Beer and wine in the 'hood

For the folks who have yet to venture over to SS Mart Beer and Wine at 8211 Fenton St., I would recommend that you postpone your visit - but only until you're in need of beer and wine.

As their name implies, this is a shop for beer and wine. I had originally thought that beer and wine would be their emphasis, but that they would stock other goods too. And while they do stock some other items, I would wager that 80% of the store is only for those 21 and over (unless you have a good fake ID). And I was a bit surprised at the selection they offer. On the beer side they have some good offerings - Sam Adams, Bass, Guinness and then some other decent brews like Yuengling and Stella. In addition they stock a couple exotic-looking Ethiopian beers. And for all you American lager fans don't fret, SS Mart carries all your faves - Miller Lite, Icehouse, Coors, Bud, etc.

For those not looking for a cold one, SS Mart does pretty good job on the vino too. There was a much bigger red selection than white and at least on my visit they had some good choices for Italian reds, especially given the arcane liquor laws we have in MoCo. And as one might expect the prices were pretty cheap. The bottles I saw ranged in price from around $5-$12. And if push came to shove and you needed to take a bottle of wine to a friend's house in the hood and our County store was closed, you could do OK picking up a bottle or two at the SS Mart. I don't think you'd get funny looks like you would by setting down a bottle of Manischewitz or one of those Chianti wicker wine bottles - although truth be told in my Italian-American household growing up it was a pretty regular staple to go with Sunday pasta.

One last thing, I don't want to leave out the selection SS Mart carries of what I can only assume are staples in the Ethiopian community. To me, those items were the only ones that stood out to compete with the alcohol. And hey, while I would like the store to be a little more varied, I am happy that I have a short walk to purchase that magical combination of water, hops, malt and yeast (and no, don't believe Bud, rice does NOT belong in beer).