I'd just read Cathy's recent post on Balboa (linked at the end) and remarked to Bert that we should check it out.
It's kind of hidden on Balboa Ave (behind Mr. Fish and Chips) and in the same strip mall with Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore and Sufi Mediterranean Cuisine...
The market is not that big but it is clean and bright and full of so many interesting products. Below, pickled stuff.
Plus roasted jarred vegetables. We bought an eggplant spread for only $2.50. At a hipster store, that would've cost about $8 or more.
Canned and processed meats but wait, they're halal.
This is what caught my attention while leaving the checkout line.
And this...
A friendly man was behind the Loghum (Turkish Delight) counter. He offered us free samples of whatever we wanted to try. In fact, he was very enthusiastic about wanting us to try every piece it seemed. Turkish delight is $10.99/lb here. You pay at the counter after you make your selections. The man will cut off pieces for you and box it up. Or you can buy the whole logs of Turkish Delight or pre-made platters filled with a dazzling assortment of these confections.
Everything looked delectable...
More in the display case...
If you want eggplant or parsley, it's super cheap here!!! I'm a firm proponent for shopping at ethnic markets. Depending on the cuisine, you can get certain vegetables for super cheap. For example, napa cabbage, garlic, beansprouts and peppers are cheap at Zion while radishes, cilantro and green onions are dirt cheap at most Mexican markets.
What we bought - pistachios, turkish delight, yellow toatoes, roasted chestuts (only $1.29 for 3.50 oz!), cookies with cherry jam (Bert's choice), marshmallows, and eggplant spread.
I spent about $9; it was supposed to be $9.60 but the guy rounded down. I ended up tipping the rest. The pieces I selected had different types of nuts in them, such as almonds, pistachios and walnuts. Some had a pomegranate gel base, another was dates. The piece with the black ball things? Those are actually chocolate rice crisps. Another piece was flavored with rose water. Each piece was delicious and I kept thinking about when I could have this again.
So, one week later, while TC and I were out and about on the first day of Fall Break (it was cloudy but horribly humid), we ventured to Clairemont after having been in PB for thrift store shopping.
I hadn't been here in a while and apparently, Harvest International Market now has a Turkish delight bar. It cost $1 more a lb. here compared to Balboa Market.
They also sell baklava...
Plus a different version of the Kinder Egg, where the egg is already cut in half then put back together as opposed to just a full shell that you have to crack to get to the prize.
I've seen rose water and orange blossom water but...
Yeah...interesting. I looked online to see what pussywillow water can be used for and it is made into a beverage with sugar and water and "it is said to stimulate the appetite for those who suffer from poor appetite and it is also beneficial for the expulsion of intestinal parasites" (from the persianbasket.com website).
Whoa, I didn't see that last benifical "use" coming.
As for Dillweed water, it can also be used in beverages and is supposed to have a crisp and refreshing taste, like cucumber water does. Dill can be pretty strong and has an anise like taste.
No one was behind the counter at the time of my visit and I had to ask someone to help me. Note that you have to pay for your dessert items in line because they don't have a cash register at the Turkish delight counter. I didn't realize that the lady would cut off such BIG ASS CHUNKS. Look at that total...almost $17 worth. Frack. Next time, I will have to ask them to slice thinner pieces!
Some pieces I selected were repeats from before but I also got some new ones we hadn't tried yet.
Fig gel with pistachios and covered with toasted coconut, fig el with hazelnuts, pistachio and cranberry nougat:
Date base with almonds, pomegranate vase with pistachios (I loved how colorful this was), sesame seeds and fig base with almonds and pistachios:
Nougat rolls - one covered with finely ground pistachios, the other, chocolate shavings. The fillings match the outer coverings.
Pomegranate gel with pistachios and covered with chocolate rice crisps and rose gel with almonds and covered with rose petals.
Surprisingly, Bert liked the rose covered sweet the best while I enjoyed the one with the crispy rice balls. I've never seen those before and it looked quite striking. My least favorite Turkish delights were the ones with fig in them. My favorite nuts in these sweets were the almonds and pistachios.
There were even more varieties that we didn't have a chance to try. I do plan to come here or to Balboa Market again to work my way through all of the different kinds of Turkish delight.
I first heard of Turkish Delight from C.S. Lewis's book, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" from the first book of the Chronicles of Narnia. Edmund Pevensie, one of the children in the book, asks for this particular confection from the evil White Witch. He doesn't know that she is evil...yet. But yeah, I'd always wondered what it tasted like. I didn't have my first taste until I was an adult.
If you've ever had those fruit "cotlet" candies, that is basically Turkish Delight. In fact, the makers of Liberty Orchards who make these candies are Armenian (read their fascinating story here from the company website).
Here's the film reference from "The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe" (2005 version) starring Tilda Swinton as the White Witch:
Plus the older PBS version from 1988:
Man, is Edmund stupid or what! Quit asking her will ya!
"Nuooooooooooooo!!!!!!
Please see Cathy's recent post on Balboa International Market as well as Harvest Market (her post also links her previous Balboa Market posts from 2010 and 2012 which have more interior photos of the store).
My previous post on Harvest International Market:
November 2015
Balboa International Market
5907 Balboa Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 277-3600
www.balboamarket.com; fb page + reviews from that four lettered site and
and over on the western end of Balboa Ave...
Harvest International Market
4220 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92117
(858) 810-8228
harvestinternationalmarket.com + the Y*** reviews
I'm trying to conjure up a reason to come to these places again...well Balboa more than Harvest because it's $1 cheaper for the Turkish Delight.
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