March 2013 by Joyce C.
I've passed by this store so many times, on the way to Island Bakery, Muncan Food Corp, the Organic Grocery Store, or the Post Office and have never thought to go in. It's sandwiched between a barber shop and a threading salon. I finally went in looking for some parchment paper for baking (figured maybe they sell a kind of paper as an alternative for tamale-making). Didn't find any paper, but I was so surprised at how packed (floor to ceiling), fresh (small boxes of FRESH produce: onions, tomatoes, peppers, limes, fresh oregano on the branch), and friendly the store and staff was. I was totally transported into, well, I guess Mexico? or So-Cal? There was so much to look at, huge batches of dried leaves for tamales, bags & bags of herbs and spices, and huge plexiglass drawers of probably about 30 different kinds of candy at the counter. And mexican soda! Why have I never gone in there sooner? Every time I needed an onion or lime, I'd wander Broadway to the half-rotten selection at the bodegas, or even to the other Mexican grocery store on the corner of 41st Street- never satisfied. Abarrotes Gabriel- I'm going to you first next time!