Food, food, food... (Phoenix, Scottsdale, Chandler: transplants, neighborhood, university)

[Ars longa]

Just moved to Peoria from Chicago. I have to say, if there is an area in which Chicago spoiled us totally, it's the food. There are so many ethnic grocery stores there, you just have to do the picking. And everything I've seen here up to now (granted, I've been here for all of 10 days ) is your average big department store fare - Fry's, Safeway, Sprouts... you name it. I paid a visit to Trader Joe's - it was pitiful. I bet there are some good ones around, Phoenix is too big a city not to have any, but if someone pointed them out, it'd save me a lot of time and trouble.

So the question is as follows: are there any good grocery stores around? Especially the ones that carry European-style assortment of products. Polish, German, Serbian/Croatian, Russian are greatly preferred. Indian/Pakistani and Arabian are also of interest. Northwest area, but for a good food I'm willing to take a drive.

Thanks in advance.

[sheena]

Originally Posted by Ars longa

Just moved to Peoria from Chicago. I have to say, if there is an area in which Chicago spoiled us totally, it's the food. There are so many ethnic grocery stores there, you just have to do the picking. And everything I've seen here up to now (granted, I've been here for all of 10 days ) is your average big department store fare - Fry's, Safeway, Sprouts... you name it. I paid a visit to Trader Joe's - it was pitiful. I bet there are some good ones around, Phoenix is too big a city not to have any, but if someone pointed them out, it'd save me a lot of time and trouble.

So the question is as follows: are there any good grocery stores around? Especially the ones that carry European-style assortment of products. Polish, German, Serbian/Croatian, Russian are greatly preferred. Indian/Pakistani and Arabian are also of interest. Northwest area, but for a good food I'm willing to take a drive.

Thanks in advance.

Maybe AJ's may carry some of those. Check the internet or phone book also for specialty stores.

[silverbear]

Originally Posted by Ars longa

Just moved to Peoria from Chicago. I have to say, if there is an area in which Chicago spoiled us totally, it's the food. There are so many ethnic grocery stores there, you just have to do the picking. And everything I've seen here up to now (granted, I've been here for all of 10 days ) is your average big department store fare - Fry's, Safeway, Sprouts... you name it. I paid a visit to Trader Joe's - it was pitiful. I bet there are some good ones around, Phoenix is too big a city not to have any, but if someone pointed them out, it'd save me a lot of time and trouble.

So the question is as follows: are there any good grocery stores around? Especially the ones that carry European-style assortment of products. Polish, German, Serbian/Croatian, Russian are greatly preferred. Indian/Pakistani and Arabian are also of interest. Northwest area, but for a good food I'm willing to take a drive.

Thanks in advance.

We may have different tastes since I love Trader Joe's and use it as my primary grocery store, but here are some ideas:

For Russian -- Yasha from Russia, which I mentioned in another post today, is your best best. It's in North Phoenix:

10240 N 32nd St
Phoenix, AZ 85028
(602) 347-6055

For Polish, there's a bakery in North Central Phoenix called Europa Pastry:

6522 N 16th St # 1
Phoenix, AZ 85016
(602) 274-6047

For Middle Eastern, most of the markets are on the east side in Tempe, but there's one I like in Central Phoenix called Middle Eastern Bakery & Deli:

3052 N 16th St
Phoenix, AZ 85016
(602) 277-4927

There's also Yusef's in North Phoenix:

15236 N Cave Creek Rd
Phoenix, AZ 85032
(602) 867-2957

For Indian, there's India Bazaar in Tempe:

933 E University Dr # 115
Tempe, AZ 85281
(480) 784-4442

I'm probably missing a lot of other gems. You'll definitely want to do some more Web searching to find the best options.

[Ars longa]

Originally Posted by silverbear

We may have different tastes since I love Trader Joe's and use it as my primary grocery store, but here are some ideas:

It's not a question of taste, their selection is pitiful, they carry something like 1/10 of Chicago's Trader Joe's. The whole store had less variety than our neighborhood grocery store in Chicago.

Thanks for your suggestions, I'll definitely try some of them.

[chocolaterie]

There's also a Korean supermarket that sells a lot of ingredients for indian food. It's called Asiana Market:

4410 West Union Hills Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85003

[SpaceNeedle]

Our favorite place is Lee Lee Market (2025 N. Dobson Rd., Chandler). They carry ingredients from several regions around the world. They are pretty much our final stop for Middle Eastern, Persian, Indian, Thai, Chinese, and Japanese ingredients.

[MotleyCrew]

I must go someday to eat my way up and down the east coast. I always hear that our food is horrible from our east coast transplants here in Peoria. I have to admit that I do miss the CA. farmers markets.

[silverbear]

Originally Posted by MotleyCrew

I must go someday to eat my way up and down the east coast. I always hear that our food is horrible from our east coast transplants here in Peoria. I have to admit that I do miss the CA. farmers markets.

I grew up in New York and lived in various places on the East Coast before moving to Phoenix, and I've never found food -- either restaurants or groceries -- to be lacking in quality here. Of course, I'm looking at this from the vantage point of Central Phoenix, Central Scottsdale, and Tempe, the places where I spend most of my time. Things may be different in an outer suburb like Peoria. I'm not really sure.

Still, I suspect that in many of the complaints you hear, the real issue is not that the food is "horrible," but instead that it's different in some way. For some transplants, anything that is not the same as where they came from will always be bad.

[twiggy]

Originally Posted by SpaceNeedle

Our favorite place is Lee Lee Market (2025 N. Dobson Rd., Chandler). They carry ingredients from several regions around the world. They are pretty much our final stop for Middle Eastern, Persian, Indian, Thai, Chinese, and Japanese ingredients.

I love Lee Lee's and it's a very large place, I'd say worth the drive.

[jimbowilly]

Stanley's Sausages seems to carry may products that appear to be imported from Europe.

Two locations. One around 22nd St and McDowell. The other about 17th Ave and Bell.

Stanley's Homemade Polish Sausage Co.

There is another similar store in the shopping center on the NE corner of 32nd & Greenway, but I don't know the name.