Foodie Fridays - Local Foreign Food Markets

 Local foreign food markets, sounds like a contradiction in terms, how can it be local and be foreign?  Living in Lexington Kentucky, a city of 250,000 people in the middle of nowhere, I discovered an amazing Asian market, primarily Japanese.  Why was there a Japanese market in the middle of nowhere?  Toyota has a major manufacturing plant nearby, and brings in staff for training and cross training, assigning them for anyplace from a few weeks, to a few years to the Camry assembly plant.  That is where I discovered that the Japanese have delightful fluffy filled pastries, hot and cold canned coffee drinks, and that sticky rice, aka, sushi rice, makes a delightful risotto at a fraction of the price of Italian Arborio rice. 

Across the from the subway station, 10-12 minutes walk from the condo, is a Balkan market, featuring eastern and central European foods.  That is where I discovered relatively inexpensive fresh salmon caviar, if half pint jars for about $20.  In the same strip-shopping center is a small Mexican market - a larger one is down the hill half-a-mile away.  On the north side of old Town Alexandria, is a Russian market.  

Now I know I am lucky living in a major metro area, with a lot of international residents, and embassies, there are a lot of options here.  But there are more and more hispanic markets in smaller towns.  Anyplace that there is a concentration of immigrants, there will be local shops that stock foods that remind them of home.  These are not places that will replace your everyday shopping, but places where we can discover specialty items that add variety to our tables.  

The last stop at the Russian market, yielded cookies and caviar.