# Do grocery stores in your area have interesting local/ethnic shelves not found in most places? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 12, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376 "2014-08-12T16:23:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/41 "2014-08-14T16:49:12Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > That \*\*has \*\*to violate some regulation - EPA, OSHA - _something!_ LutefisK? Probably violates the Geneva Conventions. I used to live in the Cincinnati area, which has [Jungle Jim’s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungle_Jim's_International_Market), a mega-crazy store with sections of international foods that are larger than entire supermarkets. The whole store is around 300,000 square feet, equivalent to 3 Walmarts. ---
**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/42 "2014-08-14T17:29:43Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Suburbs of Chicago here. I live near a large supermarket that in addition to the standard American fare, they have big special ethnic food aisles for various Asian countries, Italian, Mexican, various Eastern European countries, Middle Eastern, and Indian, as well as a kosher Jewish section. Most supermarkets will stick to small selections of most of these (maybe leaving out a couple altogether). Caputos? That’s the first store that came to mind for me ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/43 "2014-08-14T23:47:22Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Toronto has a big immigrant population (particularly East Asians, South Asians, West Indians), so almost every supermarket has large ethnic departments, plus there are specialty supermarkets that cater to specific groups. > > I wish there were more European specialties; I was surprised upon coming to Canada and seeing how few British foods are offered. Also, there are lots of halal items for sale, but in six years I’ve yet to see anything labeled kosher. It depends how close you live to Bathurst Street, I suppose; the No Frills near me has a large kosher food section. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376/44 "2014-08-15T04:08:45Z")
> [@amaguri](#): > > Caputos? That’s the first store that came to mind for me There’s a whole mess of them. I’d say most of the groceries around my Southwest Side neighborhood in Chicago have all those cuisines represented, some more than others. My Pete’s Market, for example, is heavy on the Mexican/Latin-American fare, but has international section with Asian, Middle Eastern, Italian, some Polish, etc. Shop & Save is heavier on the Polish and Russian, an also some South Slavic/Balkan, but will have the others represented, as well. Even the regular Jewel will have most those cuisines represented to some extent. Then you have the Treasure Island or the Meijer which will also have a smattering of British, Irish, and German foodstuffs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-grocery-stores-in-your-area-have-interesting-local-ethnic-shelves-not-found-in-most-places/695376.md?page=2)