International grocery stores in the US

[fortyfeetunder]

When I was a kid in DC, Safeway opened a store in the downtown area called Safeway International, probably to serve the diplomatic community. I loved to visit that store and see what I could possibly buy.

Now, the things I am liking about my community (Seattle and its suburbs) are the international grocery stores. Most of them are Asian (Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Korean) or Mexican, and we have a German deli with food from Germany in the area.

Now I am seeing more types of stores, like Mediterranean, Indian and Eastern Europe. Talking about expanding one's eating horizons. There is a good thing to immigration, learning what other people eat!

Couple of weeks ago I went to an Indian grocery store and bought garam masala and some lentils and made a pot of lentil soup. Yum!

Actually my weakness is the spice racks in these stores. I have a spice closet full, and I use something from the closet every day...

How about you? Have you explored into other grocery stores, and experimented with another country's cuisine?

[Stinky The Clown]

1. The international groceries are like a trip to another country

We love to shop at them. Our local Safeway is a reasonably good grocery store and has a reasonable selection of international stuff, but they don't (and, reasonably, couldn't) hold a candle when one wants something genuine and esoteric. We live between Baltimore and DC. There are many international groceries to cruise. I dare say, every ethnicity can be found, since some of the stores are actually multi-ethnic, particularly the Latino and Caribbean stores, but also some of the (relatively new to the area) Eastern European stores.

My problem is not knowing half the stuff that's there. I often see what appear to be great ingredients but haven't a clue as to how to use them. This is most often, for me, in Asian grocers. I've found that the clerks' and workers' command of English is pretty limited.

Our fish comes from an Asian grocer who has some of the best fish in the entire area. Not only is it very fresh and reasonably priced, the variety is second to none. I like bream, which is common in southern Europe, but hard to find here. They often have several kinds.

Similar to the international stores are the whole foods/organic stores. They have stuff that's hard to find anywhere else.

Our shopping tends to be more the daily-and-use-it variety than the once-a-week or once-a-month-and-freeze variety. The trips to the stores are half the fun!

[wryter2000]

2. A wonderful, old Oaktown tradition

Ratto's Delicatessen. They put out their own olive oil and balsamic vinegar. All kinds of pastas and cheeses. I love that place.

Actually, in and around downtown Oakland, I could have a Mexican lunch, wander over to Saag's sausage shop and speak German with the guys behind the counter, and then hop on a bus for a couple of miles and chat in Italian at the Genova Delicatessen. Of course, if I had started my travels in Chinatown, I could have added several Asian languages. (It would help if I spoke any of those languages, though.)

I love my hometown.

[eleny]

3. My favorite

I like visiting the Mexican bakery. They don't speak English, so I have to brush up on my numbers and favorite pastry names in Spanish before I go shop. The place has a fragrance that must be like heaven. My favorite is a pastry with pineapple in it - "pin~a".

[NashVegas]

4. Nashville Has a Ton of Int'l Grocers

for a town with this much of a reputation for being "provincial" it's a delight.

There's a huge one near me, that occupies a former Service Merchandise store. I've gone in a few times, mostly for produce.

The seafood section is comprised of what looks like a series of kiddie swimming pools-cum-spas. The smell over there is pretty nasty, though.