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| - The West Side Market is one of my favorite places. The building itself is breathtaking; I'm always taken aback at how fantastic the architecture is. You can get so many things in one location, all of them yummy and reasonably priced. Key places to check out: Judy's Oasis for her hummus. The stuff is seriously addicting, and her pita is an amazing accompaniment. Steve's Gyro for the jumbo gyro, mouth watering with just the right amount of sauce, big enough to feed two people. Frickaccios Pizza for their pizza bagels. Czuchraj Meats for bacon, sausages, and the best jerky in the whole world. They have spicy beef and teriyaki turkey flavors, and a buffalo chicken kind that I could eat my weight in. There's a Noodlecat stand and Ohio City Pasta. At Crepe Deluxe you can get delicious crepes any time, their caramel pear and walnut, chicken bacon ranch, or just a traditional Nutella and bananas will knock your socks off. There're vendors that have ground lamb and whole suckling pigs. You can get a ten pound cake or a cow tongue. Vera's bakery has pizza bread, pretzel rolls, jalapeno beer bread and these things called salt sticks which are like bread sticks sprinkled with a little bit of everything. I always end up spending way too much money and lugging home pounds of food. The Arcade- aka the building with the fruits and vegetables- is a great place to stock up on produce for insanely low prices. Sure I'll take ten pounds of oranges for $5. I can use six lemons for $1. The only problem with this side is that the vendors yell at you to sample random things and try to get you to purchase crazy items. No, I do not want 2 mangos, I only need limes. Thanks, but I do not want peppers since I just asked for bananas. I usually run through this section so fast, recreating the scary boat ride scene from Willy Wonka, turning the stands in to a Technicolor blur as I pass. Bumming around this place is an amazing way to spend an afternoon. My biggest complaint is that I wish it was closer.
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