Tucson is a nice place to spend time. In my case, that almost always means spending money too - probably too much, but I love the food scene here. Add to that the fact that we're camped in a pleasant area - much more lush and bird-populated than our previous stops - and it makes us happy for a week. (We'd stay longer, maybe, but the campground we're in has a 1-week limit and we haven't found anything else acceptable so far.)
We've had a couple of shopping expeditions. One involved a stop at the Babylon Market, where we could restock certain dwindling or empty supplies: barberries, Egyptian feta cheese, cumin. We had already stopped at a Fry's grocery store; otherwise I might have purchased olive oil and balsamic vinegar here. The prices were lower at Babylon Market.
The business continues to thrive, but on our particular visit they were tearing around in overwork. There was a "help wanted" sign, written in at least 3 languages. Sorry, I forgot to take a photo of it. If you know someone who lives around here and might be looking for work in a Middle-Eastern food market, send them to Babylon.
These caught my eye, although I didn't buy them. I thought of @heidih when I saw the dried mallow leaves. I thought of @Shelby when I saw the quail, and wondered what she'd think of the sizes. They're advertised as Jumbo quail. There were 1/2 - 2/3 the size of my fist! I remember quail as being bigger than that, but maybe I'm misremembering.
This also caught our eye, though we didn't buy it. This party-sized flatbread took up most of the top of their freezer case. Look carefully above the words "flat bread" and you'll see our pickup keys and fob for scale.
While I waited in the checkout line - one of the owners answered 3 phone calls and dealt with a butcher-counter problem - these also caught my eye. Before I knew it, they'd fallen into my basket.
My darling preferred the original flavor and thought the sweet & sour was too hot; I preferred the sweet and sour (and did not find it hot). I wouldn't get them again, though. Like every other variety of kettle-cooked chips I've tried, these were tough. I think kettle chips just aren't my thing.
