What a fun market, La Plaza Tapatia

The other day @Hungry_Woolf tipped me off to an incredible piece on white bread.  Few topics interest me more than the baking methodology used for industrial strength pillow-soft white bread.  In that piece is mentioned "mejorante para pan blanco," or white bread improver.  Bethia pointed me to a well stocked market on Columbus' west side behind what is left of Westland Shopping Center, La Plaza Tapatia.  I went in and asked for this mejorante stuff, I had it written on an index card, but they didn't recognize the name, then I asked for baker's yeast and figured I'd find it nearby on the shelf.

This simple search for a product named yeast brought me back to Lyon, France 20 years ago, my first time out of the country on business.  Me and my little cue cards struggled to communicate the simplest of words.  Back to La Plaza, after 3 employees and finally a little kid hanging out by the meat counter, we realized the translation for yeast (levure) and I was set in the right direction.

I couldn't find the product, but I already hit a jackpot, I got to discover a community I never knew existed in my back yard.  While there, I got a bunch of beans including these killer spiced, roasted lima beans (reminded me of my expt with cannelini).

So, the hunt continues, thanks for the tip Bethia, it was a fun little adventure.