I'm not going to "out" those who are NOT vegan friendly, but by the time MoFo ends, if you don't see them mentioned here, they're not vegan friendly.
More on restaurants another day.
I'm not going to say much about clothes shopping in the Keys, as this is Vegan Month of Food, not clothing, but I will say there's places to get vegan clothing in the Keys, both new and thrift shops.
When I moved here, I thought I would have a great garden and grow lots of food. No one ever told me the soil down here is poor quality, the ground is very porous, the air is salty, it's windy on the ocean almost constantly, and it gets so hot that things simply won't grow during what others think is the growing season. If you want to garden in the Keys, you plant around October, and harvest around Feb/March. Then April/May comes and it starts getting hot, too hot for things like greens and tomatoes. I've tried to grow everything here, from melons, to greens, to berries, and tomatoes. It's a nightmare. What DOES grow is tropical fruits. Now, mind you we had a pretty nice raised bed organic garden until the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority and the County of Monroe had us rip our garden out for various reasons relating to our installation of a high-performance wastewater system, which come to pass they have had us scrap after money, time, plans, and gardens were lost (oh, yes, someday I dream of telling the truth behind the scenes here for so many years.....) We grew our own mangoes, avocados, bananas, starfruit, Meyer lemons, grapefruit, Key limes, and a few other things. Now, we're limited to a few banana plants and a starfruit tree. We'll be putting our garden back in soon. It's not an issue that our garden was illegal, that wasn't it. And, it's boring for MoFo, so let's move on.
So, growing food on the island down here isn't really feasible UNLESS you live inland on a dry lot. That changes EVERYTHING! I have a friend who has an incredible garden on a double lot inland. It's a joy going to her house. She lets me pick fruit which I can buy from her. She always lets me sample the fruits, and everything is beautiful and tastes amazing. She is so proud of her garden, and rightfully so.
I never feel that I could live any other way than being vegan. So, although sometimes I may have to work a little harder to get some items I want or need as a vegan, I have never found myself wanting for food. Before we moved here, we used to come to this B&B for vacation. I was vegan, this place was not. I clearly recall no special considerations being made for me at breakfast, which didn't bother me at the time but now considering the gymnastics I do to accommodate my own special needs guests, well I think some considerations could have been made back then. Way back then, vegan was much more fringe, and also the owner, Sue, was older, and not really knowledgeable about vegan/vegetarian issues at the time. Even under those circumstances, way back then on this very island chain, I always found food. There was always fresh fruit available for me at Sue's breakfast table, so
I would have a cup of tea, and a piece of fruit. Then, I'd take an extra piece for later. As soon as breakfast was over, if we were staying local, we'd head over to the Good Food Conspiracy and get my fresh vegan provisions for the day, usually a tofu & veggie wrap, and a snack. Then, we'd picnic either here or somewhere else through the day with our food, and go out to eat dinner. Even 15 years ago (give or take) in the then-arid desert of vegan food in the Keys, I always found food and was never hungry. Now there are so many more choices, it's so much easier.
I suppose for people coming from a big city or a very veg friendly area, it can be a bit of a culture shock coming down here. I know when I first moved here I had a pretty hard time adapting, despite the fact that I vacationed here so many times. Vacationing somewhere vs. living somewhere are VERY different animals.
One place that I haven't touched on at all for vegans in the Keys, is my very own beloved B&B. I will be devoting an entire post about this great place during MoFo.
Living on an island produces some challenges to me, but there are vast rewards that are worth the trade off. I live in one of the most beautiful areas on Earth. It's gorgeous here. I am exposed to more raw nature and wildlife here than I ever thought possible. Generally speaking people are friendlier down here, and also far more generous with their time and knowledge. I've learned so much from the people that live down here. I'd like to say there's less stress living on an island, and maybe that's true to some extent. Running this business is not about me sitting on a beach all day drinking cocktails. Rather, it's about far more "stolen moments" during the day than I ever experienced while begin trapped in a prior life in an office. And, those stolen moments add up to a better quality of life for me.
For anyone who is vegan that wants to come and visit Paradise, you must come, you will not be sorry! For anyone who is vegan that wants to LIVE in Paradise, I would encourage you to talk to local business owners, figure out what type of work you'd do down here (unless you're moving here for retirement), figure out your housing and food budgets, and have a plan in place. You can be vegan here in Paradise whether living or just visiting. We're not the veg-Mecca of Portland, Oregon, but trust me the area is great for being vegan.
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