Mike and I were given the greatest gift for Christmas (thanks, Maggie!) - A private tour of Chicago's ethnic grocery stores, led by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable woman named Evelyn who has studied and enjoyed the city's food culture for many years (http://www.ethnic-grocery-tours.com/). We took the 4-hour tour on Saturday and were blown away by the amazing variety of traditional ethnic food available in such a small section of the city (we stayed primarily in and around the Rogers Park/East Rogers Park/Andersonville/Edgewater/Devon Ave. neighborhoods). Above is a photo of the total loot, and below some of the details.
Above: Spinach and cheese pie from the Middle East Bakery & Grocery - with feta cheese and the most delicious lemony/spicy/tangy interior imaginable.
Above: Fried lentil snacks from the Patel Brothers market on Devon Ave. - there were probably 20 different varieties of these in barrels, sold by the pound. A great way to taste a gazillion different Indian spices. DELICIOUS!
Above: Dragon fruit from the Vietnamese market - We haven't cut into them yet, but they were too gorgeous to pass up. We were told to expect a white interior with lots of tiny seeds.
Above: More fried lentil snacks
Above: Skinny Eggplant (we're sure this was the technical term) from one of the markets (we've forgotten). We're eating it tonight, grilled. Delicious, and not as hard to prepare as regular eggplant. Also not as bitter. The jicama's from that same market (we added it to salad the other night), and the bag of diced cactus is from the Rogers Park Fruit Market. We used the cactus for dinner last night, and it was delicious - when cooked, it gets a little slimy, like okra. We were also able to use the epazote we picked up on the tour in the same dish. Here's the recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cactus-and-Zucchini-in-Oaxacan-Pumpkin-Seed-Sauce-105406
Above: Bread and various house-made spreads from the Middle East Bakery & Grocery - ALL OF THEM DELICIOUS! The bread was warm when we bought it.
Above: Epazote
We failed to pick up business cards/bags from every place we went, but we did get a few (see below). Lunch was at La Unica, a grocery store with an AMAZING Cuban/Latin American hole-in-the-wall restaurant in back. Definitely the highlight of the tour, and we'll be heading back there as often as possible. The Yucca with Spanish Sauce (indescribably delicious) and the Congri (black beans with white rice) were exceptional, especially with a squeeze of sour orange all over everything (Evelyn bought the fruit at the first grocery stop and kept it until lunch for precisely this purpose).
We highly recommend this tour to anyone with an interest in food, especially if your palate could use a little perking up. It's hard to explore these groceries and neighborhoods and not leave hungry for new ingredients and flavor combinations.
Evelyn and her tour are a gem in the city.
Above: Spinach and cheese pie from the Middle East Bakery & Grocery - with feta cheese and the most delicious lemony/spicy/tangy interior imaginable.
Above: Fried lentil snacks from the Patel Brothers market on Devon Ave. - there were probably 20 different varieties of these in barrels, sold by the pound. A great way to taste a gazillion different Indian spices. DELICIOUS!
Above: Dragon fruit from the Vietnamese market - We haven't cut into them yet, but they were too gorgeous to pass up. We were told to expect a white interior with lots of tiny seeds.
Above: More fried lentil snacks
Above: Skinny Eggplant (we're sure this was the technical term) from one of the markets (we've forgotten). We're eating it tonight, grilled. Delicious, and not as hard to prepare as regular eggplant. Also not as bitter. The jicama's from that same market (we added it to salad the other night), and the bag of diced cactus is from the Rogers Park Fruit Market. We used the cactus for dinner last night, and it was delicious - when cooked, it gets a little slimy, like okra. We were also able to use the epazote we picked up on the tour in the same dish. Here's the recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cactus-and-Zucchini-in-Oaxacan-Pumpkin-Seed-Sauce-105406
Above: Bread and various house-made spreads from the Middle East Bakery & Grocery - ALL OF THEM DELICIOUS! The bread was warm when we bought it.
Above: Epazote
We failed to pick up business cards/bags from every place we went, but we did get a few (see below). Lunch was at La Unica, a grocery store with an AMAZING Cuban/Latin American hole-in-the-wall restaurant in back. Definitely the highlight of the tour, and we'll be heading back there as often as possible. The Yucca with Spanish Sauce (indescribably delicious) and the Congri (black beans with white rice) were exceptional, especially with a squeeze of sour orange all over everything (Evelyn bought the fruit at the first grocery stop and kept it until lunch for precisely this purpose).
We highly recommend this tour to anyone with an interest in food, especially if your palate could use a little perking up. It's hard to explore these groceries and neighborhoods and not leave hungry for new ingredients and flavor combinations.
Evelyn and her tour are a gem in the city.