It was love at first sight for me and this grocer…read more
Jeremy and I had our very first date at an Indian restaurant. Neither of us had any idea what Indian food tasted like, but we have always been pretty adventurous, especially when it comes to food. That first date was all it took for us. We've been inseparable since that fateful evening.
He's been on a kick where he's learning to make Chinese food at home, and was looking for thai bird chilis. However, it's about an hour drive to the closest Asian grocery now that they knocked down our beloved Golden Bridge. So I thought, hey, maybe we can find an Indian grocery because they are legit Asian, and even though the food seems very different than Chinese, they do use a lot of the same ingredients. Anyone who has accidentally ordered "indian spice" level hot when ordering Butter Chicken (for example) knows that they use some MAJOR peppers in their dishes.
Plus, we drive passed this spot all the time, and I've been wanting to check it out for over a year.
It's a mecca. It's HUGE, with decently wide aisles, and about a gazillion Indian products that I have never seen before, but NEED to explore. We got the peppers that we needed, and could not resist buying a pint of what seems to be rose-flavored ice cream (I haven't had a chance to taste it yet, but I looked up the name and discovered that there's an Indian dessert that features NOODLES, rose ice cream, basil... my brain is intrigued!) and dehydrated whole lemons (which apparently can be rehydrated, or grated as is, used in teas, and a bunch of other things).
They also have a lovely selection of religious icons. I collect those, so I'm going to have to go back for a Ganesha (elephant-headed Hindu god of beginnings, who is traditionally worshipped before any major enterprise and is the patron of intellectuals, scribes, and authors. His name means both "Lord of the People" (gana means the common people) and "Lord of the Ganas" (Ganesha is the chief of the ganas, the goblin hosts of Shiva). Ganesha is potbellied and generally depicted as holding in his hand a few round Indian sweets, of which he is inordinately fond. Ganesha has the ability to overcome anything to get what he wants. Ganesha is a remover of obstacles.)
Now Jeremy is thinking of expanding his cooking skills to include more Indian dishes. I can't wait until he masters a Korma!
Totally recommend!