Visitor very impressed (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Fairfield: best towns, apartments, condos)

[CinciFan]

[quote=Cleveland_Collector;17345921] Even the natives in this forum say they prefer to go elsewhere.

The WSM is a true market. It has a tourist aspect, but it is mostly frequented by locals. I'm there 3-4x per month[quote]

I'm a local. I go almost every day, and so do my friends...

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by Cleveland_Collector

I have, twice actually. If I'm in the area and need some kimchee, I might even go there again. But, it is what it is. I'm not saying that you shouldn't love it, though.

Huh? Look, I get that you're trolling like your very life depends on it, but I haven't said anything about loving the Jungle, which even more calls into question your contention that you've actually visited it. The day you were there, were all the license plates in the lot from out of state, or did you just focus on the long lines of tour buses?

Hubby and I make a trip there about once a month. There's some kind of lavender honey from Germany he likes, a hot sauce we can't find anywhere else, a Canadian brand of cookies I'm fond of, and I could go on with a few more Asian things, although not really a lengthy list. We're not really foodies, and we don't think the prices are really great, so we might pick up a few staples but not many. We do always hit the reduced price produce section where you can get tons of great buys. I suspect we're pretty typical of the majority of Euro-ethnic customers. As for the many area customers of other ethnicities, it's pretty obvious they're there to buy the stuff that's not on the shelf anywhere else.

Any questions, or do you have a better grasp of what we're talking about now?

[Flee to the Cleve]

I don't understand why the West Side Market and Jungle Jim's are being compared here. They are two different things. Both of them are great places in their own way. There is no need to have a competition on which one is better, they are both good!

Jungle Jim's - Best international food market according to posters. Been there, pretty cool place.

West Side Market - Best food lovers' market America's Best: Top 10 Destinations : Recipes and Cooking : Food Network (http://www.foodnetwork.com/regional-international/americas-best-top-ten-destinations/pictures/index.html - broken link)

[Traveler87]

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

Huh? Look, I get that you're trolling like your very life depends on it, but I haven't said anything about loving the Jungle, which even more calls into question your contention that you've actually visited it. The day you were there, were all the license plates in the lot from out of state, or did you just focus on the long lines of tour buses?

Hubby and I make a trip there about once a month. There's some kind of lavender honey from Germany he likes, a hot sauce we can't find anywhere else, a Canadian brand of cookies I'm fond of, and I could go on with a few more Asian things, although not really a lengthy list. We're not really foodies, and we don't think the prices are really great, so we might pick up a few staples but not many. We do always hit the reduced price produce section where you can get tons of great buys. I suspect we're pretty typical of the majority of Euro-ethnic customers. As for the many area customers of other ethnicities, it's pretty obvious they're there to buy the stuff that's not on the shelf anywhere else.

Any questions, or do you have a better grasp of what we're talking about now?

Are there a lot of out-of-state plates there? I would assume Indiana and Kentucky, but anywhere else?

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by Cleveland_Collector

Dubbel zout dropjes?

Now there's an acquired taste!

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by Traveler87

Are there a lot of out-of-state plates there? I would assume Indiana and Kentucky, but anywhere else?

No, the times I've looked, it appears just about everybody is from the Cincinnati area and northern suburbs. Just pointing up the stupidity of calling it a tourist-anything, or connecting it with King's Island some way.

[kjbrill]

With the huge volume and number of very perishable items offered JJ primarily has to survive on the Greater Cincinnati area clientele. Even the founder and owner Jim Bonaminio calls it a theme park for foodies and is a tireless promoter. Certainly people do come from a distance occasionally due to publicity on such as the Food Network, History Channel Modern Marvels, etc., but it is hardly a tourist destination.

The original OP simply stated surprise at finding such a unique store in Cincinnati and how impressed he was. Somehow this degraded into a comparison of unlike markets between Cincinnati and Cleveland, even to the point of becoming infantile. I am glad Cleveland has the West Side Market and can revel in it. But there is no way a market comprised of multiple independent vendors can be compared to one created by a single proprietor the size of JJ. They both have their place, but JJ is a unique creation.

[Cincy-Rise]

Originally Posted by wilson1010

Next time I'm up there, I will snap a cell phone shot of a shelf with 200 different Korean spices on it and post it up here and the Clevelander can tell me which vendors have those items.

Have you seen their hot sauce selection?! I'd bet there isn't a bottle of hot sauce they don't have.

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by Cincy-Rise

Have you seen their hot sauce selection?! I'd bet there isn't a bottle of hot sauce they don't have.

It is unbelievable . You couldn't try all of those if you worked on it for 100 years. And, there are even more spread out in Asian and other markets. Never seen anything like it.

[abr7rmj]

A more fair comparison would be West Side Market vs. Findlay Market, and WSM being bigger would win. But Findlay Market is the same sort of century-old urban indoor/outdoor market and a lot of what people in Cleveland go to WSM for people in Cincinnati go to FM for. They're both amazing market experiences.

But comparing either to Jungle Jim's just isn't fair. Even combined, WSM and FM can't touch JJs.