Store review: Vitamingarten, Kaiserslautern

Vitamingarten

Pfaffplatz 16

67655 Kaiserslautern

Near the Pfaffplatz, Vitamingarten is a grocery store with Turkish, German, Asian, and Baltic specialties. Many interesting and tasty delights await inside, and this store will be particularly of interest to those looking for wheat-free grains and flours.

There is a great diversity of products even though this grocery store isn't super huge (I would say that it's slightly smaller than the Rewe City). For those who are looking for alternatives to wheat flour, this store has plenty of offerings. I saw rice flour, cornflour, chickpea flour, and polenta, just to mention a few.

In addition to the different flours, there are many other dry goods including beans, spices, cornstarch, wheatstarch, and many other things. There are rows of canned and pickled vegetables. There is even peanut butter, available in both creamy and crunchy versions. It even has the American flag on it, so it has to taste good, right? Okay, I have no idea if it does or not.

Let's not forget the specialties from other countries. Here's some Turkish Delight, for example! I've tried some while I was in the US (maybe not the best place to sample it) and I don't understand why Edmund basically sold his soul for some in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but whatever.

Also on offer is a selection of fruits and vegetables with standards such as apples, carrots, onions, etc. as well as some slightly less common ones like cactus (would that count as a vegetable? I guess I don't know for sure). I've found the produce section to be a bit hit or miss; sometimes it's not the freshest.

In the back of the store there is a butcher's counter with meats and sometimes fresh fish. There are also olives and delicious cream cheese type spreads with herbs. Farther along the back wall there is a refrigerated section with dairy items and even huge vats of feta cheese. The freezer section has interesting items like lumpia, phyllo dough, Turkish savory snacks meant to be fried or baked (pide, etc.). Or, do you need 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of mayonnaise? It's available in that section, too!

There is a small selection of personal care items across from the giant buckets of mayo. Moving to the front of the store near the cash register, one can find different types of bread, including pita bread.

There is a little bit of everything here. A visit to Vitamingarten is an international adventure with many interesting things to buy and try.