The following is the second installment in a four-part series profiling the city's ethnic food markets.

Goat meat has, apparently, become more and more in demand in Manchester. But you won't find it at Stop & Shop, Hannford or Shaw's. But for $3.50 per pound, The Spice Center, in the Maple Valley Plaza at 245 Maple Street, can hook you up.

Abdul, a butcher at The Spice Center, told me he sells close to 40 goats and lambs per week to the city's growing Middle Eastern, Pakastani and African populations.

He then invited me into his freezer:

As the name implies, The Spice Center does indeed sell spices and lots of them. And they're cheap. A 14 oz. bag of cumin, for example, will set you back $3.99, or 29 cents per ounce. One block east at the Valley Street Stop & Shop you'll pay $4.99 for 0.90 oz, or a whopping $5.54 an ounce!

As one might expect, the aroma of scores of different spices hits you as soon as you walk in the door. So too does the smell of cooked meat, courtesy of Beirut Shwarma, a relatively new food counter inside the store that sells delicious shwarma, falafel, other other Lebanese dishes.

Other affordable finds at The Spice Market include a 1lb. jar of tahini for only $2.99:

And this giant, 93 oz. jar of extra virgin olive oil for $19.99, or 21 cents per ounce.

 Tasty-looking breads are also in abundance, including this very long loaf of Afghan bread:

Also to be found is one of my favorite deserts, baklava:

as well as sesame candy, which I have not yet tried:

Of course there is more to The Spice Market than just Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Indian food stuffs. To wit, you can also pick up a hookah for use at your next party:

Stylish Islamic and north African headwear is also available:

While The Spice Center has some African goods, more can be had at the appropriately named African Market, 226 Pine Street. This tiny store, however, sells mainly food products from Ghana and Nigeria, products of which I am wholly ignorant, like garden eggs:

and custard powder:

and something called fufu flour:

Truly, the more I learn, the more aware of the extent of my ignorance I become.