International Market

(NOTE: International Market has moved to the 2800 block of East Grand River in East Lansing. It's in the same strip with Oriental Mart and Fiesta Charra.)

The first thing you see when you walk into the International Market on Grand River in Okemos, is a wall of baskets, each full of candies. Unfortunately the wrappers on the candies are in Russian, so it's a pot luck purchase. But it's kind of a treasure hunt too.

The candies are odd and fun, but the rest of the store is a great little font of eastern European foods with a Middle-eastern flair. They don't have a lot, but they have a good variety of what they carry -- various rices and lentils, and a case of cheeses and cured meats and sausages. Not to mention Teas. (My mother has been yearning for an Earl Grey tea she got at a Russian tea room in LA. I found her a good substitute here.)

There's also a wall length refrigerator-case full of good stuff. I purchased some Labna -- a thickened creamy yogurt that is a lot like cream cheese. It is high fat for yogurt (though I haven't compared it to cream cheese yet -- might be a wonderful substitute for your bagel spread).

Labna could be used as a substitute for sour cream too. I'm considering experimenting with a salad dressing or dip that could be a variation of wing sauce for those who don't like bleu cheese. Heck, next time you have hot wings, just try dipping them in straight labana! (I will be posting a recipe Sunday for an easy treat I call Buffalo Shao Mai. I tried one with some Labana and it was heaven.)

International Market is located in the 2800 block of East Grand River in East Lansing. (Same building as Oriental Mart and Fiesta Charra.) (517) 853-8400.

Roma Bakery, Grocery and Deli

Roma Bakery is a specialty grocery and bakery, located a little bit north of Oldsmobile Park on North Cedar. Anything you might want in a mediterranean cuisine, they have. Oils, vinegars, a whole wall of bulk spices. Dozens of varieties each of special ingredients like capers. Their deli case has Italian cured meats and cheeses. They even provide frozen dough in the dairy case for when you want to make your own pizzas at home.

But they are also a deli, and their sandwiches are small but hearty and, well, just really good. The subs are made with REAL BREAD -- crusty sub rolls they make themselves. I really like their #2 sandwich: prosciutto, lettuce, tomato and olive oil, but the prosciutto is pretty salty and I'm often burping it up for the rest of the day. So I usually opt for a #13 Lugnut Special(pictured above): ham, turkey, lettuce, tomato and mayo. But they have a great variety of other fillings, from Italian favorites like cappicola, pepperoni and salami, to plain old ham and swiss.

You can also get a small selection of salads and pastas by the pound, or slices of pizza or Greek spinach pie.

Their bread is good Italian stuff. Unlike many of the yuppie bakeries in town, this bread has crust! And unlike Paneras, it also has substance. While I do like Zingerman's bread a little better, Zingerman's has to be trucked in and is expensive.

Their pastry case is filled with sweet treats of every kind imaginable, from biscotti to strawberry tarts. (It's hard to escape that counter, and you have to approach it to get the bread.) They also do cakes and cornucopias for banquets and weddings. In March, they are famous for their Paczki (Polish jelly donut/pastries traditionally eaten for Mardi Gras).

Roma Bakery. 428 North Cedar Street. 517-485-9466. Their website is mainly geared toward catering and wedding cake customers.

Allen Street Farmer's Market

This is a good time of year for farmer's markets: some spring vegetables -like cabbages and greens - are still on, and the beginning of the bounty of late summer is beginning. I got some great tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini at the Allen Street Market last week. The flavor of real, fresh in season veggies is so wonderful, you have to give it a try. (Yes, we do get pretty good vegetables at grocery stores around here, but really, this is different.) They also have baked goods, canned goods, and potted plants.

The Allen Street Market runs in a parking lot at the corner of Allen and Kalamazoo every Wednesday from 3:30 to 7:30 pm. (And if you are out in Okemos on a Saturday, there is also a Farmer's market just north of Meridian Mall, in the parking lot of the Nakomis center on Saturday mornings.)

East Lansing Food Co-op

Today we were going to go to Zingermans, a deli in Ann Arbor which will merit several blog entries of its own, but we had to cancel. Normally this would be a matter of doom and dispair. See, it's impossible to get really really good bread in Mid-Michigan -- or at least it was until the Co-op started carrying bread from Zingerman's Bakehouse.

The East Lansing Food Co-op is a fine little gourmet store. Yes, you can get health food and organic things. But it's also a place to get really fine cheeses, breads, chocolate, baked goods -- including Zingerman's magic brownies, which are not exactly "health food" unless you consider nourishment of your soul an important part of your health. Some of these items are premium priced -- as gourmet items tend to be. However, you can get good deals too, and the prices are never out of line with the quality of the item.

And there are things you can't get anywhere else. At least not in town. (And frankly, once you start eating Zingerman's bread, you will forget that whole low-carb fad and remember that grain is indeed the staff of life.)

You'll find them down at the little side street off Grand River Avenue, at 4960 Northwind Dr. (There's a light as you head east out of East Lansing. The Golden Wok is at the corner.)