"Epic Spices, Ukrainian Village. A small but mighty spice shop. Housed in a nondescript former menswear shop, Epic Spices is about the smallest store you’ve ever walked into. And compared with their larger, fancier counterparts, Epic is cheap. But don’t let that fool you. Despite its small footprint, they have a selection that will please even the most discerning home cooks (not surprising, given that the majority of their business is wholesale directly to Chicago chefs). Plus, they make all of their own herb blends and spice mixes in-house. Where do we go when we need to re-up on black garlic? Or kefir lime leaves? Or when we made tonic syrup and needed to special order chincona bark? You get the picture."