Culture Shock

Yesterday Vince and I went on a little excursion to Dearborn, MI. It's about 20 miles north of us so it wasn't far but we'd never been there. The reason for going was to hunt down some middle-eastern/Mediterranean food.
We had heard that there were a lot of communities in the area that would sell the food we were after but we had no idea just how big the Arab speaking community would be. It was like entering another country.
We kinda felt out of place because we were one of the few that spoke English. If Vince, who can at least slightly pull off the Mediterranean look, hadn't been with me I would have been very out of place. But we had a really good time experiencing that culture.
We first went to this bakery/grocery store that was ran by Italians and the meats, breads and cheeses they had there looked soooo good. Then we headed on up the road and got into the Arab community. We spent close to 2 hours just going to markets. Those of you who know Vince well will understand that. :) I must say I had a whole new experience with food.
We didn't go to any bakeries but I not so subtly hinted that it would be a great date night to go to one of the restaurants there and then go to a bakery (or two) for some baklava and to try some other Middle Eastern delicacies. I did have one bite of home made baklava from one of the markets and it was one of the best desserts I've ever eaten. It was amazing!
Over the course of the day we found some really good deals and brought home lots of good food at pretty great prices. We now have enough grape leaves, olive oil, dried dates and bulgar wheat to last as the year. I have a feeling we will be cooking a lot of "ethnic" food for awhile which is fine by me because I just love it.
We made Tabouli last night and it was delicious. I'm so glad I married someone who introduced me to such "strange" food. It has quickly become my favorite.
We were both excited about finding a place like that so I'm sure we will venture up there a lot more. It was great fun!