Denver's Best Ethnic Groceries
Expand Your Borders
How easy it is to find yourself preparing the same dishes week after week. Browsing through cookbooks at the multitudes of alternatives, sometimes the biggest deterrent is just how hard it is to find quality, authentic food from other countries. Luckily in Denver there are plenty of specialty ethnic grocery stores that will have what you're looking for, or at least something just as interesting and enticingly foreign.
1. Avanza Supermarket
Whether you've grown up with authentic Mexican cooking or you're just trying your hand in a different culinary tradition, Avanza Supermarket has the hard-to-find ingredients that are vital to pulling off Mexican dishes. Buy truly fresh corn tortillas or festive pi_atas and make your next Mexican-inspired dinner or party truly memorable. Equally friendly to native Spanish speakers and English speakers who only know three Spanish words, Avanza has enough locations to make at least one of its stores reasonably close to home.
2. Pacific Mercantile Company
One of the best aspects of Japanese markets is their strange selection of totally disparate items, and Pacific Mercantile Company is no exception. Alongside traditional ingredients like dried seafood you can buy modern, brightly colored drinks and treats sold in bags that resemble the battlefield aftermath of neon cartoon armies. Fresh and flavorful, the fish sold by Pacific Mercantile is as high quality as you are likely to find in the Rocky Mountain region. The tiny shop holds more products than seems possible, which results in a bit of sensory overload if you don't know exactly what you're looking for, but for finding Japanese items, Pacific Mercantile is really the best around.
3. Vinnola's Italian Market
Although a trip to Wheat Ridge might not be exactly on the way, once you get to Vinnola's you might find yourself seriously considering reasons to make it back soon. Wafting from Vinnola's bakery is the scent of freshly baked pastries and cakes while from the deli counter come the pungent smells of fresh meats and sauces. Pick up fresh or dried pasta and browse through the huge selection of sauces, meats and cheeses that make an Italian meal great. While you're there, buy some lasagna or a piping hot panini for lunch from the deli, where everything from pizza to cold sandwiches are made fresh.
4. Dianna's Greek Market & Deli
Offering both prepared food and packaged items for creating your own gourmet meals, Dianna's Greek Market doesn't offer a huge variety of items, but what it does sell is of high quality to offer the best culinary experience. If you get a prepared meal, expect a deli menu that is not terribly complex but that contains flavorful, authentic Greek dishes as well as American favorites. In the morning, stop by the Cap Hill deli for a hearty omelet or pancakes; during lunch hour, go Greek with a delicious plate of gyros or falafels. While you're there, pick up the imported ingredients that you'll need to make your own world-class Greek meal.
5. East Europe Market
East Europe Market occupies a small little shop that is easy to miss along busy Colorado Boulevard, but the products it sells are hard to find anywhere else in the region. Goods from Bulgaria and Romania, Poland and Serbia, Russia and Bosnia line the aisles, creating a tempting array of flavors that are sure to be delicious, if you know how to cook them. Sometimes the packages of goods have an absence of English translations, but that can be its own kind of excitement if you're an adventurous eater.
