Mirroring the neighborhood in which it's located, diversity is the name of the game at this friendly food market. Hatimy Market's helpful staff, helmed by Somali-born UB nursing student Ali Mohamed, serves nearly all of the West Side's varied communities of immigrants with a maddeningly eclectic variety of groceries from Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Arab world. Meats from beef and chicken to lamb and goat, many of them certified halal, are joined on the shelves by seafood, canned goods, rice, spices, and various and sundry food items.
Mon-Sat 9:30AM-7PM, Sun 10AM-6PM
Since 2006, Luis Rodriguez has operated this small Grant Street record shop where the accent is on rap, R&B, reggae, soca, and Latin sounds, as well as racks of streetwear styled to match the hip-hop bent of the music. If you're interested in the Buffalo hip-hop scene, look no further: Sweet Sound stocks a wide selection of the latest releases by local rappers at prices that can't be beat.
Mon-Wed 10AM-8PM, Thu 10AM-9PM, Fri Sat 10AM-10PM, Sun noon-5PM
Guercio's history stretches back to 1961 — a time when Grant Street was the heart of a lively Italian-American neighborhood — and it remains one of Buffalo's prime destinations for gourmet groceries, with both imports and locally produced items such as sliced bread from Luigi's Bakery and Anchor Bar brand wing sauce. When you're done marveling at the colorful produce and herbs stuffed in the carts on the sidewalk out front, come on inside and stroll through the fragrant corridors stocked with everything you could ever want from an Italian grocery store: canned goods, imported pasta, sliced-to-order Italian cold cuts, a dizzying array of fine olive oils, and more.
Mon-Sat 7AM-6PM
Chinese restaurant West Side A native of Myanmar, Maung Maung Saw draws on his experience as owner of a Chinese restaurant in Malaysia to craft the best and most authentic dim sum in Buffalo (not that there's much competition). The stars of the show at 007 are lo mai fan (balls of sticky rice mixed with stir-fried chicken and mushrooms, with sriracha sauce on the side for dipping), and of course, steamed shu mai stuffed with your choice of beef, chicken, or vegetables. Unless you're an exceptionally light eater, you won't be able to make a full meal out of what you get here, but this food works spectacularly as appetizers to accompany a main course from one of the Bazaar's other food vendors.
$5-15