For gastronomes and Food and Foodway Studies people:

Speechless, I wandered aisle after aisle, struck by the vastness of varieties and options –produce, meat and fish, noodles, kimchi, mushrooms, desserts and snacks, and also cookware and kitchenware. When I have the time, I’ll go back and look more closely at everything. Catering, one can only surmise, to the large Asian and Asian American student bodies at Columbia, the phenomenal and super bright H Mart just opened shop at the corner of Broadway and 110th Street.

Here at Wikipedia, I found out that, The chain, with locations throughout the United States and Canada, specializes in providing Asian foods. The chain also operates several Super H Mart stores. H Mart is the largest Asian American grocery store with 61 locations nationwide. The “H” in “H Mart” stands for Han Ah Reum, a Korean phrase meaning “one arm full of groceries.”

I was going to make a joke about there being no kosher aisle but decided not to. An American institution, H Mart opens out an intense, alternative culinary universe, a total food environment.