Marketplace Miscellany (on Oakton)

In case you haven't figured it out by now, I have a fervent love of grocery stores (I was going to say small, non-chain, eccentric grocery stores, but I love H-Mart, too) Marketplace on Oakton is one of my favorites: it serves such a diverse group of people that you'll never know what you find once you start poking around. This thread is dedicated to the odd but intriguing miscellany to be found there.

Today's find: Coriander honey. IIRC in the Polish aisle, with the Polish honey. I couldn't justify the impulse buy when we have comb honey and wildflower honey at home, but I'm dying to try it.

Marketplace On Oakton
4817 Oakton St
(at La Crosse Ave)
Skokie, IL 60077

(847) 677-9330
http://www.marketplaceonoakton.com/

I love Marketplace on Oakton. But, feeling lazy earlier this week, I wanted to try some place closer, so I made my first trip ever to Village Market Place. It's basically a Marketplace-on-Oakton Lite, or a cross between Marketplace on Oakton and Rogers Park Fruit Market. Good-looking butcher section, good produce, interesting selection of Eastern European wines - just not quite the variety of Marketplace on Oakton. But still Eastern European focused. Does anyone else have impressions of Village Market Place?

Village Market Place
4034 W. Dempster
Skokie, IL 60076

nr706 wrote:I love Marketplace on Oakton. But, feeling lazy earlier this week, I wanted to try some place closer, so I made my first trip ever to Village Market Place. It's basically a Marketplace-on-Oakton Lite, or a cross between Marketplace on Oakton and Rogers Park Fruit Market. Good-looking butcher section, good produce, interesting selection of Eastern European wines - just not quite the variety of Marketplace on Oakton. But still Eastern European focused. Does anyone else have impressions of Village Market Place?

Village Market Place
4034 W. Dempster
Skokie, IL 60076

I think it's alright for when I need to pick up a few things. I agree the produce is superior to the major chains, I do not have much experience w/the meat counter. But I still prefer the Marketplace on Oakton! VMP is a good solution for those who live in Evanston and don't feel like making the trip west on Oakton.

We are relatively new to the Village Market, but it already is a go-to place for fresh (and reasonably priced) produce. Two other attractions are: 1) the variety of breads from several European-style bakeries; and 2) the meat/cheese/deli counter.

You have to love a place that offers five kinds of feta cheese, fresh mozzarella in several forms and an interesting variety of "encased meats" that includes a spicy Spanish chorizo and a very tasty Hungarian smoked beef salami.

I just bought some peaches from Marketplace on Monday, and they taste like an old sponge. Absolutely no juice, and I'm pretty pissed. So far I bought peaches from 2 farmers markets too, and they were plenty juicy with not much flavor. Have I been too early?

Pie Lady wrote:I just bought some peaches from Marketplace on Monday, and they taste like an old sponge. Absolutely no juice, and I'm pretty pissed. So far I bought peaches from 2 farmers markets too, and they were plenty juicy with not much flavor. Have I been too early?

The AS clan has been getting farmers market peaches for about a month and have thought it was a good year for the peach. As you said plenty juicy but flavorful also. At the risk of offending you and your peach knowledge, but maybe let them sit for a day or so to soften up and build flavor?

AngrySarah wrote:At the risk of offending you and your peach knowledge, but maybe let them sit for a day or so to soften up and build flavor?

No offense taken! I usually do let them sit out a little while, since I don't like biting into cold fruit. But the one I tried today was softish, not rock-hard. If they're not better tomorrow, I'm going to slice a few, sauté them in butter, wrap them in a leftover store-bought crepe and douse them in Amaretto syrup, for revenge.

That'll show them!

Also, for revenge, I went to the Andersonville Farmer's Market yesterday and got some Ragin' Red peaches which were like how peaches should be, and Saturn peaches, which were like candy! Mr. Pie can eat the other ones.

It's funny - this is probably for another thread, but I've noticed often that the less mainstream a variety is, the better it tastes, even in grocery stores. Saturn peaches used to be a guarantee of good flavor...now that they're everywhere you have to watch them just like everything else. Used to be Roma tomatoes tasted better...then it was Campari...now it's the little tubs of heirlooms.

Of course, few things are better than heirloom anything straight from the farm...

Mario's on Taylor is holding off on peach Italian ice for a couple of weeks because they can't get good ones.

In still another I-never-looked-at-the-bottom-tier-of-that-shelf-thoroughly incident, today I discovered that Marketplace carries green coffee beans, which I've been intending to find and purchase for some time. They didn't mark what kind of beans, but they're $3.99/lb, so I didn't mind buying a couple bags to try roasting up.

I found some interesting things there today: Smoki, a puffed snack that tasted like peanut butter, and Egg Ice Cream with cocoa swirl and rum raisins. Should be interesting. Now to hide this in the freezer with the Andies Chocolate Mint Pie I picked up at Sara Lee Thrift.