Rochester Business Journal
February 25, 2005
Unlike in larger cities such as Toronto or New York City, you have to work a little bit to find ethnic and specialty foods in Rochester--but we do have them. It may seem easier to pick up everything at Wegmans, but you'll have so much more fun, and discover plenty that Wegmans doesn't carry, if you ask around and hit the bricks.
A great place to start is V.M. Giordano Imports European Cheese Shop, located in Rochester Public Market near the Union Street entrance. The smell of cheese is sharp and hits you hard when you walk in. The shop carries more than 90 cheeses from all over, including Portugal, Denmark and Norway. That's in addition to 40-plus Italian cheeses.
This makes for a seemingly endless runway of cheeses on display. Sampling is encouraged. Vincent, one of the owners, might offer you a slice of pepperoni or other smoked meat to accompany your sample wedge of Irish Cheddar, or suggest interesting ways to use the cheeses in your recipes. I selected two cheeses to take home-small, eighth-of-a-pound pieces-but as the girl wrapped my selections, my eyes wandered, and I ended up taking four more. My favorites were a peppercorn-encrusted Parmesan and a very mild, creamy cheese called Urgelia, from Spain. The Parmesan is excellent on pasta and salads, and the Urgelia makes an incredible grilled-cheese sandwich.
At the very back of the store are olives, nearly 25 different varieties, from France, Italy, Portugal and Greece. For sampling there were marinated picholines, fragrant gaetas and two flavors of black olives: one with cumin and one with herbs. It's hard to leave this shop empty-handed.
If you have a hankering for anything Dutch or Indonesian, Rochester is fortunate to have the Dutch Market on Park Avenue. It is a small shop on the first floor of a house. Like many ethnic and specialty stores, the Dutch Market relies on word-of-mouth advertising. Since opening in June 1992, it has become a local resource for people of Dutch ancestry and the non-Dutch alike. Their selection of licorice, a Dutch specialty, is outstanding. There are jars and jars (42 to be exact) of different types of the black candy, in sweet, soft and salty varieties. Customers from all over the country call on a regular basis to order the stuff.
But the Dutch Market is not just licorice. There is a cold case of fresh baked goods, such as boterkoek with raspberry filling, apple strudel and small dishes of bread pudding. A second case contains giant blocks of Edam and Gouda cheeses, as well as some delicious-looking weisswurst. The back of the store is a tea room where you can sit at a bright blue-and-white tableclothed table and enjoy a pannekoeken (a Dutch crepe), a saucijze-broodje (sausage in puff pastry) or a cup of strong Dutch coffee. The Dutch Market ships just about anywhere and delivers locally.
Just a few blocks away, on South Clinton Avenue, is the India House store, part of the India House trio along with the Vegetarian Cafe and the original India House restaurant.
The fragrance in the store is almost overwhelming. It is a pungent mix of sandalwood, curry, chilies and rose water. The shelves are filled with colorful packages and what seems like an endless selection of spices, pickles and enormous bags of rice. On one shelf are cans of gulab jamun and kala jamun, delicious sticky sweet desserts, while on another are seven brands of ghee (clarified butter). There are jars of tamarind, coriander and mint chutneys, and stacks of pappadums (lentil wafers) ready for frying. In the seven or so standing freezers are bags of samosas, vegetarian spring rolls, sliced fresh coconut and even big tubs of pista kulfi (pistachio ice cream).
If you find yourself with a treasure trove of ethnic delights and no idea how to prepare and serve them, head over to Cooks' World on Monroe Avenue in Brighton. If there's a special utensil or piece of cookware you need, you will find it there.
Cooks' World looks like an unassuming shop in an old house. But the store holds an extensive collection of tools used in cooking. The first room is stocked with all manner of appliances: bread makers, food processors, pressure cookers and several types of waffle irons. An entire shelf is dedicated to the KitchenAid stand mixer, a must-have for bakers. Cooks' World carries the mixer in nine colors, including the limited-edition pink Cook for the Cure mixer. It also has an extensive selection of Le Creuset cookware, from palm-sized ramekins to 16-quart stock pots.
The middle of the store is the home chef's "hardware store." You are likely to find any food-related doodad, gadget, gizmo or widget you need. There is a wall of chef-quality knives, in all different sizes, by Chef's Choice, WŸsthof and J.A. Henckels. Small wooden bins hold grapefruit spoons, a "Magic" orange peeler and even a quarter-pound hamburger press.
If you need a cookie cutter in the shape of a camel, or a six-cup Bundt pan, the rear of the store is where you will find specialty bakeware. There are tart pans, copper mixing bowls, springform pans in all sizes and even basic wooden cutting boards and cast-iron pans.
To discover more new and hidden shops, ask around. Get out of your comfort zone. You may learn about someone's favorite Polish bakery or Asian foods market you never knew existed, which is way more exciting than a trip to Wegmans, any day of the week.
-Laura Thomas Telford
02/25/05 (C) Rochester Business Journal