About half a block away, you start to smell the cardamom. View Map
Fiji Market is mostly Indian/Pakistani, but God bless ’em, in a corner on the right side of the store they’ve got a shelf of Mexican goodies that blows away the sad, sad “Old El Paso” rack at the major grocers.
The stock varies quite a bit. But you can guarantee a #10 can of tomatillos, achiote paste (and annato seed, cheaper than Herbie’s), some La Coste
ña, Herdez and Goya canned products, and Maseca masa harina (corn tortilla & tamale mix).
I’ve purchased dried pinto beans and dried black beans from the quite large selection of dried beans (in kilos and in bulk) but these come and go. I tried to talk to the proprietors over the phone to check the stock before I went over there, but it must have been a bad day, because we sort of failed to clamber over a language barrier. Usually the staff is very helpful and attentive and articulate, I may have had a wrong number, possibly.
There’s a cooler with vegetables just to the left of the entrance and sometimes you can find habañeros here. Nice.
They also stock corn oil, which is my preference for Mexican rice and a few other dishes.
The place is JAM PACKED full of crazy goodies. I mean, floor to ceiling. It’s worth an extended visit just to scope out all the craziness.
Fiji Market Bazaar
I love this place and have been going there for years. Even though I don’t cook Mexican food myself I was pleased to stumble across their recent addition of staples for Mexican cooking. I hope a friend of mine who does make Mexican dishes visits here soon so he can make yummy dishes for me 🙂