Your best ethnic stores, please!

September 10, 2009 6:05 AM

I'm looking for the best ethnic food stores in the Boston/Metro West area.

I have been going to the Super 88 in Allston, but ever since they remodeled it's been somewhat lacking. I'd like to find an alternative for Asian ingredients, and I'd also like to find stores catering to other ethnicities. Where do you go for your specialty ingredients?

Some stuff I'm specifically looking for:
-"Asian" ingredients (rice vinegar, oyster sauce, canned water chestnuts and bamboo, etc.) I realize Shaw's carries a lot of this but selection is not good and it's significantly more expensive.
-Bonito flakes
-New Mexico chiles and chile powder (not exactly ethnic, but maybe a hispanic store will carry them?)
-Spices - cumin and garam masala among others (bigger and cheaper sizes than I can find at the supermarket)
-noodles and dumpling wrappers
-frozen dim sum

I don't mind driving a little ways, since my plan would be to stock up once in a while as needed.

posted by backseatpilot to food & drink (13 comments total)

There's an H Mart (Asian chain) next to the Burlington Market Basket that is opening soon (if it's not open already).

The Russian Village in Brookline (Washington Square) is amazing and feels very authentic with the ice-cold help! The even sell beer!

Walnut Street Variety in Newton Highlands has Middle Eastern goods and British snacks and condiments. I'm sure there are better Middle Eastern groceries around, but it's fun.

There's an Indian market on Harvard Street in Coolidge Corner (just after the Subway and before Ten Thousand Villages if you're headed towards Brookline Village) that has a fantastic selection of dry and frozen foods.
posted by Mayor Curley at 6:13 AM on September 10

A couple examples come to mind:

For Korean and Japanese the Reliable Market in Union Square (Somerville) is the bomb.

Hi Lo Foods in Jamaica Plain is great for Hispanic and Caribbean foods.

Little Armenia in Watertown is awesome for Middle Eastern products.
posted by AwkwardPause at 6:17 AM on September 10

Indian
---
India Grocers
416 Boston Post Rd E # 8
Marlborough MA

on 20 just over the Marlborough/Sudbury Line

Great cheap spices (including a mix your own garm masala pack), wider variety of chutneys, powders sauces, etc. Cheap seasonal produce, cheap lentils, beans, etc. Its small but very good. This is no Super-88 in terms of size or variety. Spice selection is one of the best for its price. Ask where the cardamom is - its kept separate because its more expensive ($7.99 for 8oz or 12oz - I forget).


Asian
---
Asian Market
229 Turnpike Rd
Westborough, MA‎

Decent selection, slightly overpriced, good selection of vinegars and sauces. My wife doesn't like asian food as much as thai/indian so I don't keep a lot of this stuff on hand.
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:29 AM on September 10

Little Armenia in Watertown is awesome for Middle Eastern products.

Actually, there are three large middle eastern places on Mt. Auburn Street in Watertown.
posted by Mayor Curley at 6:46 AM on September 10

Asian

Dae Han Oriental Market
34 Elm St
Waltham, MA 02454

Super88
118 Commercial St
Malden, MA 02148

Indian

Waltham India Grocery
393 Moody St
Waltham, MA 02453
posted by mgkk at 6:57 AM on September 10

Seconding Reliable Market. It's not great for produce in the way that Super H Mart-type megagroceries are, but it's got sauces a-plenty.
posted by ignignokt at 7:00 AM on September 10

but ever since they remodeled it's been somewhat lacking

That's an understatement. What a disappointment that place is now.

Christina's Spice & Specialty Foods in Inman Square (1255 Cambridge St.) is no particular ethnicity but has a lot of the spice & flavoring kind of things you're looking for.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 7:39 AM on September 10

If you're ever in Cambridge on the T, get off at Central and there's an Indian specialty store right there. It's small but pretty packed with all kinds of spices, curries, chutneys, teas, etc. The lady who works there is pretty nice, but the guy might ring you up higher if you look/are non-Indian (like me). Just be careful. In the back of the store is a small eatery, and they have yummy pastries and things!

Shalimar India Food & Spices
571 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02139
posted by hellomina at 8:47 AM on September 10

Actually, there are three large middle eastern places on Mt. Auburn Street in Watertown.

"Little Armenia" is the neighborhood, not a specific store. In addition to the three large Armenian stores (Arax, Massis, and Sevan), there are some other good small stores. I like Northeast Lamejun Bakers, which is just over the Belmont line.

The Market Basket in Union Square, Somerville, has lots of Mexican/Central American/South American/Caribbean spices and produce. It's a great place to get cheap chiles.
posted by Sidhedevil at 9:06 AM on September 10

Some clarifications to a few things upthread:
The Hmart in Burlington is supposed to open Sept 25th and has many foodies in the area virtually camping out at the door for it to open.

The Boston area Chowhound forum is a place to investigate other sources.

Strangely enough, no recommendations for Chinatown yet? Sun Sun on Oxford Street has some hard-to-find items.

I also second the recommendation for the India Grocery on Moody Street in Waltham, there are actually a few other smaller stores on Moody Street that have other Indian ingredients and produce.

For Mexican/Central/South American ingredients I do know that the Hi-Lo in Jamiaca Plain often has ingredients like ajices dulces and other produce that is tricky to find.
posted by jeremias at 11:04 AM on September 10

The Turkish market across the street from the Allston Super 88 has a lot of interesting imported ingredients from Europe and the Middle East.

There are a whole bunch of pretty interesting little halal and Central and South American markets along Broadway in Chelsea, right across the bridge.

There's another Indian market catty-corner from the one Mayor Curley lists above on Harvard in Brookline. Dok Bua, on Harvard in JFK Crossing, has become mostly a restaurant, but it still has some Thai groceries.
posted by nonane at 12:23 PM on September 10

*sheds a tear for Kotobukiya*

Another vote for Reliable--I like it, and my Japanese friends go to Reliable now that Kotobukiya is gone. I think it may have a slightly more Korean emphasis, or rather, it may actually be run by Koreans, but it clearly serves the Japanese community as well, and I've found Thai nam bplaa and sriracha there too, so whatever.

Yeah, I don't know wtf is up with the Super 88 in Allston. I went there a month or so ago and...it was a shell. Are they revamping it or something? It's bizarre. The cashiers were strangely evasive about it...or else there was just a language barrier. Er, probably the latter when I think about it.

That same day, we were in Allston looking for Thai food supplies--the Super 88 was actually our last stop. Before that we went to the Sunrise Market (http://cityvoter.com/sunrise-market-152-brighton-ave-allston-brighton-allston-ma-02134/loc/157534) on Brighton Ave--that's a little gem, they had stuff like the special Thai basil (I forget what it's called..."holy basil" maybe?) you can't get anywhere else, and green papaya, and all kinds of Thai sauces and dried goods, as well as some Vietnamese and un-differentiated (as far as I could tell) "Latin" food supplies. When we were there, we ended up having a half-an-hour conversation with a random Thai-American woman about her favorite places to shop for Thai ingredients (a lot of them were far out so I don't recall, sorry...) and eat and whatnot...I have to go back and investigate some more. Good stuff.
posted by dubitable at 10:07 AM on September 19

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm hoping to check out each one over the next couple months and see what I like best. Reliable market seems to be the closest to where I live, so I'll probably start in that area and work my way out.
posted by backseatpilot at 5:53 AM on September 25