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Super H Mart, the Korean megagrocery in Niles, opened last summer, and my head still spins in wonder at its endless bounty. To really appreciate it you need to set aside several hours, and perhaps perform some calming mental exercise to prepare for the crowds and confusion of this inconveniently laid out labyrinth of food. The variety of frozen dumplings alone is enough to inspire the same pangs of existential insignificance you can get from stargazing. Only a store with its massive traffic could maintain the fresh kimchi bar with deep tubs of pickled vegetables and fish parts, or the seafood section, with dozens of iced whole fresh fish–beltfish to red mouthbreeder–all cut and cleaned to order, tables of glistening squid and shrimp, and a basin full of live blue crabs for the kiddies to torture. The food court–well, it’s a food court, so the eats are rather average–but it makes up for it in variety and some novelty; there are handmade noodles and dumplings along with Chinese food Korean-style, sushi, a bakery, and a takeout window with soups, porridges, snacks, and marinated bulgogi and kalbi. There’s a new cookware department with a baffling selection of rice cookers, along with an outer ring of mall shops where you can buy pricey ginseng-based cosmetics, Hello Kitty pencils, and that heated stone bed you’ve been saving for. I love H Mart, but I fear for the city’s large Korean groceries, like Arirang and Chicago Food Corp. (though I appreciate the recent ease of dealing with latter’s perpetually gridlocked parking lot).
