Here I am, the morning after one of the best days of my life. To be sure I have had many, many best days of my life, but this was a foodie “died-and–gone-to-heaven” kind of day. Sherry and I went to the Saraga International Grocery in Indianapolis. It’s located in an old K-mart building near Layfayette Square Mall. They have things there that I have not seen before, and trust me I have spent a great deal of my life not letting any food item go by unnoticed. The more strange something seems to us, the more I want to know about it. That’s not to say I will eat anything and everything, but I at least want to know about it.
I was familiar with lots of things in the store, but didn’t know we could get them this close to home. For the most part, all the fish and meats looked fresh and handled well. I think the store could be a bit off-putting to some as it is not a flashy, spotless mega-mart backed by a trillion dollars. But it was clean and the shelves well stocked. They have an amazing fish counter with young men and women at the ready to cut and clean your fish any way you would like it, and at no extra cost I assume. We are talking a huge variety of fish and shellfish here, even flying fish roe for Sushi rolls.
The gadgets and housewares department “had me at hello,” to borrow from Jerry Maguire. There were pots and pans so big you could park a 1966 VW Beatle in them, and strainers just as big. There were tea pots, hot pots, tea sets, cups, spoons, saki sets, knives, woks (real woks, not fake ones like those sold at Wally World), huge cutting boards and great stirring spoons the size of boat oars! If I am lying I am dying, those giant spoons were as big as boat oars. And the meats, wow--anyone up for some hogs head stew? What about a goat or beef head for that matter? I have been hankering for some chicken’s feet and theirs looked very fresh. The meat department also features ears, tongues, liver and lungs. Everything looked good and all major farm animals were represented. I was very impressed by the meat that was sliced thin and rolled up ready to be used in hot pot.
The canned goods aisles were great fun and took a bit of time to get through as I picked up and looked at all the things I had and hadn’t seen before. A lot of the same things are on different aisles in the store, but categorized as different regions of the world.
The produce section was plentiful and well stocked with many types and species being available. It’s the same old story, though, with fresh produce—it just can’t be fresh enough when it is being grown and trucked in from who knows where. They had Thai and Indian eggplant and a few other vegetables that we grow here at Gunter’s Gourmet Garden, but sadly they were very old and I wouldn’t dare sell such poorly treated veggies to my customers. I don’t blame the store operator, I am sure they wish they could get it fresher.
So if you get a chance to stop in Saraga International grocery over on the westside, just overlook the broken glass on the floor (they will pick that up won’t they?) and have a look around. It’s also my understanding that they are doing some things to spiff the place up a bit. So get in there before it loses its charm. It’s located at 3605 Commercial Drive Indianapolis, IN (I got the address off of a big bag of chipotle chilies I found there for $5.00).
See you soon, Matt