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by Robert Rich, October 2002, for MV Voice |
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Mountain View is blessed with an immensely diverse population, and for this reason we have an excellent choice of small ethnic markets. Most of these family-owned shops cater to small subsets of our local community. These markets often sell high quality ingredients that you won't find at big chain groceries. At these little markets, you can discover new foods that may become new favorites. You'll find handmade freshness, imported rarities, traditional flavors, and often a friendly smile of recognition when you return. European specialties Two of our great local gems for European food sit near the corner of California and San Antonio. Dittmer's Wursthaus (400 San Antonio Rd.) makes their own fresh sausages and smoked meats. Here you can find venison, ostrich, goose and duck; you can succumb to the guilty pleasure of handmade andouille, paprika or merguez lamb sausages; or you can order a sandwich made with fresh smoked turkey, house- cured pastrami, tender roast beef and more. The heady fragrances from Dittmer's smoker linger in the air. A wall of imported European foods includes bittersweet chocolates, heavy black bread, cornichon pickles, juices and herbal tea. Around the corner on California Avenue, The Milk Pail offers some of the best fresh produce in town (comparable only to the Sunday Farmer's Market). The back room houses banks of refrigerators filled with fresh cheese, including rare "artisanal" (traditionally made) cheeses from France, Spain, Italy, Corsica, Germany and even Northern California. Waiting in line you'll hear Russian, Greek, French, Italian, and many other languages spoken. Locals from around the world have discovered that the Milk Pail is as good as any European country market. Look for the hidden Bellafresca Foods at the corner of Easy Street and Central Expressway (47 Easy St.) Outside, they display seasonal produce, and in the back room they have fresh olives and herbs, jars of preserves, and a small selection of local and imported cheeses. Moving east The local Persian and Arabic communities have found a haven in Rose Market on 1060 Castro St., near Miramonte. You can hear the loudspeaker relaying orders to the backroom grill, "two Koubideh, one barg, tomato, onion," as people line up for kabobs, eating their casual lunches under streetside umbrellas. Rose Market specializes in imported and locally made Mediterranean foods, including halal meats (prepared in accordance to Muslim rules), fresh olives and feta cheese, flatbreads, spices, nuts, halva, creamy natural yogurts and jars of pickled tapenades. Rose's deli counter keeps steam trays with fresh rice pallau, tadik (the crusty caramelized rice from the bottom of the pot), aash (a savory bean and noodle soup), sabzi, badenjan and other delectables. If you don't understand this food, don't be afraid to ask for help at the counter. I have always encountered friendly assistance (albeit with an occasional language barrier) patient with my ignorance and happy to explain this proud and delicate cuisine. Looking south We have a number of thriving Hispanic carnecerias, panacerias, and other small purveyors of Mexican staples. Mi Pueblo (40 S. Rengstorff Ave.) has an excellent meat counter and fresh produce. La Costeña grocery (2078 Old Middlefield Rd.) also fronts one of the most popular burrito shops in town. Mercado Marlen (2516 California St.) connects to a bakery where locals buy fresh pan dulces. At these shops you can find rare ingredients like epazote (a minty herb used in soups and mole that smells a bit like shoe polish), nopales (cactus leaves), huitlacoche (a delectible fungus that grows on corn) and plantains. Of course, you'll find countless varieties of fresh, dried and preserved chiles. As you drive down California, look for the tiny California Market near Shoreline (1595 California St.) with a sign reading "Tamales 10AM-4PM." They sell their fresh handmade tamales hot from a steamer next to the register, filled with cheese, elote (fresh corn), chicken, or beef/pork. Real fresh tamales take a long time to make, and these are delicate, moist and light in texture. Asian specialties I often find that Indian markets have the best prices on quality whole-seed bulk spices, much fresher than the little jars from the supermarket. Recently, the pocket-sized DeeDee's Grocery opened at 311C Moffett Blvd., hidden near the corner of Central Ave. They have a good selection of South Asian spices, chutneys and breads. Occasionally they sell freshly made samosas at the counter, little pastries with spicy potato filling. In the past I would trek ten miles south to find savory ingredients like whole cardamon or amchur (dried green mango powder), so I'm overjoyed to find a place within walking distance. Several Chinese markets in downtown Mountain View offer culinary items scarcely found elsewhere. Our biggest local Chinese grocery, Mountain View Market (340 Castro), changed ownership two years ago and has yet to match the outstanding freshness and quality of their predecessor's produce and live fish, but they still have a good meat counter and stock a wide variety of Asian ingredients. Chinese herb shops like E&W (762 Dana St.) and Dana Oriental Market (800 California St. #120) offer some of the best selections of tea and herbs in town. If you're a tea drinker, you owe it to yourself to visit one of these duskily scented shops, where you'll find high quality teas at very reasonable prices. Behind the counter, natural medicines, roots and fungi wait to be weighed by the skilled staff. A relative newcomer, the 101 Tea Plantation (744 Villa St.) offers some of the finest teas on the planet, at a cost commensurate to the quality. I'm in love with the mini moon cakes at Hong Kong Bakery (210 Castro St.) which daily makes their own Chinese pastries and fresh dim sum. Moon cakes traditionally mark the Autumn Moon Festival (on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month) but luckily this hole-in-the-wall local bakery makes such treats all year, filled with crumbly sweet lotus seed, nuts, or honeyed bean paste. Asian snacks and mouth watering salty plums take their place alongside convenience items at Easy Foods (299 Castro), which stays open late for us night-owls. The Nijiya Market offers a wide selection of Japanese foods in its spotless and roomy location next to Smart & Final, on El Camino Real near the Grant Road intersection. Nijiya has exceptional produce, often individually wrapped like small gifts. You'll find esoteric seasonal ingredients such as fresh matsutaki mushrooms, a costly rarity collected in Oregon and much prized in Japan. A single pine-scented matsutaki can fetch $50 in Japan; here it costs a tenth of that. You'll find ready-made sushi and bento boxes with barbecued meats and seaweed salad, prepared daily in the open kitchen; or if you're inclined to roll your own sushi, you'll find some of the cleanest, freshest fish in town, filleted and perfectly trimmed, packed neatly under cellophane like edible art. With such a wealth of quality ethnic markets, an adventurous cook can find a lifetime full of new ingredients. At least one of these shops sits within walking distance from any Mountain View resident. For these specialty markets to survive, people need to discover them and take advantage of the quality and diversity that they offer. This diversity is a form of wealth that we can't measure in dollars, but we can feel in the fabric of daily life. |
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