In this week's Grocery Stories column I am slightly referencing immigration, illegal or otherwise, which can have a large impact on our economy. Clearly the Albertsons on South 38^th Street in Tacoma recognizes this because they are trying to appeal to the Hispanic community on the Eastside.

There are several great Hispanic stores in the area, so to keep up with the heavy competition, this Albertsons has almost forty-feet of shelving dedicated to our spicy food lovin' neighbors down south of the border. On a tip from a friend, I had to check it out for myself.

What caught my attention were the six full shelves of those tall glass candles that represent religious icons. I believe they are called veladoras. There are Virgin Mary veladors, various saint veladoras, and plain blue, yellow, red and white veladoras, but my favorite had to be the Pope veladora. I'll leave it at that.

Great deals can be had on spices, so be sure to check their selection before you buy an over priced bottle of Shilling chili powder. Cornhusks, whole dried chilies, Panocha (hunks of cane sugar), and shrimp, dried or shredded. Not sure what to do with those other than making stock or something. Any thoughts?

Mexicans like their gelatin inspired desserts and Jarritos flavored sodas. This Albertsons carries many flavors of both - along with cool condiments like Tajin, a mild snack sauce that contains chili peppers, salt and lime juice. It reminds be of a really limey version of the Taco Bell packets of sauce, but better.

Speaking of Taco Bell, I found it interesting that their make-at-home products are on this Albertsons' shelf, but carefully set away from the truly authentic products. I think that even I would have been offended if the Taco Bell foods were included with the good stuff. I better be careful, my husband WORSHIPS at the alter of Taco Bell. They should have a veladora for that. Not that he reads my column or anything. ...

Interesting items like quince paste caught my attention. I've really only seen it used as a Spanish side with Manchego cheese. The quince apples are tart little buggers that need lots of sugar and pectin to be edible. It would appear by the picture on the tin it's sold in, one would use a small cookie cutter and make shapes with the paste and add as an edible decoration. Not that far off the Spanish use I guess.

Look for Embasa, La Costena and Herdez brands that provide beans, hominy, peppers, salsa and of course menudo. Not the goofy boy band that launched the career of that lovely Ricky Martin, but the interesting combination of hominy and beef tripe. Not a fan of beef, so you can probably guess that tripe will never pass these lips.

I am encouraged when I see markets try to cater to their local population. Really, I can't imagine that they wouldn't. There's too much competition out there not to try and scrape for every dollar you can. And for us gringos too wimpy to shop in an authentic Hispanic store, this is a good start.

Albertsons

111 S. 38th St., Tacoma
253.474.0946