Why Shopping at Ethnic Markets is Cool- Part 1

One of the cool things about living in a diverse area is the access to ethnic supermarkets.  For many years I avoided and loathed being dragged in there, mostly by my parents looking for a way to recreate their favorite foods in a new place.  The smells alone were enough to keep me out.  As I got older and developed more of a curiosity through trying different foods, I was game to scour the ethnic supermarkets in my area.

First up is the Russian Supermarket.  Let's do a little flashback.  This is what my early childhood looked like:

What?  You didn't wear bows larger than your head for your preschoool class picture?  No mustard colored 80s shirts handed down from your brother?  Well, I tried.  This display of style should hopefully show that I grew up in the Soviet culture.
The food I grew up with is a lot different than what you probably ate.  My peeps mostly followed a hearty diet, consisting of bread, potatoes, and of course, meat.  My favorite childhood breakfast was bread and butter sandwiches with fresh tomatoes on the side.  I also had a sick obsession with fresh tomato juice, caviar, and smoked fish...when I was 3.
This weekend I ventured into the local Russian deli with my hubby and we found some great finds browsing the aisles:

Do you see that?  Sausage.  Lots of cured meat.  The culture doesn't really do vegetarian.

Lots of bread products are popular in the culture.  In an effort to be one with the culture, I went with bread for my bloggie purchase:

Dark Rye Russian Bread.  In case you were confused, the label has the nesting doll to tell you so.  I turned it around and the nutritional stats rocked:

7 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber per slice.  There is a lot of sodium at 370 mg per slice, but the taste is worth it. 
Hubby picked up this little treasure- it's some vitamin thingie he ate when he was a kid.  I'm pretty sure it says something about being strong like a bull.  I liked the label:

I think there are some kind of questionable animal products in here, but it makes hubby happy.

My recs: If you go shopping at an Eastern European store, I highly recommend trying the teas, bread products, cottage cheese, and CHOCOLATE!  You can usually also find some sweet Georgian wine (not the state, the republic), pickled vegetables, and lots and lots of cured meats.

Questions for you: Do you shop in ethnic markets?  Do you eat foods from your own old world culture?  What was your favorite food as a kid?
My answers: Yes I do, and I'll be back with my second ethnic market post soon!  I eat some Russian food items and some of them are really good- usually only if my mom cooks it.