Yesterday I visited International Grocery, which is an old style shop behind the Port Authority on 9th avenue and 41st. I've only lived in the Garment District for a month and a quarter, so the man there doesn't recognize me yet. However, I made sure to begin a charm offensive so he starts to remember me when I come in. It's always been the same guy but I doubt he's the owner. The store seems vaguely Greek. I won't go into that much detail about everything they stock as I go there enough that it will be a frequent topic.

International Grocery is one of only two stores I've ever visited where the food is distributed by bucket. Everything is in a bucket and the man scoops what you want into a brown paper bag. They don't sell produce or meat but they do have a bucket full of octopus (i buy two tentacles at a time) and every bean, nut, grain or spice. You don't get an itemized receipt there so these prices are from memory. It's cheap, so I buy the fanciest grade of whatever they have. The prices get rounded to the nearest dollar when the man adds it all up, and I bet its cheaper if you pay cash but I haven't tried yet.

What I purchased and the price:
Curry powder, 1 oz, $1.25
Coriander powder, 1 oz, $1.25
Marinated octopus, two tentacles, about $16 (cheap for octo!)
Imported lentils, 1 lb, $2.99
Imported chickpeas, 1 lb, $2.99
Mozzarella from a big bucket from the back made that AM, 1 lb, $5 (neighborhood rate)
Imported Italian salami, spicy, 1/2 lb, not too thin cut, about $6
Black beans, 1 lb, $1.99
Imported cannellini beans, 1 lb, $2.99
Yellow split peas, 1 lb, $1.99
A can of chipotle, Goya, $2.49
A bottle of Roland roasted sesame oil, $3.99
White sesame, 1 oz, probably some pocket change

What I meant to purchase but forgot:
Sunflower seeds