There are lots of nationwide chains in the northern Illinois area but I find them to be sterile and uninviting. There are several independent stores and them seem to have better prices but my favorites stores of all are what I'll call the ethnic markets.
One in particular is an Italian grocer who has built a store nearby. They also have a store about 20 miles from here that is my favorite. The vegetables are so fresh they still have some dirt on them! There is no such thing as a waxed apple.
They also carry multi-ethnic foods such as Indian, Chinese, Mexican and Polish.
Here are the Polish gherkins.
These are little bite sized treats for the Farmer.
This cucumber and onion salad is a nice side dish on evenings I can't think of anything else.
I would like to make some Indian food but without some instruction I'm lost.
How about you. Do you have any ethnic markets nearby?
5 comments:
You need one of Madhur Jaffrey's cookbooks! She really makes cooking Indian food simple. I received one for a wedding present a hundred years ago and it's my second most used cookbook.:)
You mean like Maggot Grocery in Stockton, CA. When we lived there - 15 years ago it was there, but with a name like Maggot, I wondered how long it would last. Must mean something else in their language - whatever that was. I really couldn't go in there because of the name.
We have all kinds of ethnic food, even in our chain stores. I like the India Bazaar. Lots of pretty fabrics!
We have several Mexican markets in the area, and they've got some fantastic food! And of course fresh tortillas made right there, hot and steamy and oh so soft and yummy. I love the fresh ceviche and various other fresh salsas and other items that we often purchase. But you will never get me to try the beef guts. Uh, no. Or the brains. Or the cow hooves. Cow hooves? I am still busily polling my ethnic friends on that... all of them say that they have never in their lives purchased a cow hoof, though they do all admit to having been prodded into trying beef guts at least once as a child... and they all swear that they will never touch them again because they're ghastly. But let me tell you, over there at the market, those beef guts sell like hot cakes. Apparently there are plenty of people out there who love them. Erg. We are not talking tripe. We're talking THE INTESTINES. Hmmmm, I know what's been in those intestines, and I thought that that was what we were trying to avoid at all cost... no?
Back to the cow hooves... the grocery store has them in the butcher case, complete with a half leg attached. Someday I'm going to ask the butcher what in the world people do with those.
They also carry turkey tails. Again -- huh? I have no idea what you do with a turkey tail. Would it not be a tad bit... gristly? It's an odd looking thing, but they sell whole packages of those little bobbles.... perhaps people make turkey tail soup?
You name a part of an animal, and this place has it. Except eyeballs. I haven't seen any of those yet. But you never know...
We've also spent entire afternoons at the Chinese grocery store. We're like tourists, picking up a package of some exotic fish or fruit or what-have-you and squealing, "Look at THIS!!"
Oh, the fun we have had scampering through the aisles looking for new things to try.
Life is an adventure. :)
We have one, which until recently had a "No whites allowed" sign on the door. Very welcoming, eh? We don't even have a Mexican restaurant anymore unless Taco Bell counts at KFC.
I live in South Florida. Down here you can find anything and everything. You can find Cuban, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Haitian, Dominican, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai and a lot more. I have grown up here and lived here most of my life. Its always surprising to me when I hear about towns where you can't find everything that I can find here.
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