Eating Milwaukee: Ethnic Markets

About Our Methods

At Eating Milwaukee, we try our best to adhere to the ad-hoc Food Blog Code of Ethics, which is itself a version of the very official and very serious (no laughing!) Association of Food Journalists Food Critics' Guidlines. We're very proud of our strong reputation as a fair and honest restaurant-based food blog.

We review restaurants based on a few basic ground rules:

1) No chains.

We will not review chains. We eat at chains, we even like some chains, but we won't review them. Multiple locations of the same small business don't count.

2) Smaller is better.

We like dives. We like clean dives even more.

3) Culture rules.

There is no cuisine that is off-limits with us. We're foodies, we like it all. With a few small exceptions, we'll try almost anything twice.

4) Don't take our word for it.

Get out there and support local Milwaukee businesses!

5) We may inform the folks at the restaurant about the blog -- but, if we can, after we eat. We don't like the idea of anyone knowing about the review before we get our food... in case of, you know... tampering. Although it's pretty hard to keep a low profile when you have a huge camera on the table, and your flash keeps going off taking pictures of the chicken soup...

For longer than Eating Milwaukee has been around, our friends have been asking us where to get ethnic groceries. "Where do I find fish balls? Who has good Thai Basil? Where can I find Teewurst?" Well, fret no more. We're here to help.

We hope to create a sort of compendium of Milwaukee's ethnic and specialty grocers, mostly because it's easier to refer our friends here than to write everything down. Need some Hungarian sausage? Talk to Frank at European Homemade Sausage on Muskego Ave. Looking for awesome fresh pita bread? Check out our friends at Attari Supermarket on 13th and Oklahoma.

This isn't us playing favorites, just a helpful hint if you're looking for something special. And, as always, we invite our friends who we forgot to list (sorry in advance!) to e-mail us their details so we can spread the market-day love!

Danger, Will Robinson! We're still working on this list!

Asian Supermarkets

Pacific Produce
5455 S. 27th St.
Milwaukee, WI 53221
Reasons we shop there: It's HUGE! An ex-Kohl's food store, lots of beautiful exotic produce, fresh whole fish, and Hmong black chicken! PP specializes in Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Laotian/Hmong groceries, although there are small Japanese and Korean sections. Massive frozen foods selections, tons of dumplings, and whole aisles of Chinese sauces.

Rhino Foods
7411 W. Hampton Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53218
Reasons we shop there: Rhino isn't particularly large, but it does have a wonderful selection of Laotian and Hmong foods, and my personal favorite: Bee & Flower scented soap from Shanghai.

Chu Hai
7510 W. Appleton Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53216
Why we shop there: before Pacific Produce opened, this was our go-to Asian grocery store. Lots of Lee Kum Kee sauces, and Vietnamese and Thai groceries. Tough to find parking on Appleton, but still a great neighborhood option.

Yardanarmon Superstore
3512 W. Oklahoma Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53215
Why we shop there: Yardanarmon is a Burmese grocery, so you're not going to find a lot of black bean pastes and moon cakes. But, if you need some really unusual Asian canned goods: pickles, spices, and sauces, this is a great resource.

Indian/Middle Eastern Markets

Indian Groceries and Spices
IShopIndian.com
10633 W. North Ave.
Wauwatosa, WI 53226
Why we shop there: Bharti and her husband and family are warm, friendly, and their store is like a food jungle safari: surprises in every corner. Nearly every need for the Indian cook is here, from Ghee to Garam Masala (whole mixed!, or pre-ground).

Attari Supermarket
3042 S. 13th St.
Milwaukee, WI 53215
Reasons we shop there: a selection of Halal meats and prepared foods, beautiful fresh-baked pita and Turkish pizza, Iraqi spinach triangles, spices, olives, dates, and dairy products. But the big winner for us? The most authentic selection of shisha (hookah tobacco) North of Chicago. Attari also carries a number of very reasonably priced hookahs, and accessories.

Holy Land Grocery
2755 W. Ramsey Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53221
Reasons we shop there: Holy Land is one part lunch counter, two parts grocery -- with the best (and most authentic) shawarma we've found in the city (both beef and chicken), delicious falafel, and tasty hummus. Canned goods, Middle Eastern bakery, and a good selection of shisha.

European Groceries

European Homemade Sausage Shop
Eurosausage.com
1985 S. Muskego Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53204
We've already told you how much we love Frank Jakubczak, and his breathtakingly delicious sausages. If you haven't been to his store, you need to go -- there's absolutely no excuse to be in Milwaukee for any length of time and not meet Frank and sample his masterpieces! Just make sure it's on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, before 4pm. And bring cash -- Frank doesn't do credit or debit.

Parthenon Foods
Parthenonfoods.com
9131 W. Cleveland Ave.
West Allis, WI 53227
A wide selection of essentially any European grocery item your heart may desire.

Old World Deli
Oldworlddeli.us
7630 W. Grange Ave.
Greendale, WI 53129
An awesome selection of German and Polish treats -- pierogi, sausage, veggies, soups, and seasonings. It's where I get my Vegeta!

Karl's Country Market
W156N5645 Pilgrim Rd
Menomonee Falls, WI 53051A selection of fine groceries and German food items.