Like a beacon in the sky, Jungle Jim’s is a Foodie’s Paradise!

I’m sure you are like this too. Whenever you travel back home or to a city that you love, you always have a “hitlist” of local spots you have to visit before you leave.   For me, Jungle Jim’s International Market is always on the “list”.  Think about the craziest thing you would ever want to buy….duck feet? a whole pig’s head? the favorite chocolate you ate every day during your study abroad in Europe? Hot sauce called “sphincter shrinker”?  Yep, they have it at Jungle Jim’s.

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Jungle Jim’s is the perfect blend of:

1. Function (they have everything)
2. Quirk (their decorations are eclectic to say the least – check out their website for photos),
3. Adventure (there is a surprise at every corner and you WILL lose track of time exploring the expansive selection)

Our “Mangia Memior”  (what we’ll remember)

To set the scene appropriately, my father and I are both insane.  We go into a trance the moment we walk through the doors.  My mom loves food andloves the adventure, but she is along for the ride.  And poor Anthony…ahh poor Anthony.  He loves to eat, loves to cook and is definitely an adventure seeker, but unfortunately, just had jaw surgery.  This means that he can’t eat for 6 weeks.  My worst nightmare.  But Anthony is a saint and doesn’t even complain.

My dad and I wove through aisle after aisle, while mom and Ant trailed us with the cart.After an initial scattered quest, we aligned on what our “weird” menu item would be -  “cinghiale” (aka wild boar). Cincinnati was kind of chilly and a wild boar ragu would be a nice hearty meal.

To our dismay, the meat department was fresh out of cinghiale.  Said he just sold the last one and was surprised about it.  I guess all the Italians in greater Cincy had a hankerin’ for some wild boar ragu.

No wild boar, no problem.  Guanciale (pork cheek).  We could make a nice Amatriciana instead- a traditional Italian pasta sauce based on guanciale, pecorino cheese and tomato, originating from the town of Amatrice. We also purchased some baby octopus, cerignola and castelvetrano olives and rosemary bread.

For our Amatriciana recipe, click here Recipe for Amatriciana

Top 5 “MUST SEES” at Jungle Jims

1. Visit the Bathroom.  The facade is a Port-a-Potty. Hilarious. Check out this video for a real view.
2. Scope out the Seafood section.  Tons of life fish, whole fish, shellfish. Awesome.
3. Check out the Hot Sauce area.  The names alone, will cure depression.  You will laugh out loud.
4. Look Up. Look Left. Look Right.  Amazing decorations EVERYWHERE.  An Amish carriage.  A bear dressed as a singing Elvis.  A talking Campbell’s soup can.  Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest.  Where do they get this stuff?
5. Check out the produce. Bring your iPhone.  You will see fruits/veggies you’ve never heard of.  Look them up and see how to eat them.

Life without an Italian Market, is a life not worth living!

It’s been nearly 2 years.  2 years without the joy of having immediate access to fine Italian delectables.  Paper-thin salty prosciutto, milky fresh mozzarella, spicy “gabagool” (capicola) and guilt-ridden mortadella with pistachios.  Mama Mia!!!  I could go on FOR-EV-ER!  It’s sick, the amount of pure and utter pleasure I find from smoked meats (and don’t be gross!).

Sweet baby Jesus answered our prayers and alerted us to Laurenzo’s Italian Market in North Miami Beach.  For all of you Italians/Italian-Americans in South Florida, fret no more….this is your spot!  Maybe check it out this weekend?

Our “Mangia Memoir” (what we’ll remember)

We drove 30 minutes in Tony’s HOT. AS. HELL. car without air conditioning, obnoxiously singing to the soundtrack of In the Heights the Musical, just to keep our minds off the fact that our flesh was melting off. But when we got there….GLORY!

Skip the Laurenzo’s Produce Market.  There is not much there that you can’t find elsewhere.  Head directly to the market with the deli and plan to stay for hours.  We did.

Literally prancing through the aisles, with devilish grins on our faces, we terrorized this poor place.  We purchased roughly 10 gallons of olive oil, 6 pounds of really fun artisan pasta, a pound of fresh mozzarella, mortadella and prosciutto, fresh baguettes, calamari… ok, I could go on forever, but you would just think I was disgusting. Tony even found a bottle of wine, “Castranova” that was the same as his grandma’s maiden name, so of course, a couple of bottles of that were added.

We heard the workers speaking Italian, heard the butcher screaming over to the seafood guy who was bantering with the market guy.  It was pure bliss and it just felt so right.  Not pretentious.  A real “family” feel.   We grabbed a deli sandwich to share and some fried smelts and calamari.  Seriously, who has smelts?!  It was like being home for the Christmas Seven Fish Dinner (what the hell is that?  Well, that’s an entirely different post, but this site is pretty funny and video might give you a flavor for what it is for Italian-Americans).

Thank you, Laurenzo’s Italian Market for lighting up our lives and also providing the ingredients for us to make this glorious meal.

The Meal: Bruschetta with prosciutto, fresh mozz and fresh basil.  Tomato pasta with spicy lemon garlic shrimp & spinach

The Details: We toasted the bruschetta, then rubbed garlic cloves over it, added the fresh mozz and put it under the broiler for a second. Then, added the prosciutto—it will melt right on to the mozz, but not dry out in doing it this way.  The tomato pasta was house-made at Laurenzo’s and the rest of the sauce was a one-pan creation.

The Verdict

• Bruschetta: 5 stars
• Pasta with Shrimp: 3 stars
• Would You Eat It Again?  Bruschetta, definitely.  Pasta, maybe with some tweaks.
• What Would You Change?  While we loved the “idea” of the tomato-flavored pasta, it wasn’t what we were hoping for.  I think the texture was a little gummy and the flavor wasn’t intense enough.  Also, from a visual standpoint, it was “off”, because the spaghetti sort of looked like carrots, creating a disconnect between what you were seeing and what you were tasting.  Next time, I’d probably opt for a traditional non-flavored pasta and throw in some tomatoes instead.