Best Asian Grocery, readers' choice: Chicago Food Corp

Jim Newberry

Reader’s Choice

Viet Hoa Plaza

Minuscule in comparison to the new Asian megastores cropping up in the burbs, this Argyle Street anchor is nevertheless well stocked with multinational Asian groceries and doesn’t take a GPS to navigate. There are 15 types of fresh fish, lively blue crabs, head-on shrimp, and head-and-feet-on chickens, not to mention an in-house butcher with an array of nose-to-tail parts that would put a smile on the face of Fergus Henderson. You’ll also find a wild-to-mild selection of greens, herbs, roots, and sprouts and refrigerated cases holding everything from fresh noodles to beef bile. A separate room is devoted to dry goods, Thai curry pastes, Vietnamese rice noodles, Chinese pickled vegetables, vinegars, sauces, and enough esoterica to make even experienced Asian cooks wish they had Bruce Cost’s Asian Ingredients in hand.  1051 W. Argyle, 773-334-1028. —Gary Wiviott

Readers’ Choice

Chicago Food Corp

3333 N. Kimball, 773-478-5566.

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