Fruits & Veggies in Sterling Heights, MI

“The prices and quality are very good. You may not like everything there but you just find the things that you like, because the pricing is so good. I consistently go there every week to shop and get something of value every time. Great fruits and vegetables, breads and coffee too.”

“My wife and I have only made a couple of trips to this store but we are impressed. They have little, juicy lemons instead of the mass-produced kind you find in the supermarket; onions that actually smell like onions instead of nothing; bulk almonds that taste as if they were recently roasted; gluten-free cookies at decent prices and abundant Middle-Eastern specialty foods. The place is small, but if you live in the general area, it is worth a look.”

“I usually go to the Dream Market on 15 Mile to pick up fresh Samoon and Khubz, but this time I decided to go a little further north to this location. Let me say that this 18 Mile store is the superior store. The interior is much larger, which is able to easily accommodate the large number of patrons without feeling way too crowded like the other store. This location also has a bakery area, large prepared foods counter, another area specifically for mezze and various salads/dips, and two huge aisles/areas filled with bulk spices, snacks, and candies. I thought the 15 Mile location had everything and was the best Middle Eastern/Iraqi market in Metro Detroit, but this place takes it to another level. Both locations always seem to have huge lines for fresh bread. Here, the samoon is 4/$1 for some of the freshest and puffiest bread you can find. The samoon are a little smaller than other places and don't have as much of a fire charred flavor, but they are fluffy, easily pull apart to reveal the pocket in the middle, and are the cheapest by far. The other location used to brush the samoon with olive oil and sesame seeds, but they didn't do it here. I'm not sure if it's just here or both places stopped. At any rate, there's a reason there is always a huge line for bread. In addition to samoon, the bakery area has sweet breads and khubz. We picked up some generically labelled "Sweet Pies" that were 4/$5.99 on a whim and wow, after trying it, I was super impressed. It's spiral layered dough that's soaked in sweet orange blossom water and then covered with pistachios and earthy spices, perhaps cardamom and cinnamon? The sugary mixture caramelizes on the bottom of the pastry and when baked, it creates a fantastic fried caramelized texture around the edges. I wish I knew the actual name of this sweet; I tried searching online but I couldn't find anything resembling it! From the prepared foods area, we picked up a giant 12 inch diameter Meat Pie (Aroog) for only $1. It turned out be be pretty mild in flavor and wasn't the most appealing to eat, but it was good to try. The mezze counter is so busy they have a number system so you know when you can order. We ended up only getting tabbouleh ($5.99/lb) but everything looked delicious. The tabbouleh here is the real deal, mixed with tons of parsley, onions, tomatoes, and bulgur. The amount of oil and lemon juice added is perfect; this tabbouleh honestly is cheaper and better than what you can get at many restaurants. It tasted very fresh - I saw a ton of people getting this, so I can imagine they constantly make more and refresh the offering. I didn't get the garlic or hummus this time - I've gotten them from the other store in the past and I have to say that they are kind of mediocre. The garlic is overly lemony and the hummus tastes like grocery store hummus. Perhaps this location is better; I'll have to try next time. At the end of our visit, we hit up the bulk section where we found a variety of things to try. Grilled Cashews ($6.77/lb) - These are extra crunchy cashews, skin on, salted, with a slight char taste. They have an aromatic, toasted flavor that is a step above your ordinary conventional roasted cashew. Unique and very yummy. Various Kri Kri/Japanese Peanuts ($3.99/lb) - Yum! These are peanuts covered with hard fried dough, then sprinkled with various flavors. Some are slightly sweet, some are very spicy. The coating has a very hard crunch - it feels like you could chip your teeth if you're not careful. I'm usually hesitant on buying bulk goods since they can get stale, but this store has such high turnover that everything seems to be super fresh. I'm used to buying the Kasugai brand roasted nuts assortment, which is way more expensive for the weight, so I thought this was a great deal. Funny thing is that apparently the Japanese Peanuts were invented in Mexico and in Japan, they call these Mexican Peanuts. Ulker Toffee Mastic Candy ($5.99/lb) - Woah, first time we tried mastic candy. It”