Critic's Review
I've been searching for hard to find ingredients lately, and today I hit a supermarket in the ethnic part of town.
First things first, this place isn't easy to get to, mainly because there is no exit on 95 that gets you directly to Johnson street. If you have a BMW navigation system, DO NOT rely on it. It will take you on a wild goose chase. Use google maps to chart your course.
After insisting that I take US1 to Johnson Street instead of 95 to Stirling, I finally got to the place. it was bigger than I expected. These ethnic markets are usually quite small, but this place is a full-feldged supermarket.
The first thing I noticed upon entry is the Rice Aisle. Piled high with 10 and 25lb bags of rice, it's clear that ethnic kitchens cook a lot more rice than they do in the gastropub district.
There's also a section stacked with cans of Goya beans. Rice and beans are staples in most of the world.
Their dairy section is also quite different than what we find at Publix. All kinds of Mexican and South American choices; Queso is the keyword on almost every package. Don't comer here looking for Polly-o.
Prices aren't all that great. Prices for cheese here are about the same as they are in the more mainstream supermarkets.
They do have a lot of stuff you won't find at the Big Two. Looking for Black Mint or giant white corn kernels?
The meat section here is quite impressive. You can buy all of the regular cuts (they had some nice looking strip steaks for $6.99/lb), but they also have the off stuff that they don't sell at Publix. Oxtails, Cow Feet, fatback and fresh Pork Bellies are all available.
They have lots of different brands of Chorizo also. No bargains; the stuff I recognized from Winn Dixie (Goya, El Palacio) where more expensive here.
They also have a huge selection of spices at reasonable prices. In the produce section you can gat a large portion of fresh thyme for $1; they also have small packages of stuff so you don't have to pay $4.50 when you need something just to try a recipe.
They have a fish counter with lots of whole fish. Want to get an idea of why you don't see many people from around here dining on Las Olas? They know how much whole fish cost; Red Snapper for $5.99 lb and Lobster Bar is selling it as some sort of delicacy for $38/lb. Just how stupid are you?
They also have what you need to make soup; they sell fish heads and bones for making fish stocks.
Yuppie homes don't cook much with salted cod or salted pollack, but it's a big display item here. Mackeral, Cod and Pollack are everywhere.
They have a large produce section also; lots of bananas and onions. There were a lot of people around so I didn't get a picture. It's more of a place to buy okra than Rapini, but they have most of the regular stuff.
The staff here generally doesn't speak english very well; I had trouble getting help.
Conclusion
Unlike Sunrise meats, this is a place where you could do most of your shopping, and then some. This place is sort of like a superset of Penn Dutch and Sunrise Meat; a lot of stuff that caters to cuisines that the sheltered class knows little about, but also a place where you can get fatback, pork bellies and lamb chops for $2.99/lb.
Fish and meat are way cheaper here, and if you're looking for pork liver or cow trotters, this is the place. I was surprised that dairy was more expensive than Publix; $6.49 for a lb of LOL Butter? Salted Pollock was just $2.50/lb and squid just $4.99/lb. $10/lb for the good quality salted cod, but it's the really good stuff; nice meaty filets. Pollock is fine for brandade or fish dip but not great for eating straight up.