Little Store, Big Variety

It might be small, but on Cortelyou Road sure offers its customers a lot of choices.

The hole-in-the-wall food shop sells everything from homeade dips and local microbrews to meats and cheeses imported from Europe and the Middle East.

"I don't carry stuff you can find in other shops," says manager and buyer Itzak Gozli. "We want it to be local and seasonal, and we are focused on discovering new flavors in Brooklyn. But if I find imported stuff that is better in quality, I'll buy that instead."

Since opening two years ago, the specialty store has become known for the broad range of goods it offers. Gozli says that he works with almost forty vendors in order to keep the shop's inventory lively and fresh.

"Even regulars can always find something new here," he says. 

Recent additions to the shelves include caperberries in truffle oil and balsamic cream ($5.25 for 8 oz), homeade baba ganoush by Mimi ($4.85 for 12 oz.) and Sheilagh's brownies ($2 a piece), which are based on a recipe long used by the mother of the shop's upstairs neighbor. 

These items have joined longtime favorites like aged Serrano ham ($8.50 for a 1/4 lb) on the bestseller list, Gozli says.

If there is a drawback to such variety and quality, it is the price. Gozli says that the biggest challenge he faces is competing with other food vendors in the area who appeal to shoppers on a tighter budget.

"We offer higher quality products, and sometimes the prices are different," he says. "The supermarket down the street will have gouda at half the price of my gouda. But it won't be the same gouda."

For those who are willing to pay the difference, however, Market is a great place to find something new and different.

"We eat three times a day," Gozli says. "It doesn't have to be boring."