Sangeet Alexandria Halal Meat & Grocery

I have been there on two occasions for meet & fish buys. First time, I was there for buying chicken. I asked for baby chicken but the one the lady got for me was a full grown bird. The size of the drumstick also confirmed my belief. The chicken tasted good though. Before leaving, I asked the lady if they had sweet water fish (specifically Rohu) and she said they had all sorts of fish including Rohu. When I landed up inside the store and went to the meat section, a full sized de-​skinned goat was kept lying on the table in the open. The eyes of the animal were still intact. Wasn’t a treat to the eye. On my second visit, i went to get Rohu, but they had a freezer full of Hilsa & Mrigel but no Rohu. A fish store without Rohu was surprising.

Went here at about 7:30 pm on Saturday to pick up some goat. The fresh goat was done for the day, so the salesclerk gave me two bags of frozen goat to try so that I didn’t leave empty handed. That was an amazingly nice gesture and surprise. Some of the best customer service that I have yet to encounter. I will definitely be back the next time I need to go and pick up some goat or other meats and/​or seasonings.

The gf and I were looking for dried barberries for a recipe we were making. We had struck out at our first stop and decided to check out Sangeet Alexandria Halal Meat & Grocery. Sangeet resides in a small strip mall next to Shooter McGee’s. As soon as we stepped into the store, I knew our trip would be for naught. While the name of the seemingly family-​run operation implies it is a grocery store, the very small, narrow space has little room for much shelving or refrigerators and, ultimately, very little in the way of stock other than the staples (i.e. rice, beans, spices) that you’d expect to find in a traditional (or even international) market. The back end of the store was dedicated to the meat market. However, there were no refrigerated display cases showing off their cuts of meat. Signage with the type and cuts of meat and prices was surprisingly minimal. I could be wrong, but the area seemed too small for butchering of meats on-​premises. Nevertheless, I’m guessing the bulk of their business is the sale of Halal meat.
I have great affinity for immigrant-​owned, family-​run stores. Sangeet Alexandria Halal Meat & Grocery cannot hope to compete with much larger traditional and international markets. That said, Sangeet offered a refreshing bit of honesty and customer service. We asked the woman at the counter if they carried barberries. She said that they didn’t, but recommended we check out Fair Price International Supermarket. Refreshing. I respect that.

Alexandria’s West End may not be the most chichi neighborhood in the ‘burb, but it sure is one of the most diverse. And that’s one of the reasons I really love living there. Within a few blocks of our house are dozens of restaurants representing every continent on earth, not to mention international markets specializing in foods from the Mediterranean, Africa, East Asia, and — of course — India.
Sangeet is an Indian market that also offers Halal meats. It’s a small storefront tucked away in a modest strip mall on Duke Street, but when you step inside, you’re surrounded by a beautiful selection of products. Spices, all *so* much cheaper and much more varied than grocery stores (three kinds of mustard seeds, tulsi, ajwain, cardamom, etc.) and sold in much bigger quantities. Humongous bags of rice, legumes, and noodles: basmati, brown, jasmine, lentils, toasted vermicelli. Indian snacks and «trail mixes» with delicious and flavorful ingredients like fried lentils, dehydrated veggies, curry spice, and crispy fried noodles — perfect for a desk drawer at work. Sweets like gulab jamun, laddoo, and jaangiri. And those pre-​packaged heat-​and-​serve Indian lunches you’d pay $ 4 for at a mainstream grocery are $ 2.50 here… not to mention the brand they sell at Sangeet is all-​natural and many of the choices (there are dozens!) are vegetarian. The meats, sold at the back counter, are prepared according to Halal custom and are ridiculously affordable compared to typical grocery stores (I don’t eat meat as a general rule so I can’t attest to the quality here, but it *looks* great!). They also carry Asian species of fish.
If you can adapt to the very strong, very foreign-​to-​American-​noses scent; and the gaggle of stoic gentlemen giving you a wary once-​over with skeptical eye (I get the distinct «Does this white girl know she stumbled in here???» vibe); Sangeet is a really interesting, really great place to shop for groceries or browse the latest Bollywood releases.