At Sahadis we cater to the fine tastes and discriminating needs of those seeking unique products from the Far & Middle East. Our baskets are FULL to the brim with Sahadis trademark gourmet goodies. Unlike "other" baskets that are filled with paper and fluff, Sahadis is a real value for your money. So peruse our fine line of gourmet gift baskets and choose that perfect gift for a Birthday, Wedding, Office party or that Special Friend.
With its open sacks and barrels of grains and spices, bulk containers of olives, nuts, and dried fruits, its mixed fragrance of cumin and coffee beans, and the beat-up dispenser from which customers must take a number during crowded times, this looks like an old place - and it is. Sahadis has been doing business in Brooklyn for fifty years. (The original Sahadi was established in Manhattan in 1898.)
Today the store anchors the Middle Eastern commercial enclave that flourishes along Atlantic Avenue between Court and Hicks Streets and includes restaurants, food and music stores, and the Damascus Bakery (on the avenue since 1936). Weirdly, this shopping district flourishes where there are no Middle Eastern residents to speak of. There used to be of course: The merchants and workmen who moved to Brooklyn early in the century from the original "Little Lebanon" in lower Manhattan.
On any given day, Sahadis has on hand about a hundred and fifty varieties of cheese (including some Lebanese and Syrian varieties youre not likely to find anywhere else in town), and several dozen types of olives and olive oils. Theres every imaginable dried fruit, including bananas and strawberries; nuts both roasted and raw, salted and un-salted. Theres crecre, Chinese peanuts with a flavored coating; exotic herbs like sumac and maheb (made from the inside of cherry pits, used to flavor the Syrian string cheese), and dried mloukhiyeh, a forbidding spinachlike vegetable used in soups and gravies. Theres Afgan bread as big as a pillow case, Turkish delight studded with pistachios, and Jordan almonds. In the back, the prepared foods section offers superb hummus, baba ghannouj, tabbouleh, and also what experts- (us, actually) -believe to be the best kibbeh (ground lamb with pine nuts and spices) in New York.
Sahadis, unlike other gourmet shops, sells bulk foods as well. As Charlie Sahadi says, "I can sell you five ounces of peanuts or a twenty pound bag." Because the store is a wholesaler and a distributor as well as a retailer, the prices are moderate to eye-poppingly low. Bear in mind, however,prepared foods, middle eastern foods that Sahadis range and quality is not exactly a state secret, so youll have to wait your turn during the weeks before Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other big food holidays. The consistently helpful and cheerful staff will answer your questions and let you taste an olive or a piece of cheese; they make it easy to remain patient.
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