Weekend Market Jaunt

Hey there: did you know that Watertown, MA is...a major center of the Armenian diaspora...with the third-largest Armenian community in the United States? I did not think so. Yep, the town ranks bonly ehind Glendale and Fresco in Armenian population -- take that, Cali!

Fueled by the above fact and an episode of Real Simple Television, I decided in early spring of last year to do my weekly shopping at the Armenian markets in Watertown one Saturday. In preparation and as per usual, I consulted the Inter-net. I found a handy local blog, Life in the Armenian Diaspora. A helpful excerpt:

"One of my favorite parts of the Boston area is Watertown, with its multiple Armenian markets and churches to gaze at. You can walk down Mt. Auburn street and visit Massis Bakery, Sevan Bakery, Kay's Market, ACME TV for some great tunes (including "Yeraz") or head over to the Hairenik Building or the Baykar building. It's truly feels like home."

So...where were these elusive markets? Turns out the Armenian shopping jackpot is a mere block or so from the only place that I actually know in Watertown -- Delux Town Diner (order anything for dinner besides the chicken fried steak and you are a clownish fool.) Cho and Bobby accompanied me, both for company and as a consumer control mechanism.

As mentioned in the blog excerpt, the main places to buy food are Massis, Sevan and Ajax (not included.) All offer similar products with varying degrees of price and luxury (one -- I think Sevan -- has a higher-end type of deli set up and prepared foods.) Real Simple TV suggested we look for olives, feta, lavash, yogurt and quince jam. Since my will is bent by a mere whisper of The Hype, I purchased everything on the list except olives -- my germophobic tendencies just could not make the jump into the cloudy self-serve casks.

Cho, a self-proclaimed "explorer of odd delicacies", bought some yogurt soda, which she and Bobby later drank and proclaimed icky. The knowledge of its ickiness did not, however, stop her from making generously allowing every house guest for weeks to try the soda. I loved the endless selection of feta cheeses, and we made a surprise discovery in one store -- a big ol' display of hookahs. If only I still smoked...anything.

All in all, I'll call our day an "Adventure in Multiculturalism;" I loved seeing all the fresh goods, various packaging, and store patrons. One note: buy fruit. The fruit (and nuts and spices) in the stores=cheap! Unfortunately, besides cheese and maybe the lavash, I don't have many quality suggestions for one's shopping list since I didn't really like most of my purchases after a taste test.

What can I say? I guess I'm not exactly an international eater. But luckily for the Armenian markets of Watertown, I'll easily spend $50 to prove that fact to myself.

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Photo- Log of A Day At Market

Our first stop

Typical Feta display

One of the various self-serve bars <shudder>

Why have a plain ole baby when you could have a CiCiBebe?!

The hookahs...or as I once heard the word pronounced, "shoshas"

This guy is incorrigible...Bobby with a giant ball of cheese. He also tried to buy a big block of congealed-looking meat, but Cho put the ixnay on that urchase-pay she found out its cost: $25

Above: my Armenian bounty...(back, L-R) quince jam, rice pudding, some kind of cream cheese-y spread that I bought mainly for the container, toasted soy nuts and hyacinth tea. (Front, L-R) unidentified fruit, yogurt, and dried apricots.

Comments

[the polish princess]

rest assured, there is no need to to fear self-serving bars if the contents in them are things like olives, and pickles...or anything pickled for that matter. they are so full of preservatives (and salt!) that most pathogenic microbes cannot survive! however, I would feel better if there were at least a lid over the bar bc the pictured set-up provides absolutely no protection from airborne organisms. I guess I'm in your camp on that one afterall!

(just a little "public safety announcement" from the know-it-all college student.)

[dairy queen]

I love those stores!! I used to go there a lot in college...

mmm

[dairy queen]

I love those stores!! I used to go there a lot in college...

mmm