Robert is Here is the unusual name of a fruit stand specializing in exotic produce not far from the entrance to Everglades National Park  just off U.S. 1 on the way to the Florida Keys. A local institution for the past 50 years, Robert is Here got its name when Robert Moehling’s father stationed the then 6-year-old next to a roadside table loaded with cucumbers from his farm. Despite being there all day, he didn’t make a single sale. Figuring passersby must not see the boy standing there, Moehling’s father set up large signs announcing “Robert is Here.” Drivers saw the signs and stopped. And they bought. The rest is history.

Today, Robert is a smiling, bearded, avuncular figure with a family of his own who presides over a sprawling roadside stand that goes way beyond cucumbers. In addition to an array of fresh but run-of-the-mill citrus and vegetables, Robert sells locally grown egg fruit, star fruit, star apples, lychee, monsteras, papayas, sapodillas, tamarinds and many other exotic fruits not found in most grocery stores. He also stocks honey, jams, jellies and sauces made from these.

You’d think I’d know more about tropical fruit having grown up in an agricultural area called the Redlands (about 25 miles southwest of Miami) known for its subtropical climate, winter vegetables and exotic produce. My family’s home was nestled in an avocado grove next door to a 7-acre mango grove, and the Fruit & Spice Park was just a couple miles away. But when I was a kid I thought avocadoes and mangoes were nasty, and I turned my nose up at anything more unusual than a grapefruit.

Today, however, I’m far more adventurous—at least when it comes to food—and on a recent trip back to South Florida I stopped by Robert is Here. My mission on this particular visit was to sample a mamey fruit milkshake, which a friend told me tasted like chocolate.

Well, it didn’t. It wasn’t bad, but I didn’t notice much of a flavor that I could distinguish from the ice cream. The pulp had turned the milkshake a pinkish orange, but other than that I couldn’t tell if there was mamey in the thing at all. I was a little disappointed; I had hoped for chocolaty yumminess, or at least something distinctive and unusual.

Next I decided to try a guava, and with the help of one of Robert’s adult sons, I chose a nice ripe one— firm with just a little softness under the skin. It was delicious: crispy and tart like a sour apple. It was then that I noticed among all the signs advertising passion fruit jelly, Indian River grapefruit and Key lime pie hung a professional family portrait. Clearly Moehling wants you to know that Robert is Here is a family affair.

I wandered around the store as I slurped the rest of my mamey shake, and I discovered a small petting zoo behind the main building with tiny goats, tortoises and a donkey as well as chickens, turkeys, parrots and even emus. There were also a couple picnic tables, which is where I parked myself so I could focus on detecting a flavor in my mamey shake. Nothing.

Next time I’m at Robert is Here I think I’ll try the egg fruit shake. Or maybe the papaya mixed with passion fruit.