[ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n
When planning a menu, the first stop is always your local supermarket. And taking a trip a bit further afield beyond the corporate chains offers the opportunity to discover new products and flavors. Maybe it\u2019s an unusual condiment or special dessert, or perhaps it\u2019s something that becomes a new constant in your kitchen cabinets. With these specialty grocery stores, you\u2019re sure to find something delicious.<\/p>\n
Mario\u2019s Westside Market<\/strong><\/p>\n Those who moved to Las Vegas from south of the Mason-Dixon can find the flavors of home at Mario\u2019s. There are all the grocery basics, produce, meats and pantry standards, but also a whole host of Cajun spices and sauces and pretty much the whole Zatarain\u2019s product line. You can find a half-dozen flavors of Boudin sausage as well as preserved meats with a picture of someone\u2019s great-aunt on them\u2014a mark of quality more reliable than any row of gold stars. The prepared foods are made fresh on-site; if you\u2019re not up to cooking, grab some fried catfish with a side of yams or greens to go. 1425 W. Lake Mead Blvd., 702-648-1482, marioswestsidemarket.com.<\/em><\/p>\n Nakata Market of Japan<\/strong><\/p>\n Whether you seek ingredients for your masterpiece, dishes that just need to be heated\/finished or something that is ready for you to scarf down while sitting in your car, Nakata Market of Japan has you covered. Naturally, there\u2019s a dizzying array of noodles and ramen, along with sauces whose bottle graphics are so gorgeous that you\u2019ll want to give them as gifts or use them as decor. Grab a tangy Kirin lemon soda or one of the cans of pop with anime characters on them (what flavor is Naruto, anyway?), or a scrumptious dessert\u2014we recommend the brown sugar boba milk tea sundae. 2350 S. Rainbow Blvd. & 19 S. Stephanie St. #130, nakatamarket.com.<\/em><\/p>\n European Delicacies<\/strong><\/p>\n The part of the continent that European Delicacies specializes in would be eastern Polish, Ukrainian and Slovenian. On the sweet side, explore a glistening, jewel-like array of jams, jellies and other spreads, from apricot butter to plum preserves to white cherry compote. On the sour side, there\u2019s pickled everything, from standard gherkins to cheese-stuffed, herb-marinated peppers. Somewhere in between: borscht. An entire freezer is devoted to preserved pork products, and another is filled with enormous, pizza-like potato and cheese pastries. 7835 S. Rainbow Blvd., 702-302-4466.<\/em><\/p>\n Asian Sari Sari Market<\/strong><\/p>\n This family-run market on the south end of town specializes in Filipino and Hawaiian products. There are packages of sausages and an array of sauces to put on them; if you\u2019re a fan of ube, you\u2019ll find ube cookies, ube candy, ube custard, ube paste, ube powder and ube condensed milk. The large selection of snacks range from shrimp crackers to pizza-flavored potato chips, or, if you\u2019ve got a sweet tooth, pineapple gummies to pandan custard-filled cookies. 6466 S. Tenaya Way #120, 702-691-2099.<\/em><\/p>\n India British Market<\/strong><\/p>\n India British Market may be the most fully stocked store in the Valley. Every inch of space is packed floor to ceiling with an incredible array of merchandise from Britain and its former colonies. It\u2019s a condiment extravaganza: choose your favorite brand of lemon curd or mango pickle. In the freezer, shepherd\u2019s pie pasties snuggle next to masala dosa, cans of dandelion & burdock soda are shelved alongside bottles of mango juice with basil seeds and bags of jasmine rice are down the aisle from the burly kilted fellow on the boxes of Scott\u2019s Porage Oats.560 E. Windmill Lane #120, 702-954-4531.<\/em><\/p>\n La Favorita<\/strong><\/p>\n Everything from standard staples to special treats can be found at this grocery store. There are of course plenty of flavors and brands of beans, juice and salad dressing, but also ten types of mole. You can choose from Venezuelan, Honduran or Guatemalan chorizo\u2014or just grab a bag of chipotle-chorizo Fritos. If you seek desserts or pastries, there are extravagant cakes available whole or by the slices alongside an entire wall of empanadas fresas, rollos vanillas, galletas de coco and more. 1000 N. Rancho Drive, 702-550-0695; 573 E. Twain Ave., 725-286-1089.<\/em><\/p>\n International Market<\/strong><\/p>\n If the rest of the shops tend toward the small, family-owned and narrowly focused, the International Marketplace is where you can find it all under one massive roof, from Czech plum preserves to Mexican corn ice cream to Irish Guinness potato chips to all those flavors of Kit Kat you can only get in Japan\u2014not to mention domestic specialties such as New Orleans coffee and Hawaiian Spam. You can spend an awful lot of time and money here, but there\u2019s a membership that offers extra discounts. 5000 S. Decatur Blvd., 702-889-2888, impfoods.co.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n