April 2022 by Mark T.
Azul! It's time for another review, and what better place than Rocky Mountain Meat Market at Colorado/Iliff? Yea, they've got your lamb shanks, your prime beef. and (of course!) your spicy Merguez sausage, but there is so much more to peep at in this cozy little nook.The owner of RMMM is in fact Amazigh from Algeria (you'll notice that the Halal sign on the wall has English, Arabic, *and* Tifinagh letters when you enter), and his intent is to bring a bounty of North African delectables to his ever-eager customer base. Are you needing some hot-as-heck Harissa sauce from Tunisia to add some chile to your cooking? You can find it here - and how! Maybe instead you're in search of a nice big bag of couscous straight from Casablanca? Again, you've come to the right place. And how about a selection of soda from the proprietor's home country? One of my favorites in this regard is Selecto. "Oh, how does that one taste?", I hear you inquire. Well, it's kind of, um, apple-y, date-y, coke-y... hmm, maybe I should stop trying to describe it - let's just say you'll love it and leave it at that. But then, there are also bottles of orange-flower water, chocolate custard mixes, cans of succulently-sauced tuna, boxes of mint tea - basically, all your Maghrebi food needs will be filled in a single visit here.As it turns out however, it's truly your lucky day, because RMMM in fact features products from all across the Near and Middle East to enthuse over. How about a jumbo-sized can of ghee from Jordan (adorned with a very aerodynamic gazelle)? Or some fava beans with a plethora of seasoning choices, whether your tastes lean more towards Lebanon, Egypt, or al-Khalij (the Gulf region)? Ooh, those chocolate/hazelnut cookies from Turkey look good don't they? And I can attest that they're even more flavorful than you can imagine. And naturally, the shelves are filled with jars upon jars of pickled and preserved vegetables of all kinds too - from cucumbers, to olives, to grape leaves, to.... Oops! I really should watch where I'm going a bit more, shouldn't I? I very nearly backed into this substantial selection of enormous bags of rice from India and Pakistan. But my favorite part of the shop is probably the cooler, where I can buy Kalb el Louz (Algerian semolina/almond cake) or Mille-Feuille (layered cream pastry).