Joe's Market and Deli
Grocery/Bakery/Deli
American, Lebanese
corner store + lebanese deli
Joe's is a large, successful corner store with eclectic items like vegan ice cream and soy milk, as well as a vegan-friendly Lebanese deli.
Just east of 18th Ave SE on Como Ave SE
- Delivery
- Outdoor Seating
Added by Robin Garwood on Jun 9 04 (updated Dec 23 05)
Reviews
I live close to Joe's but go there rarely; they just don't sell a lot of stuff that I want to buy when I am so close to home. They do have soy milk but it's really expensive and they have produce but it's not organic, which is important to me personally. They also seem to carry fewer and fewer vegan options (e.g. they no longer seem to carry Decadent Soy Delicious ice cream, vegan halvah, graham cracker pie crusts, and Tofutti cream cheese).
I love their black olives, figs, and garlic dip though. In addition to what Robin pointed out, they have Clif bars, Luna bars, Tofutti Cuties, sorbets, vegan bean burritos, various types of olives, hummus, pita, and cheap jars of grape leaves.
I've been eating at Joe's regularly for about 3 years now. There is a pretty wide selection of really good Lebanese food, including some dishes I've never had anywhere else, such as Mjadra (a wonderful lightly seasoned lentil-rice paste) and Burgl (cracked bulgar wheat with tomato and oil). One can get these in a pita with veggies for $3.50 - filling, cheap, and tasty as tasty gets. Joe's also serves old Mediterranean staples such as hummus, grape leaves (with chickpeas in them!) and the best baba ganouj I may have had anywhere. Avoid the falafel, though, if you're vegan, it's made with eggs. Their vegetarian platter (six bucks, I think) easily feeds two. Every other Thursday and Friday they serve a really good pastry called a veggie roll. It's easy to find vegan accompanyments to the deli in the market, as well - crackers, organic chips, produce, vegan ice cream, soymilk. The place locally owned, by a real Joe, and it's a family affair: his dad Assad (an interesting guy, crotchety in a fun way) runs the deli. Be sure to say hi.
Joe's Deli (minus the market part) is home to probably the best, least expensive Lebanese food I've ever had. The veggie platter ($7 or so) is great, and changes depending on what they have in the deli at the time. (Hummus, grape leaves, baba ganouche...etc.) It also happens to feed two people EASILY. The only down side is you need to buy extra pitas or mountain bread (I think that's the name), but at only a buck or two a pop, it makes for a very affordable, tasty meal.