Daspaña

Daspaña's Spanish hams.

Where the Ex-Pats Shop

Published in Specialty Food Magazine, July/August 2009

People from all over the globe live in New York City. But where do they shop when they yearn for a taste of home, whether it is the ingredients to cook a familiar dish from childhood, or an iconic candy bar, biscuit or drink? Here we take a look at six stores catering to Spanish, British, West African, Brazilian, South Asian and Scandinavian clientele.

Despaña: A Slice of Spain in Downtown Manhattan
Sandwiched between trendy Soho and northern Little Italy is the beautifully designed shop Despaña, which sells products imported from Spain. There are cases of cheeses and meats, shelves stocked with olive oils that range from mild to peppery, vinegars, sea salts, olives, rice for paella, jarred figs, jams and the nougat treat, turrón. Despaña’s staff is warm, knowledgeable and prepares plenty of samples for customers to nibble on.

“We have Serrano ham, Ibérico ham and a variety of cheeses. Manchego we sell, which you can find almost anywhere these days,” says Angelica Intiago, Despaña’s co-owner with her husband Marco, “but we also carry a lot of small, specialty cheeses that you can’t find anywhere else.”

The counter at the store’s rear, underneath a bull’s head, serves a variety of sandwiches that includes Despaña’s own chorizo. There are also enticing pintxos (a more ornate tapas), along with tarts, flans and coffees. A beverage case is stocked with Spanish drinks, such as big bottles of the Catalan water, Vichy Catalan and Hortchata, the milky drink made from ground tiger nuts. “Spaniards are always surprised we have Kas,” says Intiago, of a traditional Spanish soda. “You can’t find it anywhere but here.”

“All of a sudden, there are these things that you’ve been missing,” says shopper Laura Rodriguez, a native of Spain who has been living in New York City for more than a decade. “When I saw the Tortas de Inés Rosales—a flaky, sweet kind of biscuit from Seville, I had to buy them.” Despaña, 408 Broome St., Manhattan; 212.219.5050; despananyc.com.

Myers of Keswick: Small-Town English Shop Recreated on the Hudson
“When ex-pats walk in, they say it’s like walking into an old corner shop back home,” says Myers of Keswick’s Owner Jennifer Myers.

Myers is the daughter of the original owner, Peter Myers, who hales from Keswick, England. The shop has been located in the same spot in the West Village for 24 years, providing a steady home away from home for Manhattan’s British ex-pat community, about 85 percent of the store’s clientele.

Imported products in colorful packaging are artfully arranged on the shelves. Top sellers are Heinz Baked Beans, HP Sauce, both PG Tips and Ty.phoo teas, Golden Shred Marmalade, the cereal Weetabix, various Ribena drinks and digestive biscuits, such as HobNobs. Myers of Keswick also sells homemade, daily prepared items, such as “bangers,” Shepherd’s Pie and the popular Cornish Pastie, made of ground beef, peas and potatoes in a puff pastry.

“It’s wonderful for Pork Pies, it’s really a blessing,” says ex-pat Jean Borrie who has been living outside the U.K. for more than 15 years. When Borrie drops by Myers of Keswick, in addition to her beloved Pork Pie, she’ll also buy several bags of English “sweeties”, such as Cadbury’s chocolates and cans of steamed pudding. Myers of Keswick, 634 Hudson St., Manhattan; 212.691.4194; myersofkeswick.com.

West African Grocery: Ghana, Senegal and More Meet in Hell’s Kitchen
Located on midtown Manhattan’s Ninth Avenue, West African Grocery carries important cooking items in a fluorescently lit, no-frills store. Shelves are stocked with packages of fufu flour, a starchy paste made from root vegetables, as well as bags of grains such as fonio, which can be used in tabouli. The store also sells dried chilies, dried fish and herbs called “bitter leaf” and “potato leaf” that many West Africans use in soups and stews. West African Grocery doesn’t have a butcher, but it does carry a refrigerator full of fresh goat meat, including goat heads, cow stomach and cow skin.

“This is how you see if the yam is good,” explains a shopper originally from Ghana. He peels off a patch of flaky, brown skin from a yam the size of a small log, revealing its white flesh, adding, “You chop it up and boil it.” A steady stream of people from Mali, Senegal or Burkina Faso pop in and purchase items, one of the most popular being the dried Senna Pods, a popular cure for stomach problems. The Senna pods are boiled in water, tamarind is added and the liquid is then sipped by those seeking some relief. West African Grocery, 535 Ninth Ave., Manhattan; 212.695.9389.

Rio Bonito: Brazilian Favorites in Astoria
Ex-pats don’t mind the rather austere appearance of Rio Bonito in Astoria, Queens, because they know they’ll find their favorite Brazilian treats on the shelves—from the hot herbal drink known as Maté, to traditional cheeses, yogurts and butters, to Brazilian cuts of meat from the butcher counter.

Brazilians take their tea seriously and Rio Bonito sells more than 30 varieties, some of which are its top-selling products. “Many Brazilian teas are made from herbs that don’t exist in America, they are from the Amazon,” says Owner Ricardo Bastos. “We use herbs like medicine, we learn this from the time we are babies.” He points to one kind of tea, saying it helps break up kidney stones, while another helps digestion. Rio Bonito also carries açai, the purple fruit known for its health benefits, in frozen and juice form.

Sweet-toothed Brazilians are delighted to find freshly made pastries, such as the bright yellow tart quidin, made of coconut, eggs and sugar. One aisle is dedicated to imported chocolates, cookies, jarred fruit such as papaya and slabs of guava paste. There is an overwhelming selection of the creamy, caramel dessert, doce de leite, perhaps better known by its Spanish name, dulce de leche. It’s available plain and also mixed with chocolate, nuts, coconut or plum. Rio Bonito, 3286 47th St., Astoria, Queens; 718.728.4300.

Patel Brothers: An Array of South Asian Essentials in Jackson Heights
Nestled in an area of Jackson Heights, Queens, amid Indian restaurants and stores selling saris and traditional Indian gold jewelry, is the phenomenal supermarket, Patel Brothers. This lively store caters to Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi ex-pats. It has a dizzying selection of goods from all regions of India, aisles brimming with massive sacks of rice, spices, economy-sized packages of tea and unusual fruits and vegetables. There is also an Ayurvedic section and Indian beauty products, including henna for tattoos.

“We carry a lot of everyday stuff from all regions,” says Manager Dipesh Patel. The most popular cooking ingredients are the yellow, orange and brown lentils, known as dal or dhal. There are also bags of sesame seeds, coconut powder, pistachios, cardamom, flour, fried chilies and figs, just a small sampling of Patel Brothers’ offerings.

The exotic fruits and vegetables are grown in California or the Caribbean with seeds from India. Parval, a vegetable that looks like a 3-inch watermelon, and fresh chana, similar to the garbanzo bean, are both good in curries. There are leafy greens, such as spinach, cilantro and methi leaf, as well as bins of baby mangos and prickly jackfruits. Patel Brothers, 37-27 74th St., Jackson Heights, Queens; 718.898.3445.

Nordic Delicacies: Fresh and Imported Scandinavian Treats in Bay Ridge
Co-owned by daughter Arlene and mother Helene Bakke, Nordic Delicacies offers a variety of fresh and imported Scandinavian goods, primarily from Norway. The shop is located in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, once a neighborhood of Scandinavian immigrants, although today it’s primarily home to a mix of Irish, Italian, Greek, Chinese and Arabic cultures. Nordic Delicacies and the numerous Lutheran churches are a few reminders of Bay Ridge’s Scandinavian past.

Nordic Delicacies carries a wide selection of cheeses, including Gouda, Blue and the curiously sweet Brunost. There are tins of reindeer meatballs, smoked salmon and herring, jars of cloudberry jam and numerous chocolate bars. The store also carries savory dishes prepared daily such as beef and lamb stew, fish pudding that comes in a loaf and smaller fish cakes, all made from cod. “We also make Komper,” says Helene, who emigrated from Norway more than 50 years ago. “It’s almost like a potato dumpling, with pork inside. That’s a real, old-fashioned Norwegian dish.” Cakes, cookies, breads and homemade waffles are also baked daily.

“When they find us, especially au pairs from Norway who haven’t been home in six or seven months, they go wild,” notes Arlene. “But there are many first-generation Norwegians or people who have moved out of the neighborhood who also long for a taste of Norway. We have a huge mail-order business that keeps us going.” Nordic Delicacies, 6909 Third Ave., Bay Ridge, Brooklyn; 718.748.1874; nordicdeli.com.