Vineeta International Foods

Been here a couple of times, and in a previous visit, I told the cashier/​owner that many of their items are already expired. She said they will take them out, and perhaps just missed a few items. Lo and behold, visited there again yesterday, and the very same items I looked at were still there! One item had an expiration date of 2009!!! Yikes! Be forewarned… Most items are OLD, and others don’t have a time-​stamped date on them!

At first, I loved this place. Unique foods from all over the world. What food adventurer doesn’t love that?
Well, soon, after a couple trips, I realized many of the items I was purchasing were WAY past their expiration date. There was butter in the fridge there that expired almost a year ago… An ENTIRE YEAR. Even the packaged food… On the shelves MONTHS after the expiration date.
Walk in and take a look for yourself. I will not come back.

It’s about time we had a really good international market in the city – I was getting pretty tired of trekking out to Kenmore or Amherst! Vineeta has everything I need (and, yes, about a thousand strange things I’d never dare try) to cook Indian/​Persian/​Asian food.
As a vegetarian, I love these cuisines’ mature, complex flavors and emphasis on plant-​based cooking. However, it can be challenging finding some of the specialized ingredients (and if even you do find them at Wegmans/​Tops, you’ll pay an arm and a leg). Vineeta solves all that with a well-​organized store stocked with very reasonably priced goods – especially with it comes to herbs, spices, and dried grains/​beans.
I must also note that the service is quite good – even despite a sometimes very substantial language barrier. When I was checking out this week, the woman at the counter held up an item from my basket and said, «You want ginger?» I replied that I did (thinking, «Of course I was ginger. That’s why I put it in my basket!»). As it turns out, she was spot-​on; what I had grabbed was not ginger at all – it was galanga, which looks almost identical but has a totally different flavor. She even took the time to scratch each root so I could compare the smells!

I can’t tell you how much I love this place. I finally took a stab at my Indian vegetarian cookbook. I’ve never made Indian food in my life so I was at quite a loss. There were about 20 ingredients I never heard of, so I was just hoping Vineeta would have them all. It may have took me an hour to find everything, but they had every single item on the list. So many different types of dal, chilis, and spices. Also something called asofoetida powder, which sounds toxic, but the recipe called for it, so I threw it in.
A lot of the stuff, I had no idea, but the woman behind the counter was so helpful and escorted me to pretty much everything. I think she loved the idea that I was making Indian food because she seemed more excited about it than I was. She even gave me cooking tips to make it taste better, which was really nice.
I couldn’t imagine not giving this place 5 stars. Every Indian food item you could possibly want. If you like hot, I recommend the crunchy savory section on the right with all the spicy hot Indian nuts you could ask for!
My only disappointment is that they say they offer homemade cookies on the sign out front, but there were zero cookies. I even asked the man behind the counter and he said there were no homemade cookies. What the heck! False advertisement! ;) But that’s okay. I walked out with some coconut mochi balls which were divine. :D
If you haven’t gone already, and you’re an adventurous eater/​chef, GO!

International food store… Hmm
Well here’s the scoop: it’s basically Indian and south East Asian groceries.
*Avoid all fresh (supposed) produce from here (it’s not fresh)

I visit almost weekly to stock up imports available nowhere else. In addition to the Indian spices, sauces, samosas, and everything else, there is a Goya shelf with Spanish foods, plus delicacies from Vietnam and elsewhere in the East. They really are trying to be international.
There are also many standard American products, so you will find something you want or need even if the import foods are all unfamiliar.
In the beginning, the produce did look second-​rate but it has since been moved into its own refrigerated case.
You will also find housewares, health & beauty aids, and Ayurvedic remedies. I’d love to see more of these.
I rely on Vineeta for fresh samosas, Indian pastries, dried coconut flakes, Bhel Puri mix, sev (and other Indian snacks), chutneys, spices, and more. I also go to support an ambitious and welcome immigrant business. Grant Street represents Buffalo’s future and it is an exciting one
My only suggestion to the owners is to find an odorless solution with which to mop the floors. Maybe a kind soul with experience in an American grocery store can steer them to a better product.

The produce is astonishing. Bitter greens that taste like lemons, grassy greens that taste like cinnamon, eggplants of different gorgeous varieties. Nice staff who allowed me to take tiny nibbles of the leaves.

Want a spot to find all sorts of eclectic items from all over the world? Like what, you may wonder.
–Duck eggs
–Quail eggs
–Russian tea
–Indian spices and frozen foods
–Goat meat with a full fledged butcher section that includes other meats
–And other items from just about every country you could think of.
They also have tasty samosas for $ 1 or 1.25 at the counter. Yum!
As others have mentioned, the produce is pretty pitiful — maybe it will get better as they start to better manage their inventory. Despite that, it’s a fun store to check out, especially if you want to travel the world without leaving Buffalo!

The west-​side is quickly becoming my go to area for grocery shopping. After a stop at Guercio’s, I decided to check Vineeta out as it is right down the street. I love exploring ethnic markets, you can always find something new and inspiring to add to your pantry. Vineeta’s expansive selection of Indian, Pakistani, Middle Eastern, and Asian grocery items did not disappoint. The store is large, clean, well-​lit, and well-​organized. Their refrigerated section is stocked with interesting delicacies, prepared foods, and middle eastern favorites like Labneh, a tart and creamy cross between yogurt and cheese. They have a huge selection of condiments, spices, pickles, dried beans, and nuts at very low prices. While their produce selection is limited, and not as fresh as Guercio’s, they do stock duck eggs!
I wouldn’t stop here for produce, but would certainly recommend it for its massive selection of ethnic treats. The owners are very friendly, and mentioned that plan to sell homemade baked goods and samosas. Samosas while grocery shopping= awesome.

I was just driving by, and I saw this big local grocery store with the word «INTERNATIONAL,» so I just had to go check it out. I was greeted by a friendly lady and man at the door.
Produce: limited, shriveled, old; seemed like they got produce that were going bad from other grocery stores; disappointing.
Each aisle had an assortment of ethnic items. There were a lot of middle eastern products, as well as, some Asian products. I didn’t know what a lot of things were. However, I think it you’re going to cook an ethnic meal, you’ll probably find something you need here.
Refrigerated Section: the most random things were in here. there was one big container of coffee-​mate, two cartons of eggs, some beverages… I honestly wouldn’t trust buying anything from the refrigerated section
They had frozen chicken with the skin on in cardboard boxes…
They also have a «fresh meat» section, but it wasn’t set up yet.
On the left side when you walk in, there are 3 aisles filled with an assortment of household items, cleaning supplies, DVDs, and silverware.
The store has a feel of a run-​down Asian market.
I asked the lady at the register if they are new, and she said, «Yes. We opened 2 weeks ago.»
It’s always cool to check out new businesses that open around the neighborhood.