As we say farewell to another South Florida mango season, Brad Bryan and I created this Video Bite as a paean to a summer of truly amazing tropical fruit. This was a knockout backyard mango season, judging by the plastic bags of mangoes that kept coming home and by the comments about mango overload I read online.
Brad and I got invited to the VIP mango luau that kicked off this year’s International Mango Festival: The Mangoes of Hawaii. Delicate slices were passed around—these were much larger than the small bites one usually gets at the tastings. We sank our teeth into some surprising Hawaiian mango flavors like Maui, Pope, and Step.
In the Video Bite, Hawaiian nursery owner Frank Sekiya introduced us to a small purplish-black mango. We also interviewed Bhaskar Savani, the Philadelphia dentist who helped lift the ban on Indian mangoes in the United States. Some friends of mine spotted actor Bill Pullman. Apparently, he’s a tropical fruit collector who’s been working on a documentary version of the best seller, The Fruit Hunters.
Mangoes of the South Pacific /David Samayoa
Thanks again to Brad Bryan for the camera and editing. The Miami Dish intro music and graphic are by David Samayoa.
Mango luau at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden /David Samayoa
