Grace Variety Store

Okay, it’s no Saraga or Lee Market, but if you’re ever in the neighborhood of West 10^th and Lynhurst, you owe it to yourself to check this place out.
I love these little mom-​and-​pop ethnic places. It’s kind of hidden, so you have to look hard. It’s on the North-​East corner of the intersection of W 10^th and Lynhurst. It’s next door to the Mexican restaurant (or what used to be the mexican restaurant). Their sign faces WEST, and the door is on the West side of the building, so if you’re driving from east-​to-​west, you’ll miss it. There are only a couple parking spaces. But if you have to, park in the strip mall that’s catty-​corner, and walk over there.
The owners are Nigerian, and have many foods, products, clothing, cloth, health-​and-​beauty-​aids, spices, staples, typical of western Africa.
One thing you may find useful there are calling cards with good rates to Africa. Many other ethnic stores that sell a variety of calling carfds, don’t have ones for Africa.
My favorite products there are:
AUTHENTIC Jamaican style ginger beer (non-​alcoholic), that has real tangy ginger, not «ginger flavoring», and it’s not a Vernor’s kind of ginger «ale».
“Ola Ola” brand «Carotino» or palm oil, from Malaysia. This is filtered palm oil, and doesn’t have the pulp and grit that comes in other brands of palm oil. Palm oil is a ‘bad’ tropical oil, because it is high in saturated fat, so don’t eat too much of it. But like most food that’s bad for you, it tastes great when used right.
If you want to cook popcorn at home (the old fashioned way, in oil, on your stovetop), and give it theater popcorn taste, and yellow coloring, cook it in palm oil. I use a mixture of 50% corn oil (good oil) and 50% palm oil to make my popcorn in a wok or pan. Or you can use peanut oil instead of corn oil. Once you cook popcorn this way, you won’t go back to microwave popcorn.