Google is your friend! Start by Googling a nationality and put the word "store" or "market" behind it, along with your town - such as "Asian Market Austin Texas". You will be pleasantly surprised as to what you may find. Now, I live in the town with the flagship Whole Foods store and corporate headquarters, so of course your thinking "why go so far for those delicacies when you can do one-stop shopping?" I'll tell you why. First, when I go to the Asian Market (for example), I am not laden with 4 choices of fish sauce. I get a whole aisle of fish sauces and I get fish sauce from more countries then you can shake a wok at. Why do I want all these choices? Because it's FUN and we live in the land of amazing possibilities. Second, if you have questions about any of the food, what better way to get answers than go straight to the source. The majority of people that shop in these stores are "regulars" and always seem to have a smile on their face. More importantly,they are generally very willing to answer my silly questions!
Third, if you are looking at this trip from an artistic stand point, nothing screams art to me like all of the labels on the food in an ethnic market. It's like rows and rows of art and color in a food museum. Don't be squeamish of the language barrier - I can usually find a picture on the label that will give me some hint as to what's inside.
I have found that almost every city I have visited has its own unique little pockets of culinary wisdom. Try stepping out through your own back-door... You just may find those same kinds of gastronomical adventures, on a much cheaper "E"-ticket. I'm jus sayin'
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