By admin 
Sacramento is a great town for grocery stores.
One jewel in the crown is Corti Brothers. Where else can you get orange marmalade made from local trees from a Victorian-era recipe, or vintage treats such as rum baba floating in boozy syrup?
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Corti Brother’s is no hidden gem–it’s frequently written up in national food and travel pubs as one of the state’s best grocery stores. But even those without a passion for specialty groceries end up there sooner or later for the glorious, enormous, budget-friendly sandwiches.
There’s that old adage that you should never go grocery shopping while hungry—you’ll end up buying whatever looks good, instead of what you need. However, Corti’s isn’t the only grocery store in town where you can get a whole meal, instead of just ingredients for one.
The following five markets are a small sample of what’s out there.
South Area Market
Inside this small market there are shelves of snacks and staples from Southeast Asia. Further in the back, though, cheerful yellow walls surround a takeout counter where staff busily pack up orders of Laotian food for delivery and walk-in customers.
Their sweet-spicy house-made Lao sausage is laced with a powerful punch of lemongrass ($3.50). Creamy Thai tea ($4) turned out to be vitally important for quenching the fire of the cool and funky papaya salad ($8), Even with one pepper (you can pick how many you want) it’s life-affirmingly spicy.
For those trying Lao food for the first time, owner Nancy Soukasene recommends the sausage, sticky rice, or some beef laab. “They’re all my mom’s recipes,” she said. “Nobody beats my mom.”
Address: 5220 Fruitridge Rd.
Hours: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m., Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 6:30 p.m., Sunday. Closed Wednesday.
Take-out only.
Indian Supermarket & Vegetarian Kitchen
A digital menu displays the specials for each day of the week at this vegetarian restaurant inside Indian Supermarket. On a Tuesday, that meant aloo gobhi and kadhai paneer, served as a thali, a varied meal of several small dishes.
The regular thali ($15.99) also comes with chapati flatbread, raita, rice, and dessert. The aloo gobhi, a cauliflower-and-potato based veggie dish, was pleasantly herbal, a vegetal contrast to the kadhai paneer, a North Indian dish of mild cheese in a savory spiced gravy.
For drinks, there’s sweet milky chai ($1.99), or imported soft drinks, such as the powerfully carbonated Sosyo Power Up cola ($1.99).
4421 Gateway Park Blvd., #130
Kitchen hours: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m daily.
Seating on-site, take-out available
Compton’s Market
This spacious neighborhood market in East Sacramento has all the grocery store basics. They also have Willy’s Cafe on the premises, serving up large, solid sandwiches like the turkey, bacon, and avocado on a toasted steak roll ($14.99.)
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Willy’s offers more than just deli fare. They also serve pizza, ice cream and there’s even a full bar inside. For java needs, Steele House Coffee recently set up at Willy’s as well.
4065 McKinley Blvd.
Deli hours: 7 a.m. – 9:30 p.m daily.
Bar: 12 p.m. – 9:30 p.m Tuesday – Sunday.
Steele House Coffee: 7 a.m. – 2 p.m daily.
Seating on-site, take-out available.
All Mart Grocery and Halal Restaurant
Speaking of one-stop shops, this Afghan market has everything: clothes, carpets, a bakery and more.
It also has a full-service restaurant in the back, complete with a traditional carpeted seating area where guests remove their shoes before sitting down at low tables.
You can opt for what the menu calls Afghanistan’s “most famous dish,” qabli manicha pallow ($17.99). This mound of spiced rice pilaf, laced with carrots and sweet raisins, is served atop monumental chunks of lamb. Another good choice are the ashak ($12.99), delicate leek dumplings that come topped with yogurt, a lentil sauce, and crumbles of lamb.
Not to be missed is the sheer yakh ice cream ($7.99). Available both in the restaurant and the cafe at All Mart’s entrance, this icy dessert has a floral cardamom flavor and a slight crunch from its dusting of pistachios.
1330 Fulton Ave.
Restaurant hours: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m daily.
Seating on-site, take-out available
Oto’s Marketplace
Housewares, imported ingredients from Japan, as well as fruits and vegetables from local farms are all for sale at Oto’s. Weekdays and Saturdays at noon, though, people march to and from their cars with bento boxes in hand as well as grocery bags.
“Usually, we’ll sell out,” Jason Taira said, pointing to the bento boxes lined up on the counter. Taira, who oversees the kitchen, said that the fried chicken karaage bento ($8.25) and the teriyaki salmon bento ($9.25) are the most popular options. Both bentos come with a sweet and salty cabbage salad, a slab of rice, crunchy green pickles, and a slice of orange.
There are plenty of different bentos available daily, plus sides such as tempura and gyoza. Some specials, though, are only available on certain days. So show up on Thursday or Saturday if you want Japanese-style curry.
4990 Freeport Blvd.
Store hours : 9 a.m. – 7 p.m., Monday – Saturday and 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sunday. The Kitchen closed Sunday and Monday.
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Take-out only.