Evelyn Thompson is a great tour guide…read more We decided to stay in the Rogers Park area, but she said that she would do South side tours or Polish and Chinese grocery stores depending on what people were interested in. The tour started with the Rogers Park Fruit Market. This market caters to Jamaican/Caribbean clientele. Here we learned about some of the different types of white breads. They were half-leaven bread since when the bread and yeast was first introduced to the Caribbean the yeast did not do so well in the hot and humid conditions. The bread was pretty heavy and dense. The butcher had different cuts of goat for the locals. We tasted some epizote as well as saw some yucca and cactus pears that seemed to be common theme of all the markets. Two things we bought were a sweet lemon and a sour orange to try later at La Unica Supermercado Chapala was the second stop of the tour. This Mexican grocery store sells fresh produce, memorable guacamole and specialty items such as Mexican sour cream. There is an eating area with about 10 little booths where you can eat some the best carnitas around and roast chicken. They also have a selection of tacos like cabeza tacos. The store was packed when we went in on a Monday morning, it might have been due to the heavy thunderstorm, but people looked pretty happy to be there. The next place was La Unica that has food for all types of Latin cuisine. Some of the unique items I saw were the quince and mango jellies that were sliced and place on crackers with cheese to provide a sweet contrast. Block and cone sugar and chocolate was interesting to see as well as purple corn. People of the Andes make a refreshing drink from purple corn called "chicha morada" which is now recognized as a nutritive powerhouse due to its phenolic content. The interesting thing was the eating area to the side. Walking past the store front, one would never know that it has a restaurant in the back. We took a little break and tried a few foods; yucca (pan fried?) with some picked onions and two types of plantains. The yucca was very starchy and dense. It tasted like a potato, but was a little grainier. I could see how the yucca could make food go a long way because it was filling. We also had a fried sweet yellow plantain that was tender almost creamy. The green plantain was lightly fried and then pounded flat and fried again. It was like a very dense potato chip with just a light hint of sweetness. The sweet lemon and a sour orange we bought from the Rogers Park Fruit Market added a nice amount of acidity to the plantains and cut some of fat. The rest of the menu was pretty varied including Cuban sandwiches and some Peruvian dishes. The next stop was the Devon Market that caters to mainly Eastern Europeans. Here we see a lot of the same fruit and vegetables. They have a wide variety of wines form Eastern European countries such as Romania. The great thing about this market is the freshly baked bread. As you start to approach the bread section, the scent of freshly baked bread begs you to take a look. From what I remember a huge loaf was about $1.59. They also had fresh bread stuffed with cheese, meat, spinach or a combination of the three. Thai Grocery store was next. In the back, they have a place where you can buy freshly fried fish. Other things of note that I saw were Thai eggplant and Luk Chup (fruit-shape desserts made of mung-bean flour with natural coloring). As we were walking out of the store, we saw a stack of the infamous durian. There were quite a few so I wondered who buys this on a regular basis. Middle East Bakery was the next stop. Here we got to see all sorts of interesting grains and lentils. This was the first time I saw red lentils and red rice. We sampled Za'atar which I had only seen on Iron Chef America. They were many interesting desserts like a jar or nuts filled to the brim with honey and raisin and walnut sausage. Yes, I said sausage. They string raisins and walnuts together and dip it in honey to form multiple layers. Lastly the sample of fresh savory pastries stuff with chicken, broccoli, cheese, olives or a combination of the three was great. I hear that he sells these to Whole Foods. So you can actually buy from the source. The next two stops were Fresh Farms and Patel Bros on Devon. As you walk into each of these store you are bombarded with the scent of spices, it almost knocks you over. They had things that I had never seen like fresh red and white (no blue) tumeric, black radishes and fresh dates. From looking at the freezer sections, it seems that you can get just about any For $35 you get to have a fun 4 hour tour, learn some new things, enjoy great company and best of all eat and experience new food. To top it off Evelyn drives so this is a great value. I would highly recommend this experience.

So happy to see them open and supporting local producers like PQB, Dark Matter, LaClare, La…read moreQuercia, etc. I highly recommend grabbing a po' boy from 4 Suns. The catfish was plump, delicate, with the perfect amount of cayenne. I can't wait to try their okra.

Oh Wild Onion. Where have you been all my life! Wild Onion is a co-op grocery store that supports…read morelocal vendors and the community at large. More about who they are is found here: https://wildonionmarket.com/our-co-op/ Last week was the very first time I went and I just love their selection of local and niche goods. I left with what I needed on my grocery list in addition to a little more that I didn't think I'd want but needed! I also had lunch at 4 Suns Kitchen who thankfully has a permanent storefront in the co-op. 4 Suns is a New Orleans style restaurant that offers a lot of tasty fare like gumbo, Po'boys, rice/quinoa bowls, smoothies and juices. I just had their catfish Po'boy which was so good and I'm slowly eating my way through their menu. I anticipate any future orders I get from there is going to be solid all around. Parking is a little tight here. Wild Onion is in a strip mall however there are multiple, popular businesses that share space (Wing Stop, La Michoacana and an insurance store) so parking is kinda hit or miss. Try going during off times otherwise the alternative is metered street parking.

Great selection of quality olive oils and knowledgeable and friendly staff. I come here often and…read morealways have a good experience and love the oils I've tried so far. They also have other imported and local items.

Friendly and helpful-- purchased a gift which was presented wrapped in tissue in a nice bag with a…read moreribbon. Tasting is encouraged- questions answered and advice given. Large selection of olive oils- vinegars and gourmet food stuffs- as well as hand lotions, serving pieces- even books and linens.

This isn't my first time writing a review abbout the outstanding service and sufficiency here at…read moreMorse Fresh Market. I'll start by saying that ALL of the employees are courteous and greets each person as they enter. Secondly, the store is ALWAYS clean smells nice and well kept as in neat and organized. Last but most importantly the produce is well maintained and daily fresh, Ave and the meats are lean and very affordable. So it does my heart good to circulate my money within my community. I'll always shop here. Indefinitely!

Got some things from this locally owned market. It has an okay location in West Rogers Park. Morse…read moreFresh Market is on the same street. Has a lot of what to expect. The produce makes up a lot of the store's inventory, so be sure to get some of this. Before it was pretty common for grocery stores to be independent. It's getting to be like these are all chains, but not at this one. This market is committed to the local community, and helps introduce unfamiliar items to people. A long time business in the community. It opened in 2004 at this location. A few hard to find specialties like Caribbean, Latin, and West African ingredients can be found. They also have hot food service. Has quite a lot inside. It's located on Morse Avenue at Greenview and is popular with many people. They make a lot of the prepared foods made to order, so it's fresh, and there's a good selection of meats and vegetables.

Absolutely best Philly cheese in the area and potentially whole city. You are missing out on a gem…read moreif you do not come here for lunch / easy dinner.

Decided to go to my favorite spot for a bite to eat and I've never noticed this place. So I had to…read moregive them a try. I don't know if they change out their specials, but today was 2 gyros, fry and drink for 12.99. So that's what I ordered. The gentleman behind the counter is very soft spoken and thanked me for my order. I'm guessing the brothers part comes in as the other gentleman started working on my order. They were able to pass things off with barely a word. The dining area was clean and tidy. I took my order to go. The pita was nice and warm with thick cuts of gyro meat. The tomatoes and onions were fresh with a slight zing of the tzatziki sauce. The fries were good but the gyro was the star. The second gyro I asked for the sauce on the side so I could reheat it. The next day I was able to separate everything nicely and reheat it everything slowly and it was about jeff as good as being fresh. Looking forward to going back.

I go for the food which is always consistent. The workers there hustle and deserve to be ripped. I…read moregenerally order the steak tacos and the guisados which are very good. I the chicken tends to be dry and over cooked so I avoid that. If you like menudo, I get that from there only.

Loved the whole scene. Tacos were flawless. Pork cooked to perfection. Sharp and memorable salsas…read more Super affordable.

This is a clean store and very different from other African stores i have seen around. Absolutely…read moreno smell. Customer service excellent. One stop shop for most food items from other countries in Africa. Excellent prices. Great packing space at the shopping center. So many different drinks, smoked fish straight from homeland fresh vegetables and much more. You won't go wrong if you have a stop here. You sure won't regret you stopped by. Try Mado's African market a one stop shop for all African food items and much more.

I visited Mado's African Market unexpectedly while driving down Dempster Street en route to…read moreInterstate 94. Seeing the sign, I remembered that I was searching for bitter kola--the seed of the Garcinia kola tree, found in countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon. I circled the area, then pulled into the small, shared parking lot right outside which had a decent number of spots for the anticipated volume of customers that visit these businesses. After entering, I headed toward the counter. Shortly after, an employee came out from the back, and I asked if she had the product. I was relieved when she said yes and pulled it out; I had been looking for it for weeks, figuring that only African markets would carry it. Along with bitter kola, I ended up buying some drinks from the freezer that caught my eye, solely to spend more money and support Mado's. Bitter kola offers a wide range of health benefits, including boosting immunity, aiding digestion, reducing inflammation, supporting sexual health, and protecting against infections. This was the main reason I had been looking for the product. I often considered ordering it off either eBay or Amazon, but the prices were a turn-off. I am very pleased to have found it at Mado's, which I will likely visit again--whether for the exact same product or others. As a Nigerian American, I am proud to support Mado's African Market. ~ Embrace the journey. ~ Thomas G

Decided to try something new and go to a different sweets place on devon. Totally happy that I was…read morefeeling adventurous today, because this was a great find. The shop is very simple, with just various snacks lined up on the shelves. I decided to try some halwa to see how I liked it, and it was tasty. Even tastier than the food though was the price, I got a great deal. Definitely will be coming back here.

This shop is a distributor of savories and sweets to many parts on the US. They have a wide variety…read moreof sweets. They have the BEST samosa!! I picked up 3 samosas first. They tasted so good that, after a few hours, I went back again and picked up 5 more. The size of the samosa was the biggest I have seen. It tasted like the authentic Punjabi samosa from Chandigarh, India. I'd highly highly recommend checking this place when you are on Devon Ave.

Good grocery store with lots of variety and produce along with some hard to find items and…read morereasonable prices. The place is clean and fairly well organized with helpful staff ready to assist. The best part is the fresh juice bar that they have. You pay for the juice at the cashier and take your receipt over to the juicer and they will freshly squeeze the juice for you. The sugar cane and the strawberry / watermelon were real standouts for us. Definitely worth checking out for both groceries but also to get some fresh fruit juices.

Believe it or not there's more than Indian stuff at this international market on Devon. Fresh Farms…read morehas a few locations, including this one in an area well known for being international. It has a pretty big selection of produce. Careful in bringing the best stuff to here. They have a lot of experience selecting based on geographic regions, seasons, and weather. After going inside for the first time, we were surprised it was bigger than it appeared to be. It's got a pretty big produce section. This takes up a lot of the inside, and seems to be the main thing. A lot of the usual fruits and vegetables, but also has quite a lot that's not as common. The rest of the store has the bakery and deli counters, and they have fresh meats if you like getting meaty. Also they have a stand to get fresh gelato. The prices are pretty good, and they had lots of cheap specials. Clean and organized with everything looking fresh. It's certainly got Indian products, but there's a whole lot more, and good prices. This is located on Devon at Talman.