They didn't have a whole goat, but they did have goat legs and some other "specialty cuts":

I passed on the lamb's head and the tongues, also on the seafood:

We wandered to the deli and picked up some feta cheese:

some olives, they have lots of varieties:

We decided to pick up lunch there so we got a vegetable samosa, 4 falafel and two kibbeh:

The samosa was a bit too spicy for me, the falafel was good but the kibbeh was excellent!

I wandered down the aisle to pick up beans and lentils, they have a nice variety:

including some I've never heard of, like these:

Went past the bakery section...

(Continued)

Stopped and picked up some ajvar:

Bought some seasoning packages that I've never tried:

Decided I didn't need a samovar or coffee for it, but backtracked for the chicken paws I'd forgotten:

I bought some bulk Ceylon tea for iced tea this summer, and some bulk bulgur, and snacks:

Like in all grocery stores, we checked out the snacks, the holiday sales and reading material while were waiting to check out:

I'm guessing that "njam-njam" is something like "yum yum", but I guess it could be nearly anything. Google took me to some interesting places before I stopped looking, LOL.

That was fun, but I still needed a few things, so we went right down the street to Horrock's, kind of a plant nursery/specialty grocery/fruit stand/gelato bar.

They have a nice cheese section, they even sell pieces of parmesan rind. Not cheaply, though...

Heck, I could buy a whole CAN of cheese for that price at Mediterranean Island. Anyone ever eat this canned cheese?

Ah, but I digess. On to the sausages...

Yum! I so want to visit that grocery!!!

And now I am hungry!

What a delightful tour! Happy Anniversary! And thank-you for the show!

As to the cactus, look up nopales. They’re delicious, and taste green, wet and tangy. But I don't know if there's some kind of Mediterranean thing to do with them...

We had a place like that in A-town I used to love going there. Now the closest I can get is the Horrocks in Battle Creek. Not as specifically Mediterranean though. GR used to have a couple of great Lebanese restaurants I frequented, but that was many moons ago and the names and places that are good have probably changed. And will probably change again before I manage a trip to GR for fun . . .

Fun!

Yes, it was fun, and a nice change. We had seen the owner of Mediterranean Island do an interview with one of the local TV stations and he is adamant about wearing masks and sanitizing. Because he's is not in one of the highly trafficked or upscale areas, it's not really busy, at least not on a weekday afternoon. All those things made me feel more comfortable about leaving my nice safe space here and going where there were more people. Horrock's is spacious and much of it is outside or in greenhouses. Again, not crowded on a weekday afternoon. I dislike crowds in the best of times, so have always tried to shop midweek/midday.

LindaC, I saw the lamb tongues and immediately thought of you, LOL. They had everything lamb, from head to sausage, you'd have been very happy!

Artemis, I like to wander around and just try to figure out what things are. Like that cheese in a can, I've never seen that and it intrigues me. And what is this? Kafa? Coffee? It wasn't in any particular place, just at the end of an aisle. Maybe coffee from Bosnia? I'm not good enough with a phone to Google it at the store...

I always have to buy something I've never had, just to try it. I bought some shredded phyllo nests, my hatred of working with phyllo is well known here, LOL.

Plllog, Elery also mentioned nopales, he says he's had them in a soup with lentils. Since I was getting a Misfits box this week, I didn't know if I'd have time to try those and still eat all the vegetables in the box, so I passed them up.

L, Elery says you are closer to Toledo, you should try a restaurant called "Beirut". Toledo has a big Lebanese population (and was the home of Cpl. Klinger from MASH, remember) and so has a lot of good Lebanese restaurants.

I'm still thinking I should have gotten the affogato, while I was there. Ah, hindsight is always 20/20...

It was a nice Anniversary, and a nice break from the daily grind.

Annie

Actually Toledo is more than an hour, except for the most remote suburbs. But I do have a friend there and she is the sister of one of my best friends, so we do occasionally have meet ups in Toledo. Great area . . .

Lansing, which is about as far away as Toledo, has some of my favorite Mediterranean restaurants, and also a couple in Kalamazoo which is one of the places we'll go for a day shopping trip or night out. There actually was a Spanish tapas restaurant in Marshall with live music and fantastic food. We loved it and went often. It closed even before the pandemic. We don't seem to be able to keep nice things here in S MI.

Annie, Thank you for the fun trip through your stores. My DH loved to go to grocery stores. He traveled internationally with his job and would always visit the local version of a grocery. He could/would tell some pretty funny stories about his adventures.

Quite a variety you have there, most of which I have never heard. I do remember when Elery was bachelor #2 and we encouraged you to keep seeing him because he sounded like a hopeful. Yep, a winner.

Thirteen years! My goodness, how time flies!

The Bosnian product, according to Google Translate, is roasted ground coffee. And I thought the malanga looked familiar, so I looked it up and it's what I know as taro. You have to prepare taro in a special way, as I believe if you don't it can be somewhat toxic.

What a great way to celebrate an anniversary! And clearly Elery is a kindred spirit :-)

Yes, I certainly got lucky when I found Elery. Or when he found me, whichever of those happened, LOL. He went from being Bachelor #2 to being The One while an entire Cooking Forum full of spectators watched me learn to date in my 50s. Life is an adventure, you know, and I certainly did not end up where I expected I would, but I'm sure happy I did!

My youngest daughter still teases me that Elery and I went grocery shopping on our first date. She's kind of right but that's OK, it works for us.

Kate, I think your husband and Elery would get along just fine.

Dedtired, you were all right, he was definitely a keeper.

L, Elery used to live in Temperence, so he did a lot of things in Toledo. I think he meant closer than Grand Rapids. Lansing sure has a nice Horrock's, though.

Colleen, that time sure DID fly. Thanks for the translation, I'm still trying to figure out Njam-Njam. :-) The closest I can find is "yum-yum", I thought it was Hindi, but now maybe Eastern European, like Croatia. I picked up the book but couldn't read a single thing. (grin)

Annie

Njam-Njam seems to be Slovenian for Yummy!

Apparently Njam Njam is "Yum Yum" in a whole raft of places in the area of Slovenia,including Bulgaria, Bosnia, Croatia, Ukraine and Serbia. But in Telugu, an ancient India language, it means "The truth is the truth". Hmm :-)

Did anyone else notice that there's a copy of the Koran in behind the jaffa cakes? That's like having a Bible on sale behind the Oreos :-D

Colleen, I did notice that, but I figured it was the only book rack they had in the store, so it went there...

Annie

What a great tour you gave us!!! I found the prices very very reasonable......real bargains. The asparagus was incredibly priced and the olive oil was downright cheap!

You've got an adventurous palate for sure.

13 years, wow, it sure doesn't seem it. I love you two!

Happy Anniversary! I could do some serious shopping at that store!!

Yes, Jasdip, that 13 years went fast. We've actually been together for 14 years, remember, I put him on probation for a year. I figured if he was actually a creep, he couldn't play nice for a whole year, LOL.

Most of the prices here are far cheaper than any of the local big box or traditional grocery stores, and it's way more fun. I'm picky, but adventurous, I'll try anything once. If I don't like it, then I won't eat it again, but I'll always try something new.

I bought a bag of that horse gram, now I have to find some way to cook it. I found an explanation here: https://zestysouthindiankitchen.com/muthira-thoran-horse-gram-indian-brown/

Colleen, I like "The truth is the truth" better than "yum-yum". (grin) It's probably "yum-yum" though, sadly.

Lynda, I don't get here very often and with the pandemic it's been over a year. I definitely stocked up!

Annie

It is so fun to hear about your trip. Both of these stores are about a five minute drive from my house and are favorites. Lunch looks great. I want to try some of those offerings soon. Usually I'm getting whole wheat pita bread, and bulk lentils, garbanzos, and bulgar when I stop there. It's my go to place for low prices on those items. And Horrocks...well, before the pandemic I about lived there. Cut back to once a week or so now. Their pre-pandemic complementary coffee was quite the draw for us. DH and I probably ate a few too many bagels, cookies, and doughnuts in their cafe area with our free coffee. We wonder if that will return and if we will ever return to frequent snacks there. You found some interesting items at both places that I don't remember seeing. Time for a visit.

Grocery shopping is the only kind of shopping I like. Happy Anniversary, Annie!

Oh My Oh My! How I would love to find a market like that Annie! Now that I finally have a cell phone I could look up what this or that stuff was. I love to experiment with different foods. I do agree that some of the best olive oil came from Spain, although some artisanal California olive oils are pretty wonderful. All I can get here are the normal US brands and a few Italian. How much fun you two had. Let us know if some of the stranger things came out - like the canned cheese!!

Wow -- what a fun shopping experience! That's an ideal first date, imo. Happy Anniversary!

Somehow I missed this thread earlier, and so I will wish you a belated happy anniversary!

I think grocery shopping can be fun, especially in specialty markets. That market that you went to is quite a bit larger than the Middle Eastern market that I go to in Culver City, but they are fairly similar.

I agree that Spanish olive oil is very good, and so it Portuguese, which I buy at a Brazilian market across the street from the Middle Eastern market. However, I do tend to buy California olive oil at the farmers' market and get a good deal when I buy a gallon!

I've not looked for goat, since Kevin won't eat it, but I do love it although I have never cooked it myself. The best goat I've had was in Mexico City, but I've had it at Jamaican and African restaurants in L.A.

One thing I would caution you about is the Shan spice mix. I avoid that brand because it is made in Pakistan (pretending to be Indian), and it is mostly salt with a lot of cayenne pepper. I think it is hotter than you will like, but for me it is too salty. Look for spice mixes that are made in India, if you can find them. They have a lot less salt and cayenne.

Just curious - does that market have oxtail? I've not looked for it, but I've had it in Jamaican restaurants and liked it a lot.

Cactus leaves make a nice salad (Ensalad de Nopales), which I've had in restaurants but not made myself. It's pretty popular in Mexico. You do have to cook the cactus before making it into a salad.

Where was the feta from that you bought? When I buy it at the Lebanese market, it is usually from Bulgaria, but I sometimes to go a Greek market and buy Greek feta. I cannot tell that much difference between them.

I was surprised to hear that Toledo has a large Lebanese population, since Lebanon is a very small country, and the Lebanese tend to go port cities like Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Vancouver, etc. I am always happy when I find a good Lebanese restaurant or market, and there are some good ones in Seattle and Vancouver. I've not been to Boston, but I was told by a Lebanese man that there are a lot of Lebanese there. I do not know from personal experience.

Thanks for taking the time to post all the wonderful photos. It was fun going on the virtual shopping trip with you and Elery!

Happy Anniversary, Annie! Thank you for the virtual tour. We may be in your area in July. Guess who retired in December? Yes, M! So we are on the road a lot.

Lars, Toledo is considered a port city, on Lake Erie. It's about an hour and a half north west of me. I know it's not an ocean port, but is still considered a port, as are most cities on the shores of the Great Lakes. Not as easily accessable as the ocean port, so does seem a big odd for the Lebanese settlement.

Belated Happy Anniversary! I missed this thread earlier, too. I live in the GR area and LOVE Horrocks and also Mediterranean Island. I shop at both but there is ever something I can’t find at my regular grocery, Horrocks will for sure have it, especially around the holidays. I have seen oxtail at both those stores. Annie, that gelato is divine. They offer fairly generous samples if you ever just need a taste. ;)

The Detroit area, specifically Dearborn, has the largest community of Lebanese Americans in the US, primarily (originally) because of the auto industry.