SUMMERFIELD, FL (352today.com) – For nearly 10 years, the family affair that is O’Steen’s Market & Farm has provided the Summerfield community with a place to stop in, say hi and pick up everything from soup spices and artisanal pickles to the gorgeous produce grown right outside the door.
“[We grow] everything from summer squash, kale, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, mustard greens, collard greens, onions,” said Corissa Lynn Mims O’Steen. “And then I play around with peppers, we played around with cantaloupes this year.”
Mims O’Steen and her husband Levi own the Market & Farm. They live on the property, and they’re part of a family tradition that stretches back to 1936, when Levi’s great-grandfather bought the land the store sits on and started selling produce from a stand out front.
The latest addition to that legacy is O’Steen’s Kitchen, which has been serving a variety of homemade sandwiches, wraps and soups out of the market since early September. Customers can grab items like The Mater (a BLT), The Holiday (a Thanksgiving meal on pressed, locally made ciabatta), and the shop’s take on the classic Cuban, to take home or enjoy at a table outside next to the pasture.
“It’s been in the works a long time,” said Mims O’Steen. “We just had to get to that spot where we could bring in the right people, bring in the products, building the kitchen, things like that.”
One of those right people is Matt Renzi (“I call him a chef,” Mims O’Steen said with a laugh), who makes everything to order. The menu makes great use of O’Steen’s stock, from the personally sourced meats to the produce grown on-site and sauces made in-house.
“We’re using the best products you can find,” said Mims O’Steen. “We’re using uncured meats, the highest quality of literally everything.”
She said the Cuban has been the favorite among patrons thus far, with The Carnivore (nearly a full pound of turkey, ham and bacon with Cooper White cheddar and Chill Dill pickles) and The Holiday close behind. Mims O’Steen got the recipe for her roast pork from a Cuban friend–it soaks up the secret citrus-heavy marinade overnight before being roasted for 12 hours.
(A bit of editorializing: As someone who spent 30 years in the Tampa Bay area, this writer knows a thing or two about good Cuban sandwiches, and O’Steen’s makes a great Cuban sandwich.)
O’Steen’s is currently serving lunch from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, though they’re looking to branch out even further, and perhaps even add breakfast and an occasional dinner event to the menu. Until they do, however, O’Steen’s Kitchen makes for a tasty and worthwhile lunch-hour or weekend destination.
O’Steen’s Market & Farm is located at 14545 South Highway 465 in Summerfield. Diners can order ahead by calling (352) 245-0302.