EVANSVILLE, Ind. —The once meat-and-potato-based palate in the Evansville area keeps expanding.
Members of our local ethnic communities have not only opened restaurants introducing us to Indian, Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, authentic Mexican and Chinese, Central American, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors.We also have a wide and ever-growing range of ethnic markets where we may access the ingredients to cook these foods ourselves. Many are attached to cafes or restaurants where the food is particularly authentic.
We did a run-down of all 11 of our local ethnic markets so you can visit them.
Latin
El Paisano – A Mexican restaurant and market with a large meat counter and freshly-made sausages and marinated meats for you to cook at home. Here you may also find baked goods, fresh vegetables such as cactus paddles with the needles removed, prickly pear fruitand manzanilla chiles. El Paisano is known for good street tacos and a salsa bar.
El Paisano Grocery and Taqueria - 225 S. Green River Road, Phone: 812-602-3535
facebook.com/pages/El-Paisano/195872014375574
Las Americas – One of our larger Hispanic markets with many shelves of dry goods, a freezer with paletas (ice cream pops), snacks, bootsand coolers with refrigerated and frozen products from Mexico and El Salvador is Las Americas. The restaurant at Las Americas is one of few local locations to have pupusas on the menu – tender corn masa patties filled with melted cheese and served with pickled cabbage slaw.
Las Americas Market - 1016 S. Weinbach Ave. Phone: 812-475-3483
facebook.com/pages/Las-Americas-Store-And-Restaurant/202975863060149
La Preferida – Located next to Nachos Grill, La Preferida Food Market has Mexican baked goods, dry goods, household items and much more. Nachos Grill has an enormous Tex-Mex menu with all your favorites such as quesadillas, enchiladas, burritos and fajitas.
La Preferida and Nachos Grill - 821 S. Green River Road,Phone: 812- 471-9481
facebook.com/nachosgrillevansville/
Tipico – A brand new market and café concentrating on the foods of Nicaragua and other parts of Central and South America. Stop in for breakfast or lunch and enjoy Nicaraguan rice and black beans called gallopinto with slow-simmered pork with achiote sauce, fried yuca or plantain bananas, special banana leaf tamales (watch for them on weekends) and many more exciting dishes. In the market area, find items from Central America and Peru including sauces, beverages, cookies and snack foods. In the refrigerator, find fresh cheeses, meats and corn products such as arepas and pupusas.
Tipico - 4313 E. Morgan Ave. Phone: 812-303-9045
Lorena Mexican Store – In Henderson, a small Mexican market in a big barn with dry goods, household items and snacks.
Tienda Mexicana Lorena - 939 N. Green St. in Henderson. Phone: 270-212-0009
Medina’s Mexican Store – The store portion of Medina’s is tiny, selling mostly snacks and candy. It’s a convenience for the legions of fans that flock to the restaurant for authentic Mexican dishes such as tacos, sopes, tortas, tamales, birria and much more.
Medina’s - 1035 Washington St. in Henderson. Phone: 270-830-7130
Asian
China Market – Thislarge store features products from all over Asia. Live seafood is offered in tanks. Find lobster, tilapia and even enormous geoduck clams. Other meat and seafood is available in iced coolers. Vegetables and greens are loose in boxes so you may get as few or as many as you like. Dry goods range from rice and grains to sauces to spices. A back room holds cookware and dishes. There is also a small Indian section. Although they are not joined, China Market is next door to Vietnamese Cuisine restaurant, so it’s easy to make an evening of it.
China Market - 4608 Vogel Road, Phone: 812-479-9999
facebook.com/chinamarket47715/?rf=258361494255092
Happy Go Asian Market - Our newest ethnic market, Happy Go Asian is located on Morgan Avenue near Stockwell Road and is scheduled to open on June 28. We can’t wait to find out what’s inside.
Happy Go Asian Market – 4035 Morgan Ave.
Iwataya – This is asmall Japanese store attached to our most authentic Japanese restaurant. Here you’ll find specifically Japanese products such as packaged ramen (the good kind), a large variety of miso, candy, pickled vegetables, lots of snacks based on dried seafood, rice and more. In the restaurant treat yourself to sushi or sashimi, ramenor one of many imported Japanese specialties not to be widely found in the area.
Iwataya - 8401 N Kentucky Ave., Ste J. Phone: 812-868-0830
International
Aihua International Market – Our largest and most varied international market, Aihua is about half-filled with foods from Asia, but also has a large Indian section and smaller sections with foods from Mexico, the Mediterranean and Middle East, Eastern Europe and Russia, the Caribbean and Africa. Enjoy a large selection of exotic fruits and vegetables from all over the globe, and coolers contain frozen entrees, bread, cheese, butter, smoked fishand on and on. Mama’s Kitchen is the tiny attached café, where one can purchase a number of homemade Chinese noodle dishes and specialties from Thailand, Koreaand Japan.
Aihua - 1624 N.Green River Road, Phone: 812-479-7168
https://www.facebook.com/aihuainternationalmarket/
International Bazaar – Located in Newburgh, International Bazaar offers mostly Indian products and some Middle-Eastern ingredients. Find Indian clothing, jewelry and cookware. Stop in the salon to get your eyebrows on fleek. The store is a great place to go for spices of any kind. Bakers will love the low prices on quantities of cinnamon, nutmeg, and mace. The quantity of different beans and lentils offered here are staggering. There are some fresh vegetables and herbs, and Indian snack foods are exciting, but our favorite parts of the store are the freezer with a plethora of frozen flat breads and the dozens of spice mixes already put together for you to cook fresh and foolproof Indian curries and other dishes.
International Bazaar - 7844 W State Route 66 in Newburgh. Phone: 812-490-0690
https://www.facebook.com/International-Bazaar-Newburgh-1170349546339496/
