I shop at my local Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, and Hispanic grocery stores because the produce is really good and the prices are always lower. I honestly don’t remember the last time I went into a normal grocery store like Kroger/Safeway/Publix/whatever.
However, I have noticed that I am usually one of few, if not the only white person shopping there.
Do you guys shop at “ethnic” (I can’t think of a better word to describe what I’m trying to say) grocery stores? Why do you think most Americans don’t tend to shop there on a regular basis?
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When I lived in an area that was largely Asian I shopped in the Asian grocery stores regularly. Now the closest to me is about a 30 minute drive. I still go for sushi ingredients and harder to find seafood but its too far out of my way to go for regular shopping. I maybe go a few times a year now.
Never.
When I lived near them, maybe once every couple months for particular ingredients. Indian grocers are amazing for spices, an 8 Oz bag of cumin seed for $3 rather than $5 for a half ounce of McCormicks’ ground?
We go to Chinatown for bulk tea.
There’s a Middle Eastern market I shop at sometimes. It’s not uncommon to see white shoppers. On the other hand, I’m one of the few black people who shop there.
Mexican markets are awesome.
Not as much as I should because I tend to just shop at the food co-op in my neighborhood. But we have two big Asian markets, H Mart and 99 Ranch, that I go to whenever I need my lychee coconut jelly fix.
I used to shop at an Indian one. Amazing spices. I’ll stop in my local Mexican market once a month.
Maybe it averages to once every 6 weeks. Uwajimaya, H-Mart, and smaller independent Ethiopian or Indian grocery. And a couple independent Asian grocery once I learned they reliably stock lime leaves
Every two months. There’s a nice Indian grocery near work, great place to stock up on tea, nuts, spices, dried fruit and cookies. If I was a vegetarian I’d shop there more frequently for dried legumes and rice, great prices and quality.I also try to get over to Hmart for things like mild gochujang for marinades, imported candy, sauces and sometimes sticker packs for the kids. There is a Mexican/Central American market in my old hometown that I went to at least once a month, but I moved away. So many tostada dinners when I was near.
You owe it to yourself to check out some of these places.
Never. The only one I even know of is like 40 minutes away.
Specialty items cost less at ethnic stores, (IE soy sauce at Chinese market, or cereal at an American store). You just need to know what’s cheaper and buy only those things at those stores
Every day
I shop pretty regularly at several of our local pan-Asian stores, mostly for Japanese ingredients I can’t get at regular grocery stores. They’re all mom ‘n pop operations, so the produce isn’t amazing and neither are the prices.
It’s not uncommon for me to be the only white person in the store, but I do see them regularly…
Sure!
My most regular are a Sri Lanka market, where they sell all kinds of spices and South Asian vegetables etc…a Chinese supermarket (Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese stuff) and an ‘Eastern European ‘ market run by Ukrainians.
The last has great sausages and meat products, home made pierogi etc
I used to frequently go to Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, and general Asian stores when I was in California, and occasionally to Indian and Mexican stores. After moving to Germany, I have gone less frequently, not only because of a smaller amount of these stores around, but also a smaller variety. Here, there are more Turkish, Middle Eastern, and some Balkan stores, from what I have seen.
My reasons for going to ethnic stores is usually to find products and ingredients which I like/love, but are rare or impossible to find in general grocery stories, and because comparable items can often be cheaper in ethnic stores than in general stores.
I don’t really have any nearby, and most are really out of the way. I’ve gone to some before though when location wasn’t an issue. I liked the variety of Yerba mate at some little shops. But I haven’t drank any in a while.
I typically do most of my shopping at Costco and ALDI. Most of these types of stores don’t offer the variety of a typical grocery store. I know so many people who only shop at one store for everything. They can’t be bothered to actually shop around. I have a little local shop for produce, and get most other things from the others mentioned.
Does HEB count?
Daily because my whole neighborhood is hispanic
I only go to Murican shops if I need to do SERIOUS grocery shopping (which rarely happens)
Pretty frequently, I cook a lot of Japanese food as a Japanese-American. I’ll also go to the Mexican grocery stores on occasion – they do fresh tortillas and pan dulce.
I probably go once a month to one of the asian/indian/mexican stores nearby because my local grocery store has a pathetic ethnic section and those shops have a ton of stuff I cant get at Shop Rite.
I think a lot of people dont go there regularly because (at least near me) most of those stores dont have much other staples like cleaning/paper/pet supplies. Plus the meat selection can be…questionable. If I go there its always an extra trip, not my main grocery run.
Not often enough.
I worked abroad for several years and out of necessity I shopped at local grocery stores there. I enjoyed the fresh produce vegetables fruits and meats etc..and spices in its raw form and learned to incorporate spices in my daily cooking..by trail and error i learned to cook for my family..I learnt to appreciate the variety of choices , culture and local customs..I returned back to the US and started by visiting, shopping though appreciated the one stop shop all environment However could not continue on to shop …mainly due to it was expensive to purchase organic produce ..i started look around and visited the many local ethnic stores and began shopping there to meet me and family dietary needs .the thing that I appreciated the most is the friends I made with the owners and workers once they realized my having lived in thier country ..
There’s an Italian grocery store within walking distance that I always shop at.
All the time and I see people of all different backgrounds there. But I live in one of the most diverse states in the country. Cheap produce and spices from the “ethnic” market hasn’t been a secret for a long time. Everyone shops there.
About once a month at the Ukrainian/Russian spot. Great homemade dumplings and fantastic assortment of cheese, deli, bread, and pickled everything. Excellent hot bar as well, though that’s more of a treat.
Once every 3-4 months at the Asian supermarket (China/Taiwan goods). it’s nice to browse, see what kind of wild chip flavors there are. Also good spot to restock on tea.
Oh, I guess there’s a ton of bodegas around me – which sell Central and South American goods. Some of them sell homemade curtido which is awesome. I guess I swing by those pretty often, mostly for like.. little things here and there, random produce or condiments or something. Easier to walk down the street than make a big grocery run sometimes.
There aren’t any local to my small town but sometimes I stop by the Japanese grocery store in my parent’s town about half an hour away when I visit them.
Rarely. Part of that is due to having most of what I need for certain ethnic dishes at a regular grocery store.
As an adult, never. I buy all my food from Fry’s.
When I was a kid, we’d shop at a Greek grocer and Polish butchers/grocers pretty frequently. It wasn’t really for the food itself, though, and more for convenience and prices (they were cheaper and closer for most of my childhood)
I’m right outside NYC so I shop at them all the time. The “regular” supermarkets rarely have anything beyond very standard items. Shout out to the H Marts in Westchester.
At least once a week. It used to be every day when I lived closer to a big one and farther from Aldi.
Every week
I shop at a couple Vietnamese shops weekly. We have a relatively large Vietnamese community on the coast and I love it. Pho is my favorite meal.
I go to a Russian market near my house. That place is amazing. I want to try one of everything they have because it’s all been so good.
Not much right now. I have in the past when they’ve been the cheapest option, but the last 10 or 15 years, I’ve lived places where there were cheap options closer than the nearest Mexican or Asian store, or in one town, the prices at the ethnic stores for most things I actually wanted to eat just weren’t any lower than Stop and Shop sale price.
Asian grocery one every other week or once a month. I like making Asian food.
Frequently. I live in California and I shop at the local Mexican market 2-3 times a month.
All the time
Never
Every week. I live a block away from a two.
Fairly seldom. I think there’s one small “Oriental Market” (their term) in town and not much else. There are ethnic sections in the local supermarkets which have a limited selection.
About once a month or so. I live out at the edge of town in the opposite direction of most of the ethnic enclaves in my city, so we have to make the extra 15 minute trip to get our big bags of rice, ramen, Mexican crema, etc.
My local Chinese grocery is the only place that sells lobster at an affordable price. I don’t understand how they do it.
We visit the Asian market fairly often.
There around I might go in for spices or good vanilla occasionally but the standard chains are both closer and open much later which suits my shopping habits.
My wife is immunocompromised so we haven’t been inside a store since COVID hit… no problem getting mainstream groceries from the big chains via Instacart, but I so miss wandering the ethnic markets, buying random snacks and ingredients, being inspired to try cooking some exotic dish, etc. we have tons of Mexican markets here in Chicago, also a fair number of Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, etc. and the Polish delis have interesting sausages.
Pretty much every week. I buy my bread and cheese from a French store, get spinach pies for snacking from the local Armenian store, get certain fruits and vegetables from HMart, and buy fresh pasta from an Italian shore.