stuffed grape leaf recipe) and head to Summer Market to stock up on the goods. Best Italian Deli from California to Illinois and New York, opened its first Arizona store in Mesa in 2020. The massive Korean grocery store offers produce, meat, fresh seafood, and lots of specialty Asian items such as Nongshim Shin Ramyun noodles, Huey Fong sambal oelek chili paste, and various flavors of the Pocky sweet coated biscuit sticks. H Mart also has a food hall with options from noodle dishes to bulgogi risotto, chicken wings, kimchi, and pork belly. There’s also a Paris Baguette bakery inside the store, with a vast selection of treats like croissants, sticky milk buns, and chocolate cake topped with macarons. Best International Supermarket LEE LEE INTERNATIONAL SUPERMARKETS 2025 North Dobson Road, Chandler 480-899-2887 7575 West Cactus Road, Peoria 623-773-3345 leeleesupermarket.com When we travel, our favorite thing to do is eat. So we love Lee Lee’s International Supermarket because pushing our cart up and down the aisles feels like taking a world culinary tour. Frozen lumpia from the Philippines. Eastern European meats. Indian spices. Countless types of noodles. We don’t have enough room in our kitchen (or our stomach) for everything we want to try at Lee Lee, so we just keep going back for our favorite items and to try a few new things each time. We also like the little housewares area in the front of the store, where we can find cute bowls and cups to hold our global fare. Best Middle Eastern Market SUMMER MARKET 13815 North Seventh Street, Suite B 602-283-9700 What looks like a simple convenience store from its location at Seventh Street and Thunderbird Road in north Phoenix is actually so much more. Summer Market stocks a plentiful supply of Middle Eastern goods, from garbanzo beans to fragrant spices such as Madras curry powder and fresh bread baked daily. And you won’t have to break the bank at this local grocer, whether you’re in search of cheese, yogurt, falafel mix, or a wide selection of bulk beans and seeds. So grab your favorite Middle Eastern friend (and their mother’s DEFALCO’S ITALIAN DELI & GROCERY 2334 North Scottsdale Road, Suite A133, Scottsdale 480-990-8660 defalcosdeli.com DeFalco’s is an old-school Italian deli where you can grab lasagna, fresh pasta, imported Parmesan cheese, and homemade pizzelle (traditional Italian waffle cookies) all on the same trip. The hot food is made to order but worth the roughly 30-minute wait, so order ahead if you wish to grab and go. The Centurion Calzone is stuffed with fresh mozzarella, spicy soppressata, roasted red peppers, fresh tomato, basil, and kalamata olives. The cheese oozes out as you dip it into the accompanying San Marzano tomato sauce and take a bite. The eggplant Parmigiana is a favorite among veggie lovers, while the ravioli with meat sauce is sure to satisfy the carnivores out there. And we always pick up dessert whenever we visit DeFalco’s: The cannolis come traditional and with a chocolate shell, and the cheesecakes are freshly baked. Best Cheese Shop MINGLE & GRAZE 48 South San Marcos Place, Chandler 480-726-2264 mingleandgraze.com Peace. Love. Cheese. That’s the motto on one of the T-shirts you can snag at Mingle & Graze, where another style features a four-letter F-word that isn’t F-E-T-A. We like their spunk, and their unabashed devotion to all things cheese — and not just because they give us an excuse to use our fancy charcuterie boards. They do catering, carryout, and private events. But what we love most are the tastings and cooking workshops, because we want to 205 SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 | WWW.BESTOFPHOENIX2022.C0M | BEST OF PHOENIX 2022
