A Miami food tour with a toddler

I’m not very interested in family travel. (Bear with me). What I am interested in is family-friendly travel. To me, the first is often very limiting – the kind of trip you’d never take if you didn’t have a child.

And while there’s certainly nothing wrong with some sun, a beach and kids’ clubs, or a spot of camping, or any of the other stereotypical ‘family breaks’, that’s not what I want every time I book a holiday.

Because while some travel might be designed with children in mind, there’s nothing to say that everything else is off limits. How about a food-themed walking tour of Miami’s Little Havana for example? If you’re thinking a Miami food tour with a toddler is not the most obvious way to pass a few hours, you’d be right. But in fact, with half a day to spend in the city after our Caribbean cruise, it was perfect.

For ideas of more things to do in Miami with kids, check out my top picks

Discovering offerings in the roots of the ceiba tree (including dead pigeons and a sponge cake) and a very slow amble across five blocks of Little Havana, tasting some of the areas most famous dishes along the way.

From mariquitas con mojo – plantain chips with a clear garlic dipping sauce – to Cuban sandwiches, super-strong colada espresso which comes in tiny cups and sugar-cane juice, it’s one of my favourite memories of this glamorous beachy city.

And as to whether it’s child-friendly? I discovered five bonuses of spending my day here trying out a Miami food tour with a toddler.

Bonus 1: It was at lunchtime, meaning I didn’t have to worry about finding somewhere to eat – plus it was also Minnie’s nap-time, so she could doze through part of the tour. And when she was awake, she had the option to nibble some Cuban cuisine with me.

Bonus 2: Just because it’s a walking tour, there’s no reason you can’t bring a buggy. (I checked). Or a toddler, for that matter.

Bonus 3: If she had had a meltdown, I could simply slip away (albeit very regretfully) – unlike a bus tour for example. Minnie was as good as gold but I always like an escape route… just in case.

Bonus 4: If you want to see a smile from one of a stereotypically grouchy ‘abuelo’ (or grandfather) in Maximo Gomez Park, produce a small blonde-haired blue-eyed toddler. They melt faster than the ice cream at Azucar Ice Cream over the road. Also, stop at Azucar Ice Cream, they have the most fantastic flavours… although I was almost too full by this point to appreciate them.

Bonus 5: A couple of hours doing something I really enjoyed – and scoffing some new foods too – thoroughly recharged my batteries before our long-haul flight home.

Because there’s a whole world out there to explore – and I’m discovering more and more that having kids needn’t stop you exploring it… despite what people tell you. So why be restricted to the bits labelled ‘for families’ only?

A Miami food tour

In the roots of the Ceiba tree lie two dead pigeons, a coconut shell and, incongruously, a cellophane-wrapped sponge cake; sacrifices to appease evil spirits, explains our guide Steven.

A more traditional offering of flowers sits at the feet of a nearby statue of the Virgin Mary but in Miami’s Little Havana, animist religion Santeria – a mix of West African, Caribbean and Catholic beliefs – is far from an exotic ruse to lure the tourists in.

So much so that the city has agreed laws allowing you to sacrifice anything you like… as long as it’s no bigger than a chicken. Which probably came as no satisfaction to the turtle originally occupying the shell a few tree roots away.

When I signed up for a culinary tour of Miami’s famous Cuban area, I wasn’t expecting to cram pet pigs, the Bay of Pigs, cigars and cockerels into a leisurely amble. But then Calle Ocho, as the neighbourhood’s main street is best known, is as far from the body-conscious glitz of South Beach as Southampton.

I could have walked the five blocks, from a gallery selling Santeria-inspired art to the actual sacrifices, in about 10 minutes. To start to uncover the area’s history and culture, it’s far better to take it slowly, one morsel at a time.

Quite literally, starting at El Pub with tostones rellenos de pollo – chicken-stuffed plantain– and finishing with tropical mamey fruit cones at Azucar Ice Cream.

Across the road sit the domino players of Maximo Gomez Park, the owner’s ready-made focus group whenever she creates a new flavour. Women have crept into this traditionally masculine spot, along with chess and cards, although no-one tries to break the over-55s only rule.

I nibble mariquitas with mojo, plantain chips with a clear garlic dipping sauce at El Exquisito and discover the special sweet egg bread used in a Medianoche isn’t just delicious, it’s practical, to stop this variation on a classic Cuban sandwich going hard before midnight.

Between failing to recognise almost every name apart from Gloria Estefan on the street’s Walk of Fame, I watch traditional hand-rolling techniques at the Cuba Tobacco Cigar Company and opposite the Art Deco Tower Theater, get a glimpse of the anonymous-looking window behind which the Bay of Pigs invasion was planned.

The black granite monument commemorating the 68 exiles killed in action sits minutes away on the Cuban Memorial Plaza, although its ‘eternal’ flame on top has long since flickered out.

There’s no bitter note to finish on though as we troop on to Yisell bakery to share out ‘colada’ in thimble-sized cups. With this Cuban-style espresso, that’s all you need.

Liberally sweetened and eye-poppingly strong, it’s a match for the worst jetlag and useful preparation for meeting friendly pot-bellied pigs with a fondness for snuffling sandalled feet.

Roaming the back yard of Los Pinarenos Fruteria, where we sip sugar-cane juice guarapo, Tuca is part pet, part mascot and wholly good at keeping you on your toes. Rather like Calle Ocho itself.

For more ideas of things to do in Miami with kids, click here…

All images copyright MummyTravels

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