8 Comments
Nov 20, 2023Liked by Carol A. Wilcox

Thanks for sharing Carol. My wife and I are headed for Scottsdale for Christmas and New Year's and AJ's Fine Foods is our favorite for great finds.

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When we lived in Cascais, Corte de Ingles was our go to spot. We loved the 7th floor! In Algarve we have this option but reserve it only for those items that cannot be secured at another outlet.

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Nov 17, 2023Liked by Carol A. Wilcox

Applonia is our go to when staying in the Algarve. From Heinz mustard to Dr Pepper it is a must visit. Our tradition has become to always have sushi from Applonia on day one of our visit so we dont have to cook. I am glad you guys found it!

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Nov 17, 2023Liked by Carol A. Wilcox

You can also order a whole turkey at Apolonia. In 2020 we did Thanksgiving here. We first went to our local Intermarche to see if we could order a turkey, but they said no, go to the local talho. So a couple weeks before Thanksgiving we went to the talho and sure enough he said he could get us a 8 kg bird. Two days before Thanksgiving we went there and he was beside himself with apologies, his vendor had stood him up. He said he was calling around to see if he could find a turkey, but we were not confident. When we got home we started scrambling around looking around the internet for who might be able to get us a turkey. The name of Apolonia came up, but just as we were about to call the butcher called and said he had located a turkey. It turned out to be a somewhat scrawny 5 kg bird but it sufficed. Three weeks ago we decided to have Thanksgiving here again. Last weekend we were in Lagoa doing a Christmas market (selling my wife's ceramics and lavender products from our farm) and I went down to Apolonia to get lunch. Went to their talho and sure enough, with a €20 deposit I ordered a 8 kg turkey for Nov 21. Apolonia also has Old El Paso refried beans, the only place I've seen, so far, that has them.

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Greg - thanks for your comment. It's good to know that Aplonia has turkeys for American Thanksgivings! I'm really hoping they open a store closer to where I live. And great to know about the refried beans. Thanks for sharing that tip! - CW

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Nov 16, 2023Liked by Carol A. Wilcox

This made me smile! I know nothing about this store or its American version in Scottsdale but it sounds really special and quite high end. I am certain I would love this place and I hope one comes to you in the very near future! The grocery stores near me do absolutely nothing to inspire or tempt and I continue to find it torturous to enter their doors. If only we had one of these lovely places....

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Nov 16, 2023Liked by Carol A. Wilcox

Brilliant. I didn’t even think of it but, yes, it totally reminds me of AJ’s. We never shopped AJ’s much, but we were thrilled to know it existed and was available when we needed it. That’s exactly Apolónia to us here in the Algarve today.

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Nov 16, 2023Liked by Carol A. Wilcox

Nice post. Thanks.

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