Bodegas of Wheaton, Part II: Mercados Latinos

This is Part II of my rundown of Wheaton’s convenience stores (Part I, non-Latino bodega reviews here).

Mercado Latino (not sure of street number, maybe 11314 Fern, across from Nava Thai) (alas no photo) – nice direct name, you know exactly what you’re in for; formerly located down Fern in the Suporn Thai strip mall, moved early this year; friendly bilingual owners/staff; small but interesting selection of pan-Latino dry goods, frozen delicacies; small butcher and fruit/veggie selection; limes usually five for $1 but uneven quality; not necessarily worth a trip but a useful store if you’re in the neighborhood.

La Salvadorenita

La Salvadorenita Grocery (11417 Georgia, in “Wheaton Market Place” strip north of University) — odd mix of food (mostly of the baked goods/sugary snacks/beverage variety), household goods (lots of cleaning products), and cheap apparel, especially t-shirts, of evidently tourist-trap quality; tiny meat/veggie/fresh foods section; nothing particularly unusual, unlike at Mercado Latino or some of the Part I bodegas.

Brazilian Market

Brazilian Market (11425 Grandview) — combination bakery, cookout supplies, and all things Brazilian from futbol jerseys to CDs to knickknacks; also, oddly, a selection of hair care products; bakery items look good but I haven’t tried them; limited food selection includes enormous cuts of beef, enormous bags of charcoal, and normal-sized bags of frozen potatoes — what more could one need?; they also have a huge smoker (I think) on-site in case you can’t wait to get your beef hunk home; at any given time, half the people in the place, including staff and customers, will be wearing Brazilian soccer jerseys; kind of an industrial feel for such a small place but also imbued with the festive atmosphere one expects from Brazilians.

Tres Mercados de Ennalls

The Ennalls Trio (Latin & American Market, Latino Market, International Market) (25xx Ennalls) — I have to admit I haven’t actually been in any of these three; can’t imagine they are substantially different from La Salvadorenita or Mangos or Mercado Latino.

Mangos

Mangos Mercado Latino y Deli (11216 Georgia, in strip anchored by Dunkin’ Donuts) — more fruits and vegetables than La Salvadorenita but otherwise quite similar; mix of Latino and U.S. dry goods, beverages and household products; deli next door looks okay, haven’t tried it.

And that’s it for bodegas. That’s plenty! It would be nice if local demographics resulted in an Indian foods store located in Wheaton…oh well.