Milwaukee is a city of immigrants. Except for the native peoples, we all came from someplace else and, thankfully, we brought a little of our culture with us. One result is a wide variety of ethnic grocery stores catering to the diverse tastes of Milwaukee's ethnic communities. Here is a sampling.

--El Rey has five locations (1530 S. Muskego Ave., 1433 W. Burnham St., 1320 W. Burnham St., 1023 S. 16th St. and 3524 W. Burnham St.) but the supermarket at 35th & Burnham is the best, with aisle upon aisle of Mexican specialty food and beverage. A small but packed produce section and deli counter are augmented by a "fast" food counter. This is the place to go for breadfruit seeds, tamarind nectar, Jamaican sodas, ready-to-eat mole sauce, guava jelly and more.

--Outpost Natural Foods (100 E. Capitol Dr. & 7000 W. State St.) has, in addition to organic produce and a wide range of grains, cereals and rice in bulk, a good mix of ethnic foods available, from Chinese to Italian to Middle Eastern.

--Orlando's Deli (1664 N. Van Buren St.) is a small grocery store just off Brady Street that has a great little deli.

--Around the corner is the more well-known Glorioso's (1020 E. Brady St.), which has the city's best Italian deli counter and refrigerator cases full of cheeses and other tasty options. A selection of dried pastas, beans, cookies, coffees and much more make this a one-stop shopping option.

--In Bay View, site of the earliest Italian settlement in Milwaukee, Groppi's (1441 E. Russell St.) is one of the oldest Italian food stores in the city, now reinvigorated and buzzing anew thanks to new owner John Nehring.

--Usinger's (N. Old World Third St.) is no secret and not really a grocery store, but the selection of authentic German sausages and deli meats is unrivaled and all made on the premises. From blood sausage to beer brats and braunschweiger, Usinger's can't be beat.

--Bavarian Meat & Sausage Shop (8310 W. Appleton Ave.) gives Usinger's a run for its money, however, with a mouth-watering (assuming you eat meat, that is) choice of German meats.

--If Greek specialities are your favorite, don't miss Parthenon (9131 W. Cleveland Ave.), Grecian Imports (1532 S. 84th St.) and Olympia (4303 W. Vliet St.), all of which offer great selections of olives as well as filo, feta, lamb, oils and more.

--Hong Fat Co. (2455 W. State St.) is a retail and wholesale outlet for Chinese groceries and they are suppliers to almost all area Chinese restaurants, so you know the selection is unbeatable. Anything you can think of, they've got!

--Brennan's (19000 W. Bluemound Rd.), V. Richards (17165 W. Bluemound Rd.), and Sendik's (500 E. Silver Spring Dr., 4027 N. Oakland Ave. and 2643 N. Downer Ave.) all carry a wide range of imported cheese, meats, wine, produce and packaged foods and are a great source for those somewhat exotic items you can't get at Kohl's or Pick 'n' Save.

--Indian Groceries (10633 W. North Ave.) has a wide range of Asian specialties and a good selection of curries and other spices required to perfect your Indian dishes.

There's a whole 'nother guide to be written about bakeries in Milwaukee, but, in the meantime, here's a quick sampling.

--For Italian specialties, visit Peter Sciortino (1101 E. Brady St.), Canfora (1100 E. Oklahoma Ave.) and Roma (3600 S. Chase Ave.).

--Lopez Bakery (1601 W. Lincoln Ave. and 1100 W. Mitchell St.) has an astonishing array or treats, late hours and low prices). Sabrosuras (1711 W. Mitchell St.) also offers Mexican, Puerto Rican and American bakery items).

--Bella Bakery (960 W. Oklahoma Ave.) is THE place for Polish bakery, breads and rolls. Get there early to get a babka without having to fight off any Seinfeld characters.

--Despine's (4827 W. North Ave.) bakes up Grecian specialties as does Ya Ya's Cookies (4320 N. Oakland Ave.). Ya Ya, of course, is a term of endearment for Greek grannies.

We have, no doubt, left out your favorite ethnic grocery store or bakery, so please use the talkback section below to add them for your fellow readers. Happy eating!