On occasion you may find yourself walking through the doors of a very charismatic and charming cultural microcosm in the middle of your city. Then there is the extremely rare occasion when you are rapidly transported unknowingly into a completely different world altogether; this is precisely what happened to me the moment I walked into Sahadi's. They specialize in goods from the Far and Middle East, and having been around for fifty years, their selection is fantastic to say the least.

The purpose of my visit was to gather some elements for a spread to be presented that very evening at a joint birthday celebration for a friend and myself. I was instructed by my co-host to head straight for the freshly made specialty foods section to pick out some pâtés and dips. As I waited in line there was an old world feeling that reminded me of grocery shopping with my mother in Warsaw, Poland over twenty years ago. The ladies with the thick accents behind the counter, shooting back very matter of fact responses (which may come off as a bit aggressive to some people) conjured up an old feeling of being intimidated by rotund women with wrinkly pink cheeks and white aprons. It certainly was a childhood thing but the fact that it has been resurrected some twenty odd years later threw me off. This may also have to do with the fact that I was at the front end of a very long line comprised of customers unenthused at being crammed into a small, very tightly packed store on a Saturday. So when it was finally my turn, I put my big boy voice on.

"One pint of hummus, one pint of baba ghanoush, a half pound of the wild boar pâté and a half pound of the venison pâté - thick slices please."

"Thick slices?"

"Thick slices."

"Ok - what else?"

"I'll take the rest of these mini samosas please."

"All of it?"

"All of it."

And so our fiery grocery romance went, a back and forth of solid and liquid weight measurements followed by a series of confirmations and further questioning of my needs until it was time to part ways. At the end it was a perfect relationship catering to both our wants; I get closer to an impressive spread and she gets me out of her line that has now stretched from the back of the store to the front wrapping around various aisles of gourmet foods.


My tour of Sahadi's was not done yet. As I finished up my time with the fresh foods ladies, my friend and co-host was still waiting for her number to be called at the dry goods and olives section where a team of five men catered to what seemed like all of Boerum Hill's residents packed into an 800 square foot area between rows of exotic grains, olives, spices and everything you can imagine under a middle eastern sun. It seemed as if though we were gathered around in an amphitheater watching the drama unfold on center stage, eagerly focusing our collective attention on all the action and the number counter simultaneously.


A metaphor along the lines of salted, cured fish in a can comes to mind to describe this scene but that would imply a certain amount of stillness. There is constant movement here, even when people are patiently waiting their turn they have to shuffle out of the way of, well, everyone else doing the shuffle or avoiding someone else. Lesson learned; do not go to Sahadi’s on a Saturday. Also, try to maintain control of your olfactory senses from the barrage of amazing fragrances – you will be able to get a sense of the wide variety of exotic ingredients available to you just by taking a deep breath.

Walking back out onto the rainy streets made it seem as if though I had suddenly woken up from one of my many daydreams where I find myself wandering around an open-air market in a very far away land. The only proof that it all actually happened were the half eaten bowls of olives, slivers of pate and cheese crumbs. The spread certainly was impressive.

Labels: Brooklyn, Food, New York, Sahadi's Specialty and Fine Foods, USA