Patel Brothers

Prices are good. Love their frozen food section. The produce area is large with fresh produce. Good selection of drinks but tea selection not so good but then again I’m a tea fanatic. I loooooove their beauty section because it’s stuff you can’t get from anywhere else except Amazon (higher price). What I like is that the employees are Indian and Hispanic. Some variety allowing different ethnicities to feel welcome. I always feel out of place if everyone is Indian. I feel more comfortable seeing Hispanic employees, like I’m not the only outsider or there is no outsider at this store.

Seems like a mecca of international marketplaces have moved into Castleton. Patel Bros is no exception. It’s a fantastic Indian grocery situated across from the mall in the Goodwill, Viet Hua, Formosa complex.
Upon walking in, I think my visual stimulation went haywire. We quickly snatched a BOGO free package of frozen naan to go with our curry tonight. (These tasted much better than one’s bought in American grocery chains, but not as great as the ones served fresh out of the ovens in Indian restaurants. But hey, it will certainly do.) They had a nifty self-​serve chutney bar with several options at $ 4.99/lb. I’m not sure if it’s prepared by the store or bought in bulk, but we’ll give that a try next time.
The fresh produce area has an affordable selections of veggies and herbs to whip up some of your favorite Indian/​Asian dishes such as curry leaves, bittermelon, mango leaves, snake melon, lychee, and red dragonfruit just to name a few.
Checkout lines can be a little long with only 2 cashiers, but they’re pretty fast. I saw that they had premade tubes of henna and even my favorite smarties chocolate candies (like m&ms) while we were waiting in line. Sounds like I may attempt to do some temporary body art this summer!
Walking through aisles and aisles of spices, beans, snacks, and pickled jars not knowing what half of the products are used for seems a bit overwhelming for a non-​Indian. So if you’re just interested in experimenting with Indian cooking, or just want a new place to stock up on unique and affordable produce, you have to check Patel Bros out!