Doug B.
Yelp
Those who know me, know that I love offbeat international grocery stores. In fact, I have not done any food shopping in the traditional suburban grocery store in such a long time, that I can't remember the last time.
so one day while "stalling" (I was 1/2 hour early to a doctors appointment near by) that I stumbled across this international gem in the otherwise "white bread" world of grocery shopping in Alpharetta.
Stalking the aisles, I noticed an almost complete absence of American products. Sure I saw brands that are familiar to most Americans, like Knorr, but the packages were imported from Russia ( the logo was familiar, but I'm guessing at the Russian origin, but the writing on the package was all in a Cyrillic alphabet). Aisle after aisle of goodies that I could only guess at the taste of . Mostly Eastern European, the selection spanned every culture of east of the Oder river, from the Arctic to the Caspian Sea.
The spice aisle was my weak spot. We tend to use garlic Aioli on a lot of goodies,and the recipe we use calls for spicy smoked paprika - and that was their sweet spot (spices in general). Needless to say I walked out with several new (to me) different Paprikas to try.
And in the Turkish (!!) aisle there was a find of find for me ~ Lokum ( Turkish delight)! My first introduction to this delightful confection was out in Washington State and the brand called Applets & Cotlets from the town of Cashmere in the Cascades. Buy here were the originals, in every flavor possible. Made from reduced fruit juice and a center of crushed nuts, and then coated with powdered sugar- I was familiar with the apple and apricot with walnut centers - but here were new flavors, like Rose petal, and new to me centers like pistachio. Yum!
So why the three stars? Two simple reasons: the deli selection (only pre-packaged items - even from local suppliers like Patak - the Sausage Chalet out in Austell); and the complete absence of fresh fruits and vegetables.