Comments (0) BEST MIDDLE EASTERN GROCERY - 2007

Holy Land Bakery and Grocery

Holy Land is one of the best places in town for the impatient diner. Pick up a package or two of kofta kabob (seasoned ground meat rolled into sausages; $2.99 a pound), then choose from the deli's wide selection of olives, cheese, bread, and salads, and you have a dinner fit for your boss's boss. Or feed your hungry family with a rotisserie chicken dinner that at $7.99 costs less than the average fast-food meal. Or if you can't even hold out for that, hit the buffet: The steam tables are filled with delicious shawirma, curries, seasoned rice pilafs, salads, and sweet pastries. But putting those great ready-to-eats to the side for a moment, let's not forget that Holy Land is a working grocery with plenty for the DIY crowd as well. Fifty-pound bags of rice, gallons of olive oil, and cases of mango drink share space with a good half-dozen varieties of bulgur, a small, well-chosen produce section, and an in-house butcher who will cut your fish, lamb, or even goat to taste. The Midtown Global Market location is on a smaller scale, but now gives south Minneapolis a healthy taste of what Nordeast's been enjoying for the last 22 years.