Comments (0) Best Tourist Trap - 2005
Mack's Groves
Northerners flock to Mack's Groves, a gargantuan glorified gift shop on A1A, to immerse themselves in a citrus paradise. Of course, Mack's carries a full line of regional knickknacks, trinkets, and doodads (coral, shells, candles, sea urchins, and starfish), plus silk shirts with palm trees and other examples of pricey SoFla kitsch. But folks who associate winter with snowplows and icicles can have their minds blown by Mack's formidable array of tropical fruit goods. Key lime aficionados will find key lime pie mix, key lime jelly beans, key lime drops, key lime mints, key lime tea cookies, key lime chocolate, key lime crunch, key lime juice, key lime marmalade, key lime mustard, and more. But the 70-year-old institution's staple is its citrus gift baskets (ranging from $30 to $60) -- assortments of fruit that can be shipped almost anywhere in the U.S. and even to Europe. Mainstays like pink seedless grapefruit, Valencia oranges, and honey tangerines nestle snugly against exotic offerings like regal honeybells, clementines, tangelos, and orantiques. Single pieces of fruit are under 50 cents apiece, and samples are always handy. Here's one store where it's OK to be sticky-fingered.
